All eyes on Dominik Dedic

Dominik Dedic attracted attention at the beginning of May when he finished second in his first Racing Unleashed race in the Racer League. It wasn't long ago that he didn't even know about our existence. It was only four weeks before the first Challenge that Dominik was in our simulators for the first time and that's when he was immediately gripped by ambition. The 21-year-old from Küsnacht ZH then started his training and was soon one of the fastest. So, we made an exception and let him start directly in the Racer League instead of the Challenger League as usual. His subsequent second place in Zandvoort showed that this was definitely the right decision.

Nobody expected Dominik to make it directly to the podium with only 4 weeks of preparation. It was by no means the case that Dominik had only trained during this time. He invested about one hour a week in training. With his studies in mechanical engineering at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich, Dominik also had a lot of resources at his disposal. But for someone who literally deals with rocket science, as it is the case with him, a ride in the simulator really doesn't seem like rocket science any more. Dominik is also very active in sports. Whether it's football, climbing, surfing or a ride in the simulator, he likes to try out all kinds of sports or enjoys his time with friends.

To get up to speed as quickly as possible, Dominik likes to go over the limit in the early stages. Of course, this is one of the advantages of sim racing, because even if a spin ends up in the wall, you don't suffer any material or physical damage. He already knows all the track layouts, thanks to his long-standing interest in Formula 1. As soon as he knows roughly where the limit of the car is, it is important for him to find a rhythm on the track, because, as we know, only one fast lap does not bring victory.

When asked whether Dominik sees himself as a title contender, he remains down-to-earth. He is confident that he can take a victory, but he does not want to call himself a title contender. His goal from the beginning was to achieve a podium finish, which he has already done with his second place in the first race. Will victory follow now? In the championship, he is 22 points behind the leader Alvaro Aznar. In any case, a top performance is needed again and with returnee Smidl, the task won't be any easier.

Dominik is very enthusiastic about the simulators. The overall package with the mechanical pedals, the belts and the motion system, coupled with headphones that block out everything around, make the virtual world as close to reality as possible for him. But he is also particularly impressed by the friendliness of our lounge staff: "In addition to enormous motivation and passion, they also display a capacity for criticism."