Joshua Duerksen: My Greatest Influences

AIX Racing’s Joshua Duerksen has enjoyed a positive season so far in Formula 2 in 2024, taking multiple eye-catching results including a maiden podium result at Imola.
But who has helped him get to this point in his career? Well, the AIX driver took some time out to detail those who have helped him the most, including his very first mechanic in go-karts.
Adolfo Faracco, Karting Mechanic
“So the first person that comes to my mind is my first go-kart mechanic, he’s called Faracco, he’s Brazilian, but he lives in Paraguay. And he was my first mechanic and he’s still my mechanic in go-karts, I’ve always been with him, he literally taught me the basics, taking driving lines, stuff like that, and we’ve always been together in my whole journey. Also, in the world championship like Rotax Max Challenge Finals, and we just have a really good relationship with him even still today. It’s really, really special because my racing career started with him and he’s just a really special person for me because of that and he’s helped me a lot in my career.”
Driver Coach, Danny Candia
“The second person who comes to my mind then is my driver coach, Danny Candia. He raced a lot in Europe and in South America in Formula 2, as well as in British F3. So he has the experience in Europe, which was crucial when I came to do my years in go-karting and as well my first years in Formula racing. So he was extremely, extremely important in my career because he helped me improve even more in my go-karting driving, my talent, improving the pace and of course giving me a lot of advice which helped me a lot and we had a really we have a really good relationship.
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“Because he also has experience in single seaters, he helped me a lot on my first steps in single seater racing. He helped my family to know what to do, because it was the very first time for us to go away and we didn’t know Europe and we didn’t know what to do or how the motorsport world works, how the paddock works, how the single seater world works.
“So he taught us a lot, especially with me with my driving we have a really good relationship along with my mechanic Faracco, they work together as well through my karting years. We were like a really nice team of three, which was I think it was one of the most beautiful moments of my career because it’s where I started and where I learned the most, dreaming with driving these cars and now, thanks of them, I’m driving in this car. So these two people are extremely important for me.”
Roland Rehfeld & Ralf Druckenmuller
“These two go together, so firstly it’s my engineer from F4, Ralf Druckenmuller, who was my engineer during my whole Formula 4 career who taught me the basics of motorsport, driving lines, how to be a racing driver, overtaking, car knowledge, a lot of the terminology, he showed me all this stuff.
“Sometimes he was even letting me set up my car which was a really fun experience. He was really open to teach me how the car works, why this part works like this. What does a specific change do, stuff like that. It helped me with my driving style with my driving technique.
“Also, Roland Rehfeld, who was my team manager in Formula 4, so he saw what I was capable of doing and he gave me this big chance for Formula 2. So thanks to him. I’m here and I’m able to show what I can do. And this is thanks to him because he believed in me when basically no other person believed in me. He saw what I was capable of doing, he trusted me, he believed in me, and he gave me this opportunity. Now finally it’s slowly paying off. I’m slowly showing what I’m capable of doing and yes, I think he’s been a big part of this big chapter in my life.”