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Never give up!

20.02.2015 - Arskap Cup XLII: Diesel´s official statement after his series win

"What I have learned from the past few races in the Arskap Cup XLII is that it ain´t over until it is over. Never give up. No matter what life, or in this case racing, gives you, try to make the best out of it. Do not surrender. Always keep an eye on the next step.

I have never experienced such an intense finale in my career before. I have had my battles but it was never as thrilling as it was in this Cup.

Having such a huge lead in the overall standings going into the second half of the series mad me feel saturated. I knew that under normal circumstance nothing can take the series win away from me. I was already focusing on my daily job, which is my Formula 1 Team LKR. I was in chill mode. Just wanted to secure safe points and get the trophy. I had the feeling that everyone else accepted that situation and that i would not face much competition any more.

But that was a huge mistake. A mistake that almost cost me the series win. The young and talented driver Robert Headington was nowhere in the standings. His raking was, as we use to say in Austria, not meat not fish. But he proved us all wrong and has thought us a valuable lesson. No matter what kind of situation you are facing, just don´t give up. Do it the right way and fight until the end. That truly impressed me.

You all know what happened. While i was cruising in chill mode, he was racing like a champ and climbed to the second place. As I made this mistake in the second last race and dropped to 5th position, I knew i was in trouble, but at the same time I was reflecting the situation and if you so will, I was inspired by Headingtons achievement.

When i reached the goal line, I knew what i had to do. I still believed that i can end up on the first place. Even as I was behind von Rotz after the pit stop, I knew I will be able to make it. I knew that he is a very young driver, and that if I put him under pressure I might force him into a mistake. The end of the story is well known. Two laps separated the winner from the runner up.

Right after the finale I head the wish to reach out to Headington and to congratulate him personally on his strong series. A great driver. The future is the palm of his hands. But right now, it is my time.

As my friend ArkAngel recently said, when you are driving, you are not out there to make friends or to give out presents. You are racing to win. And that is what I have done. After the race, I am man enough to acknowledge a great effort and to give him my respect, as I did.

We will see each other very soon. We will both drive in the next Poland Cup and I am looking forward to another thrilling battle. I can´t promise to win the series again, but I will not give up until the very last meter of the series."