Interview
Hodder hails Kosterman’s ‘mature drive’ for showing Hitech TGR’s true pace
Hitech TGR Team Manager Dan Hodder praised Esmee Kosterman after the 20-year-old became the first points-scoring Wild Card driver of the 2025 campaign.
Qualifying in ninth, Kosterman endured a disappointing Saturday in Zandvoort after being forced to head into the pits on the formation lap but managed to climb back up to P12.
Sunday proved to be a more successful day as the Dutch racer delivered a P7 finish in Race 2, achieving half of Hitech TGR’s 12-point haul this season.
“Today was a very mature drive from Esmee,” said Hodder. “Before the race, the weather conditions looked a bit on-off for the rain. Thankfully it held off. Today was the first time she was able to do the full race procedure because we had the issue yesterday.
“She controlled that very well, managed it very well and managed the pace. I think once she got into a rhythm, it was just a really, really mature drive for someone who's not been in the series all season.”
Working closely with Kosterman across the in-season test and race weekend at Zandvoort, Hodder commented positively on how she approached the mixed conditions that proved to be a challenge even for the more experienced drivers in the field.
“The test was very good,” he noted. “The test was very strong for Esmee in the end. Obviously, she’s got a little bit of track knowledge but the driving inputs were really good. She ended the test very well.
“Carrying it over to the weekend, you've got FP1 and FP2. There's a bit more pressure on than in testing, so you have to see if it translates. It did translate and just a very mature drive in Qualifying in very tricky conditions. She's not done a lot of driving in the wet, so to do what she did was very impressive.”
Sitting bottom of the Teams’ Standings, Hitech TGR will have a new Wild Card at the helm for Round 6 in Singapore, but Hodder is confident that the performance Kosterman put in is proof of where the team’s pace is truly at.
“This time it's obviously paid dividends because she has got some knowledge and she raced here in British F4. In general, it throws a couple of complexities in there where you hope that you don't have to teach too much driving. But luckily with Esmee, her inputs were good and it was just a really mature, calm and a good professional to work with.”
He added: “The last couple of rounds, maybe even since Miami, have kind of confirmed where we are with the car. We're happy with where we are. Esmee has kind of proved that this weekend and done a good job. We're looking forward to Singapore, somewhere we've never been before. When you look at grip conditions compared to where we've been before, I think we're going to be in a good place.”