Caught Up in Another Crash in GT World Challenge Europe: “We’ll Get Through This”
The second round of the GT World Challenge Europe season became a highly unwelcome repeat for Robin Knutsson — who was once again forced to retire after a heavy crash caused by being hit on the opening lap.
Robin Knutsson’s debut season in GT World Challenge Europe has had an undeniably tough — and almost unbelievable — start. After being taken out immediately at the start of the season opener at Paul Ricard in France three weeks ago, the Gothenburg driver this time only managed just over half a lap before the same thing happened again: a completely destroyed Porsche 911 GT3 R EVO was the outcome of this weekend’s races at Brands Hatch in the UK.
Just like last time, the accident occurred entirely through no fault of Knutsson’s own, when a competitor behind misjudged a braking zone and sent the Swede’s Boutsen VDS Porsche into the barriers at 200 km/h.
The incident happened in the first of the weekend’s two races, and the resulting damage was so extensive that Knutsson — partnered with Belgian teammate Gilles Magnus — was unable to start Race 2.
Knutsson himself escaped without physical injuries.
“It was quite a big impact,” says Robin Knutsson. “If this had happened 30 years ago, things would probably have been much worse for me right now. It’s a reminder of how safe these cars are nowadays.”
The driver who caused the crash was later penalised for the incident, although that was of little help to Knutsson and his team.
“He came over and apologised afterwards, but that doesn’t really help us.”
“It feels like there’s a curse hanging over me. Two races into the season and I still haven’t completed a single full racing lap. It’s frustrating and mentally very tough right now, but we’ll get through this. I know there was nothing I could have done, which is some comfort.”
“All I can do is put it behind me and come back stronger. I’m not giving up.”
Up until the crash, Knutsson had been on a steep learning curve throughout the days at Brands Hatch — a notoriously difficult and demanding circuit that the 24-year-old was visiting for the first time in his career.
With only two short practice sessions under his belt, Knutsson managed to qualify just two tenths behind the significantly more established Morris Schuring in the sister Boutsen VDS car.
Among other achievements, Schuring has won Porsche’s GT3 class at the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans.
“It’s extremely disappointing that we didn’t even get the chance to race, but I’m genuinely very happy with my development this weekend,” says Robin Knutsson. “I came here knowing it would be tough, but the first practice session was a bit of a shock. Some of the corners here are unbelievably fast, and there are completely blind crests out in the middle of the forest.”
“I felt like I needed to find a lot of confidence in my driving, but lap by lap I managed to do that. In qualifying, most things came together. I made one big mistake in a corner that cost me two tenths — without that, I actually would have been fighting for a top-five position. That makes me quite proud on a track like this, and hopeful. I know I can perform in these cars.”
“I just hope I get the chance to properly prove it next time.”
GT World Challenge Europe continues next at the legendary Monza circuit in Italy on May 29–31. However, Robin Knutsson will already be back behind the wheel this week (May 7–9), making a guest appearance in Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium. The outing is part of the preparations for this summer’s major GT World Challenge Europe 24-hour race at the same circuit.
