Aliyyah Koloc with David Vrsecky at Vallelunga – Photo Buggyra ZM Racing
The circuit near Rome features a mix of fast and slow corners and the higher number of gear changes per lap, and a mechanical problem with the gearshift in Aliyyah’s car caused her to strain the tendons in her right forearm already during Friday practice.
Nonetheless, she fought on and earned a ninth place finish from the 30-car field in the first EuroNASCAR 2 race on Saturday. The arm injury did eventually end her weekend early, with the priority on healing in time for the next events rather than risk doing more harm in the weekend’s closing EuroNASCAR Pro race 2.
“On this track you use the whole range of gears from first to fourth and you shift more than usual, so when it’s not working properly it’s really difficult. I tried my best to continue but we decided there’s no point to damage my arm more and to get ready for the next race which will already be in two weeks time when I will race in the French GT4 series in Spa,” said Aliyyah.
“We struggled the whole Friday with the shifting and it was only solved properly on Saturday. However, in the meantime, it did a lot of damage to Aliyyah’s arm. She still managed to achieve her best result yet on Saturday, but on Sunday, as the pain spread to her elbow, it really became too difficult for her physically,” said David Vrsecky, chief designer for Buggyra ZM Racing.
EuroNASCAR Pro
Aliyyah qualified in 24th position in EuroNASCAR Pro, but her hopes of moving forward in the first race were thwarted by contact with another driver on the first lap. Aliyyah had to wait for assistance from the marshals under the safety car to free her car so she could rejoin the race, and she finished four laps down in 24th place following a drive-through penalty.
EuroNASCAR 2
Aliyyah lined up 14th for the first of the EuroNASCAR 2 races, and made a great start to climb up to ninth almost immediately. She continued to move forward and in the closing stages, following a safety car restart, she was fighting over sixth position. She ultimately ended up ninth, just 0.4 seconds from the Lady Trophy win.
“The race was going well and then on the last lap I had a problem with the car and I made a mistake and lost two positions. So I’m not so happy about that, but to still finish in the top 10 for the first time is good,” Aliyyah said afterwards.
In Race 2 on Sunday morning, Aliyyah was running on the fringes of the top 10 early on, and although she fell back to 17th and was struggling with the pain in her arm, she recovered ground again to finish 14th, once more only one position away from the Lady Trophy win.
The next race of the EuroNASCAR series will take place on September 3-4 in Most, Czech Republic. However, Aliyyah will already be back behind the wheel on July 22-24 for the French GT4 series at Spa-Francorchamps which she is also competing in.
About Buggyra ZM Racing
A team with 50 years of heritage and among the world-leading racing structures and technology developers with their own Technology Centers in Dubai (UAE), the Czech Republic, and Spain. Buggyra ZR Racing started to gain racing success in truck racing with 11 European championships, three Chinese championships, and one Indian championship.
In 2014, the team entered cross-country rallying with Tatra trucks. This was followed by an entry into the SxS category, where they won the Can-Am category in 2021. The team also counts for six world speed records. Currently, Buggyra ZR Racing competes in Formula and GT series in addition to truck racing and cross-country rallying.
In 2019, Buggyra ZM Racing also founded the Buggyra Racing Academy which aims to find and develop young and talented drivers. The Buggyra Academy works together with some highly experienced drivers like David Vršecký, Adam Lacko, and Josef Macháček who now teach young talents Aliyyah Koloc, Yasmeen Koloc, Téo Calvet, and Nicolas Lacko.
For more information: https://www.buggyra.com/ and https://www.buggyraacademy.com/
About Aliyyah Koloc
Competing for Buggyra ZM Racing, eighteen-year-old Aliyyah Koloc is a promising racer. Her father used to race, so from an early age, Aliyyah went to motorsport events which she enjoyed a lot. However, at four years old, she started playing tennis and wanted to become a professional player. An injury 10 years later stopped her from continuing. She looked for alternatives and, in the beginning of 2019, at just 15, she went with her dad to a winter test and ended up trying to drive a truck for the first time. She loved it and did well from the start. To this day she has two speed records in truck racing under her belt and was the female French truck racing champion in 2021. In 2022, she is racing in the EuroNASCAR series, participates in selected GT4 races and the Middle East Championship for Cross Country Bajas.
