"I feel like I'm back on the right track" - Gosia Rdest completed her return season in the Alpine Elf Cup Series securing another class podium and two top-10 finishes overall at Monza, navigating challenging weather conditions and a competitive Challenger class.
Gosia Rdest made another step forward in the Alpine Elf Cup Series since her return to racing after nearly two years, stepping back onto the podium at Monza in the series' season finale following her runner-up finish at Circuit Paul Ricard in the penultimate round.
Rdest, a former W Series racer, has been competing in the highly competitive Alpine one-make series since 2020, making remarkable progress over the seasons. Having last raced in 2022 before taking a break to start a family, Rdest made her return to motor racing earlier this year at Circuit de Barcelona, where she immediately collected two top-five finishes in the Challenger class.
After a weekend of getting back up to speed, the Polish racer made further progress at Circuit Paul Ricard in the South of France, where she significantly closed in on the overall top ten throughout the weekend and secured a second-place class finish, returning to the series podium.
At the Monza season finale, Rdest faced very challenging weather, with rain impacting most of the weekend. Nevertheless, the Chazel Technologie driver found her rhythm again, contending for the class podium in both races after her best qualifying performances since her return behind the wheel.
The weekend got off to a very wet start in the first practice, with times ending up not very representative. In the second session, Rdest began to get up to speed and was 12th fastest, steadily closing the gaps.
"The weather was especially tricky because every single session was different from the other", Gosia told us. "FP1 was pouring rain, and the visibility was terrible. But FP2 had conditions that I actually enjoyed."
Qualifying started dry, and Gosia put in a good lap to break into the top ten before the rain intensified. She finished third in class, her best qualifying result since her return.
Heavy rain however returned for race 1; Rdest safely held her position at the start, moving up to eighth overall at the first chicane as several cars went deep. She maintained third in class, with Louis Meric leading ahead of teammates Leo Jousset and Thibaut Bossy.
Conditions were very tricky but by the end of the first lap, Gosia was on the attack, pressuring Frederic De Brabant and passing him to move into seventh overall, showing great pace in the rain.
However, a deep run into the first chicane on lap 3 dropped her back to ninth. She quickly regained eighth and chased Coruble, who held third in the Challenger class.
Rdest consistently improved her lap times, extending the gap to the cars behind. Positions settled until lap 8, when Figuiere and Macchi made contact under braking at the first chicane, bringing out the safety car with six minutes to go.
The gaps were neutralized, giving Rdest one final chance at the class podium. On the final lap restart, she made a clean restart but couldn’t find an opening on Coruble. Leo Jousset took the win, with Charles Roussanne securing the 2024 title.
Gosia Rdest had a solid race, gaining one position from the start to finish eighth overall and fourth in class, just two seconds short of another podium.
The second qualifying session was another wet one, with heavy rain overnight. Rdest had another strong session, immediately breaking into the top ten overall and challenging for the top three in class. As the track dried, she clocked a 2:09.416, securing P10 overall and fourth in the Challenger class for race 2.
Leo Jousset started from pole, with Charles Roussanne alongside him. Rdest lined up P10 overall and P4 in class, aiming to close out the season on a high after showing good pace all weekend despite the tricky conditions.
Meric made the best start, moving into second place while Jousset held the lead. Rdest, caught in the middle of the pack, got squeezed and hit by two competitors but kept her composure, surviving a chaotic first corner. She slotted into P11 overall after the opening corners and immediately put pressure on Laurent Richard, passing him before the end of lap 1.
Next up was Figueire, and Rdest quickly closed the 8-tenths gap, passing him on the second lap to climb to ninth overall. She then began hunting down Frederic De Brabant, neutralizing a 1.5-second gap in one lap. She passed him for eighth on lap 3, although the leading group had pulled seven seconds clear by then.
Rdest pulled away from the cars behind, running consistent laps in the 2:00 range. She focused on her pace, improving with each lap. On lap 8, she set her personal best with a 1:59.993.
While Jousset driving away in the lead, the battle behind him intensified: Meric, Bossy, and Coruble traded positions for the overall top five and the Challenger class lead.
With four minutes remaining, Meric passed Coruble for second in class at the first chicane. These battles opened an opportunity for Gosia on the final lap when Coruble collided with Bossy at Parabolica.
Bossy recovered to finish second, and Gosia overtook Coruble at the final corner, crossing the line seventh overall and third in class despite some late-race drama due to a loss of power on the last lap.
"When I was exiting Ascari on the last lap, my air temperature hit 95 degrees, and the engine went into safety mode. I lost power for a bit, and when I saw the double yellow ahead, I just had to try to continue", she recalled.
Nevertheless, she made it across the line, securing her second podium in two weekends and rounding out her return to the Alpine Elf Cup Series on a high note.
"We finished the second race on the podium, which I'm truly grateful for — to the team, to myself, and to some additional sources. The Challenger category is indeed challenging, but the pace was there."
In the first dry session of the weekend, Rdest found good speed and commented on the new Monza tarmac, which provided a different driving experience.
"I must admit, with the new tarmac Monza offers now, I really enjoyed racing in the rain as well, especially with new tyres. The grip is insane, honestly."
"The braking points at turn one are not far off, which shows how well the track has been resurfaced. Racing in dry conditions felt amazing too. You could really feel the flow. It was a blessing to race in the dry as well."
Over just three weekends, Gosia Rdest has shown plenty of speed, found her groove again, and claimed two class podium finishes, marking a successful return to competitive motorsport.
"Barcelona was definitely the most difficult. We had a test day, but it was just one day after two years of not driving at all," she said. "Of course, I did some visualization and onboards, which helped me, but I could see that I hadn’t changed."
"It's only a lack of mileage in this short period. Even here in Monza, I knew my place and what I was doing, just like in Paul Ricard — so I feel like I'm back on the right track."
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