June 01, 2012
Published on tags: Superleague

Following a season start constellated by consistent but unspectacular performances, Pavel Loknovski's position at Nordsjoen Racing seems to be in jeopardy - according to rumours surrounding the Italian-Norwegian team.


The Estonian is only one of three drivers, together with Championship leader Nick Rowland and Monaco winner Lee Morris, to score points in each of the first seven rounds of the season. Unlike his rivals, though, the Nordsjoen driver lacks any top results to match his pre-season ambitions and only collected 24 points so far. In Montreal, a good early performance was nullified by a crash at the hairpin, Loknovski lucky to escape with his car still in one piece.


These uncharacteristic performances might have induced Nordsjoen to look for a possible replacement to be placed alongside Jarl Teien, himself a stand-in for retiring Joe Consiglio. Team Manager William Ponissi would not confirm the rumours. "Pavel is part of the Nordsjoen team and he will be so in the forseeable future" said the Italian. "We are working with him and Jarl to figure out how to improve our on-track performances and we will keep doing this. The team has full faith in both our drivers' abilities to bring Nordsjoen the results we expect."


Pavel Loknovski started his Nordsjoen career with a podium in Imola in 2011, when he came in to replace Jyri Lylykorpi. He went on to collect another podium in Brazil, assisting Joe Consiglio in his Championship run. In 2012, however, his performances dropped - enough to earn him the unflattering nickname of "the Baltic Massa" in some circles.


While the team's higher echelons remain committed to Loknovski, the rumour mill started spinning out names of possible replacements. Alongside Dave Carr-Smith - a regular whenever a Nordsjoen seat is being discussed but seemingly tied up to his Green Stripes contract - the name most pundits would associate with Nordsjoen is that of Ruud Heesterbeek. The Dutchman has been performing fantastically in an underpowered Nijo Racing of late, and his performances put him on the radar for many top teams.


Approached by reporters about these rumours, Nijo Manager Chris Williamson was dismissive: "Ruud is central to our long-term plans and, while his performances obviously caught the eye of several teams out there, he is happy at Nijo and we expect to work with him for many years."


"I haven't spoken with Nordsjoen about this, nor Ben Warren's transfer [from Nordsjoen to Nijo] has anything to do with it" continued Williamson. "Will knows where to find me and knows any enquiry about our drivers has to come through me."


A high profile Superleague driver also classed the transfer rumours as unrealistic: "Plainly speaking, Chris [Williamson] would be an idiot to let Ruud go." But will the Nijo management be able to keep its star driver from the siren of a top-end seat?