Jens Hvaal, who made a particularly strong impression at the wheel of the JC Raceteknik Team’s Audi S1 at the end of last season, has opted for a full program in the RallyX championship. However, the 19-year-old Norwegian is determined not to rush into anything.
Everyone still remembers his performance in Grenland in August 2023. In his first foray into the Supercar arena, the former FIA Euro RX3 European Championship competitor made a strong impression, finishing fourth in the Pro final and taking the top step of the podium in the Pro-Am final.
Nevertheless, the Norwegian Super1600 champion is cautious about his first campaign at this level of racing.
“For me this is first and foremost a learning season. It’ll be a bit like the approach I took during my Euro RX3 program last season. However, unlike 2023, when I went into the European Championship with goals that were probably too high, this time I’ll be careful to scale back my ambitions. I can’t lose sight of the fact that I’m here to learn,” says Jens.
“Supercar is not a category where you can afford to get behind the wheel and tell yourself that you’re going to be competitive right away and be able to fight for the top step of the podium”.
A reality that Jens Hvaal was able to verify a few days ago during the JC Raceteknik team’s test session in Buxtehude.
“I still have a lot to learn,” he says, “and I was able to see that for myself during the recent test with JC Raceteknik in Estering. In any case, I quickly felt that my confidence level was much lower at Estering than it was last year at Grenland, a track I know like the back of my hand”.
“Of course, discovering a track like Buxtehude at the wheel of a Supercar doesn’t follow the same logic as the experience I had at Grenland last year. That’s why I don’t think that fighting for the title is a very realistic goal this year.”
Results aside, Jens Hvaal’s priority for this 2024 season couldn’t be clearer.
“We chose the RallyX championship because it will allow us to accumulate a huge amount of driving. We’re going to focus on gaining valuable experience this season and then next year we’ll evaluate what we can do next”.
However, Jens Hvaal, who competes in the Pro-Am Championship with JC Raceteknik, wouldn’t mind crossing swords with the pros from time to time.
“I want to rack up as many kilometers as possible, so in addition to my goals in the Pro-Am standings, it would only help my learning curve if I could participate in as many finals as possible with the pros. It’s definitely something I wouldn’t mind doing.”
