At 66, Didier Schraenen still pursues his passion with the same fire in his eyes. However, despite his extensive record in Formula 1600, he never stood on the top step of the podium at the Gilles-Villeneuve circuit.
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The Mont-Saint-Hilaire native is overtaken by young wolves who respectfully try to bag the old trucker. The man who doesn’t know the word ‘retirement’ will be looking to assert himself again this weekend of the Canadian Grand Prix.
“I have something unfinished. Despite the 15 podiums I have here […], I never won. That’s missing in my family tree, as they say,” Schraenen said on the phone after qualifying on Saturday morning.
“I have expected a lot from my supporters over the past 33 years. My first race here was in 1988 in the Honda Michelin Series. It was my very first race in life,” the 32-year-old recalled at the time.
The sports commentator was Canadian Formula 1600 champion in 1998, 1999, 2006 and 2009
The young are growing
Schraenen admits that the young drivers in his series are “sharper” than before. Despite their age, they come from karting with a lot of experience.
“These are very special situations. When I was in Tremblant for the first event of the season, which I won, the two youngsters next to me (Connor Clubine and Callum Baxter) were 18 and 15 years old. Thirty-three together and multiplied by two, that’s my age,” the veteran recalls with a laugh.
To add an extra layer, Schraenen’s number 94 car, designed in Quebec 25 years ago, predates most of its competitors.
“The rest of us come in with our handcrafted cars, with an old driver in there, and we drive in front. It’s not just the driver who can be proud,” added the man who clocked the third-best time on Saturday.
Experience plays a big role, but so does attitude. Didier Schraenen has to elbow the newcomers who have nothing to lose.
“It keeps me young,” says the embattled sixty-year-old.