Rasmussen ready to prove himself after scoring his best session finish in Free Practice

Oliver Rasmussen has never previously raced at the iconic Spa-Francorchamps circuit, so he was naturally delighted to find out that “it suits me pretty well,” after finishing second in Free Practice.

The HWA RACELAB driver was in first place with just a minute of the session to go but saw the more experienced Clément Novalak snatch the place from him with seconds to go.

Despite losing the top spot, Rasmussen was still satisfied with his best finish at this level, saying that it proves the work the team have been putting in has paid off.

“After the break, we had some time to think about the previous races,” said Rasmussen, who is still chasing his first points at this level. “We came here ready to fight for the rest of the season, so to put it all together in Free Practice was nice.

READ MORE: Doohan believes the team have fixed a big problem that could help them ‘massively

“I have never raced here before, but I have driven single days in the past. It's not a track I know that much, but apparently, it suits me pretty well.

“Repeating this in Qualifying will be crucial, but it shows that the work we have done throughout the year is paying off, so I am really happy with the performance.”

The Danish racer watched his teammate Matteo Nannini score a first win at this level last time out in Budapest and says that – coupled with their additional work over the summer - the Italian’s win proves the team now have the pace to compete.

READ MORE: Hauger dismisses title talk and says he’s focused on maintaining his consistency

“The win gave some confidence to the team because it shows that we have the performance,” he continued. “But also, I would say that the work that we have done throughout all of the races, the tests and after the break, is paying off. I just want to turn this into results now.

“I feel ready to prove myself as I did in Free Practice, but it is kind of up to the conditions. We have to anticipate the weather as best we can and go from there. I will give it my all.”