BERLIN, Germany - Seasoned sportscar racer Rene Rast will wait until after his debut Formula E race in Berlin before making a decision on pursuing a full-time drive in the series.
Rast has been drafted in by Team Aguri as a replacement for Antonio Felix da Costa, who is tied up with a prior commitment in the DTM this weekend in Austria.
Rast has not raced in a single-seater since 2004 when he was in the German Formula BMW championship, but has been in contact with Aguri for a while regarding a possible opportunity.
“I was in contact with the team already like beginning of the year because we knew there was a conflict with DTM for da Costa in Berlin,” Rast said.
“Last week the team called me and said ‘there might be trouble with Adam, could you jump in?’ I said ‘of course! I would love to!’ and then we made it happen.
“Of course it was not easy because the e-licence requires quite a lot of experience in formula cars. I just did two years in formula cars and this was 12 years ago. It was not easy to get the licence but we managed it and now I’m here and looking forward to it.”
Rast refused to make any firm predictions for the weekend, but knows from the results achieved by da Costa that a good points finish is in reach.
“Maybe ask me after first free practice again, because I have no idea to be honest,” Rast said when asked about his expectations.
“I don’t know how the car will handle. I don’t know how strong we will be here. Expectations are high. I saw what Antonio was doing in the past races.
“I would love to finish in the points, but I know it’s going to be difficult as energy management is a key to success. Also the qualifying. I think points would be very nice.”
Looking ahead to the future, Rast said he will wait and see how his debut weekend goes before making a decision on whether or not to pursue a full-time drive in the series.
“I need to see how the weekend goes,” Rast told NBC Sports.
“Afterwards, maybe the car doesn’t suit me at all, I’m last by five seconds, we can forget about the future and Formula E.
“But of course if I do a good job, it would be nice to join someone. So let’s see.”