Croatian driver Valter Něžić is returning to the Clio Cup after missing last season due to personal commitments. He enters the championship in the colors of the team Fly with Kolman, signing up for the Clio Cup IV category and hoping to win the Gentleman class.
Two years ago, you won the Gentleman class in the Clio Cup. Last year, you weren’t racing in the Clio Cup, so what brought you back for this season?
In 2023, with the greatest desire, I was unfortunately unable to participate in the Clio Cup due to personal and business commitments. In 2023, I drove two local races with the Clio just to stay in the circle of racing and friends.
Looking forward to the 2024 season, what are your primary goals within the Clio Cup?
I hope to repeat the results from 2022. I am very satisfied with the organization of the Clio Cup itself and the large number of competitors. The plan this year is to perform with Clio IV.
How do you prepare for a race weekend, both mentally and physically, especially considering the intense competition and the challenges of each circuit?
I don’t have any special preparations because, unfortunately, I have a lot of business obligations and I’m not 20 years old anymore (I’m 20 a couple of times, ha-ha), but I love driving races, so that motivates me a lot.
During races, drivers often face unexpected challenges, from weather conditions to technical issues, and of course, battles with opponents. Can you recount a specific challenge you’ve overcome in the recent past?
Well, I’ve faced a lot of situations in my career (I’ve been driving in cups since 1996). Problems with weather conditions and technical issues are something that happens often, but they are an integral part of racing. The most beautiful thing is the challenges with the competition, and that’s what we remember the most. One of my most beautiful moments was the victory in 2004 in Grobnik when we drove an endurance race lasting 150 minutes in August (one driver, temperature over 40 degrees), certainly the most difficult race that was run in our national championship. In the recent past, certainly the race at Grobnik in 2022 where I made a phenomenal lap time definitely pulled back by the competition.
COMMENTS