After 6 consecutive championship titles and countless wins, we wanted to sit down with the FRL's winningest driver and find out more about Andrew Steppat and what has driven him to the level of driving he is displaying.
FRL: You have been setting the precedent in the FRL from its inception, tell us how it feels to collect a 6th consecutive FRL title?
Andrew: It feels crazy to think this is 6 in a row. I feel very fortunate to have won the title. I look back on this season, and ones from the past, and can't help but think about all the breaks I've caught along the way. There are several talented and deserving drivers in this series and I fully expect for someone to wrestle that title away from me. I really believe it's not a matter of "if," but more of a matter of "when" that happens.
FRL: Specifically to the FRL WTCC Series, what did you feel you had to do in order to get this latest championship? What challenges did you have to face?
Andrew: With this series I felt it was really important to avoid "the big one." I felt that any unnecessary pit stops were catastrophic. So I went in to every race with the mindset of avoiding contact at all costs just to be safe. It's a long season so I just wanted to avoid those races with a low finish. I felt if I could consistently finish on the podium throughout the season I would have a good shot at the title.
But actually putting that mindset mentioned above into play was challenging. As racers, we don't want to have to conserve or drive cautiously at times. We want to push, push, push! So having to back off at times and be patient while working through the grid was difficult.
Also, the BMW was probably the thirstiest of the cars on the grid so that also created a challenge at times. On some tracks, a lot of testing was needed to determine what kind of build I could do for the car and also how much I would be allowed to push while driving.
And the competition, as always, was fierce and I knew they would continually be improving the performance of their cars as well.
FRL: You won your FEC title last year by the narrowest of margins. This season was a little less dramatic at the finish, can you tell us how you would prefer to close out a season?
Andrew: Drama may be good for the spectators, but I would much rather prefer to have clinched the title before getting to the last race. You just never know when tragedy can strike.
FRL: Did you do anything special to celebrate this championship?
Andrew: I had a glass of Knob Creek Single Barrel Reserve but then it was the standard sports cliche of having 24 hours to celebrate and then it was back to work working on testing for the next series.
FRL: After several seasons of success in the FRL, how do you approach e-sport racing these days, particularly with another season coming up?
Andrew: The love of racing and the desire to win is still very strong. I think the testing phase is so important before a series begins. It's really important to test the strength and weaknesses of each car. And most importantly, finding the car that you are going to feel the most comfortable in and which car you really believe will be a good all around package over the length of the season. I think the Corvette from season 5 was a perfect example of this. I thought the Aston Martin was a better handling car and the Bentley and Audi had an advantage on overall speed. But I loved how the Corvette felt driving and I thought it was a strong enough overall package to do well.
Then once you have your car decided, I feel it's very important to practice for each track as the season is going to find out the fastest way your car is going to make it around the track. Having your braking points down and knowing your gearing for each corner. Finding a 1/10th in each corner adds up to quite a bit over the course of a lap.
FRL: You've moved into the team aspect of the sport now with Apex. Tell us what motivated you to involve yourself in a team and what would you like to see come out of the effort as the team expands?
Andrew: Having a collaboration with others about building and driving a car with different inputs seemed beneficial on a personal level. But I also wanted to try and help out others any way I could. I imagine it's pretty tough to try and jump in and compete against more experienced drivers. So hopefully I can help with some input to help ease that transition.
I just want to see improvement from each driver on the team. If we can all say we got a little bit faster because of help from the team then I would consider that a success.
FRL: How do you feel 'winter testing' is going for you and what are your expectations for next season for you and the team?
Andrew: I'm never satisfied with where I stand in winter testing. I think I always feel like I'm behind in testing. This will be a difficult testing season. With a wide range of available cars, each with different strengths and weaknesses and multiple build options, it has become quite extensive. Hopefully my experience will be helpful when choosing a car if there isn't a clear choice apparent.
Thanks to Andrew for taking the time to answer a few questions and give some insight in how to build a reputation as an e-sport racing champion.
