Joshua Dürksen is a 17-year-old racing driver from Asunción, Paraguay. He won nine F4 races in various series with Mücke Motorsport in the last two years. I had the chance to chat with him.
youngdriversmonthly:
Hi Josh! I hope you’re fine. How are you spending your time during winter?
Joshua Dürksen:
Hi! I‘m okay and you? Well here it’s not winter, it’s summer in Paraguay. So it’s pretty nice weather here. I‘m the whole day training in the gym with my trainer and also driving in the simulator. Getting ready for the season.
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YDM:
Where or when did you first discover your passion for motorsport?
JD:
I actually loved motorsport since I remember. I always watched Formula 1, I was Sebastian Vettel fan number one. And yeah so I think when I was seven years old I discovered that I love motorsport.
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YDM:
How did your family and friends react when you told them that you wanted to become a racing driver?
JD:
My family reacted pretty well. They just were laughing because they thought it was a joke and they took it as a hobby. But for me it wasn’t like that haha
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YDM:
When did you start karting? And what was your favorite moment?
JD:
I started karting in 2015 when I was 12 years old. I started pretty late actually, but I was the whole day in the go-kart center and training, training and training. My favorite moment in go-karting was I think.. my victory in Portugal 2017. I came there with my mechanic, one bag of tools and nothing else. Borrowing a go-kart I just went there, took pole position and won every race. So that was my best race in go-karting.
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YDM:
Where and when have you driven a single seater car for the first time?
JD:
My first single seater test with Mücke was in July 2018 in Adria. And then the next one was in Mugello, I think in October or November.
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YDM:
You were the first Paraguayan driver ever to win an official FIA race. You were even invited by the Paraguayan president. What was this hype about your person like for you?
JD:
When they told me I’d meet the president from my country was a surprise for me. I didn’t expect that. It was pretty exciting. And then when we met he was very welcoming and very nice with us. Actually he was a really good person, we could talk a lot and also talked about the future.
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YDM:
In 2019 you became the F4 UAE vice champion. And you‘ve won several races in the last two years in Italian & ADAC F4. Which was your favorite race so far?
JD:
Yeah, I was vice champion in F4 UAE. My first year in Formula 4 and my first championship. Winning a lot, it was really good. But my favorite race I think was from last year in Hockenheim. Where I was battling pretty hard with Minì. With the timing pretty close, he always stayed behind me. And then we collided. I had some broken parts on my car. So I had to survive half of the race with the Red Bull guys behind me pressuring. I could keep it and win that race, with fastest lap and also starting from pole position.
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YDM:
What are your hobbies aside from racing?
JD:
Well I’m actually a guy that likes sports a lot in general. I like football, volleyball, golf, tennis, athletics. Those are my principles hobbies and I also like just playing in the simulator the whole day and having fun there.
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YDM:
Do you have any strange rituals or habits you do before each race?
JD:
Well I have some weird stuff haha. Like for example which part of the clothing I put me first on. If it’s the glove or the balaclava or the suit. Or I always have to go in from the left side of the car. Because I’m used to it from go-karting. That’s some of the weird stuff that I have.
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YDM:
You recently announced that you will be competing under the Paraguayan flag again next year. Why did you start under the German flag last year?
JD:
I started with German flag last year cause I have the German passport and because of the financial part. We don’t have a lot of money right now. Well even in 2018 we didn’t had a lot of money. We‘re struggling a lot with that, so the ADAC supported us a bit with some budget. Not much, but a bit. We needed to take it, as we didn’t had other choices. For this year I‘m returning to the Paraguayan flag, cause I think that we can reach more people in the whole country.
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YDM:
You‘ve competed in Formula 4 with Mücke Motorsport in the last two years. Where will we see you racing in 2021?
JD:
Like I said, we‘re struggling with money, so F3 will be impossible this year. It‘ll probably be one more year with Mücke. We have to see, as we are still negotiating. But Formula 3 is really difficult for me this year because of the budget.
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YDM:
What’s fascinating you most about racing cars?
JD:
What I love most about racing cars is just the speed and grip they’ve in the corners. And the feeling you get while driving it, cause sometimes you think the car won’t handle the speed in the corner. But then you go for it and the car actually can do it. It’s just impressive, also feeling the G-Forces and everything it’s just really nice. And the adrenaline that you get while racing with the other guys over 200 km/h, almost crashing wheel-to-wheel. I just love that feeling when I‘m driving on the limit.
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YDM:
In which racing series would you like to race in your career apart from F1?
JD:
If it’s not F1, I‘d love to drive Formula E or Indycar. Principal something that has to do with a single seater. If it’s not possible than maybe WEC championship, 24h of LeMans or some stuff like that. I‘d love to drive that.
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YDM:
Where can fans follow your journey in motorsport?
JD:
They can follow me on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @joshuaduerksen1. I‘ll also release a webpage soon. Link will be in my bio when it’s coming out. You can watch my races from there and also get to know a bit more about me.