Sami-Matti Trogen is a true all-rounder in motorsport.
Sami-Matti Trogen aims for a DTM contract. AXEL WEICHERT / WANKENHORST MOTORSPORT
Sami-Matti Trogen is a real rarity in motorsport.
He is the latest Finnish driver to beat Max Verstappen in a race – even with exactly the same equipment.
It’s the Le Mans 24-hour virtual race that took place at the beginning of the year, where Trogen from the Williams team finished handsomely in third place after Verstappen’s car stopped after a good 18 hours and 256 laps.
– There are only a few such hybrid drivers in the whole world, Trogen calculates.
The Dutchman drives sim races in his own Team Redline team. Trogen also beat him in the Nürburgring 24 Hours race.
– Max is a really hard driver, but he also trains a lot.
On the simulator side, Trogen is undeniably the best in the world.
– I got a wild card to participate in the Rally Cross World Series. I thought I’d try to see if I could do well in that series. I trained really hard for the first race, says Trogen.
– Well then I won it. After that, I had to invest in it as well.
In his first attempt, Trogen conquered the world championship of the entire rallycross simulator series. The natural continuation of that was that F1 team Williams wanted him for their own e-sports team.
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Trogen’s car is a nearly 600-horsepower BMW. AXEL WEICHERT / WANKENHORST MOTORSPORT
– Simulator racing requires a lot of training. The level rises all the time. I also have to train more all the time to stay on top.
– You can’t buy speed with money. It’s all about skill.
“Not a big step”
However, Trogen’s multi-sport nature becomes clear when you listen to his career path on the side of real track cars.
The term “hybrid driver” he uses is also related to that.
– I’ve driven quite a lot of different looks and I like it. That’s probably one of the reasons why I still drive simulators.
Trogen has also had time to participate in the concrete rallycross World Series. There, too, the debut year brought fourth place in total points. The price of talent has been that he has not been sure which series or sport would be the best for him.
Now the guns have been set in the rock-hard German GT4 series. The 21-year-old from Lohja drives it together with the French super promise Enzo Joulien with.
In practice, the driver always changes in the middle of the hour-long race, in which case the last one has to wait for the checkered flag with worn tires.
GT4 cars still remotely resemble store-bought sports cars. Of course, their prices will rise to around 250,000 euros.
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Trogen would visit Helsinki in early June. JANNE PALOMÄKI
Trogen is already thinking of jumping into the “bigger” GT3 series. Then the value of the cars jumps up to 600,000 euros at worst. The most famous series is also in Finland Mika Häkkinen and Keke Rosberg’s through the publicized DTM.
– First you just have to win the GT4 series. This sprint racing is so different from what I’m used to. I have to drive here to get experience and displays.
As a display venue, the German GT4 series is the best possible, because it is run as one filler class in connection with the DTM races. In other words, Trogen gasses up the nearly 600-horsepower BMW in front of all the DTM team bosses.
– We are constantly working towards the future. But we are not very far from that DTM deal. It’s not a big step.
Consistency prevails
The Finn’s trump card in the negotiations is that he already has extensive experience in the operation of GT3 cars. Trogen has been driving for years as a “factory driver” for the large BMW dealer Walkenhorst at the Nürburgring.
He has circled the Green Hell thousands of times, and knows every bump on the course.
– I want to be the best drivers there. I know I have a chance because I have some experience.
– Then I would also like to drive in the DTM. They pretty much feed each other, both the Nürburgring and these sprint races.
The Trogen-Joulié pairing is third in the series after the opening weekend. The next competition will be held on Midsummer in Zandvoort, Holland.
– I’ve driven there before. The track suits BMW well. In a series like that, with 35 cars, you have to be consistent and drive at the top all the time.
– We should have a good package to win the series.