Esmee Hawkey looks ahead to Zolder

Esmee Hawkey heads to Zolder this weekend as round three of the 2021 DTM championship takes the series to the Belgian circuit.

Arriving in Belgium, Esmee continues her maiden DTM campaign. The 23-year-old showed great character and resilience to fight back from a difficult day on Saturday at Lausitzring two weeks ago to claim a P16 finish on the Sunday.

The Belgian circuit of Zolder hosts the third round of the season. Situated in the heart of the country, the 4.011km track offers a technical and undulating challenge for drivers - combining 90º corners with fast chicanes, steep inclines and tricky off-camber turns. Consistency and rhythm are key for drivers to maximise their lap times.

With rain looking a prominent feature on the weather forecast for the weekend, fans are set for a spectacle as the 20-strong field takes to the track.

“I enjoyed Zolder when I raced here in W Series so I’m excited to take to the track once again,” Esmee said. “I’ve learnt from the experiences of Lausitzring which was only my second weekend competing at this level and I’m determined to keep on progressing with every round. I’m learning more about the car every time I step in the cockpit and it’s a thrill to drive so I’m confident that the weekend will be a positive one for us as a team!”

Running to the usual weekend format, Friday will be exclusively reserved for Free Practice with two sessions at 12:10pm local time (11:10am BST) and 15:30 (14:30). Saturday begins with Qualifying for the first race of the weekend at 10:00 (09:00) followed by the 55-minute race itself at 13:30 (12:30). Returning on Sunday, the grid for the final race of the weekend will be decided by a separate Qualifying session at 10:10 (09:10) with the race following at 13:30 (12:30) once again.

Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch all of the action from Free Practice on Friday on the DTM YouTube channel with Saturday and Sunday’s action all live on BT Sport 3 (Sky 417/BT 410/Virgin 529).