CUPRA EKS scores more valuable FIA ETCR points in very hot conditions in Vallelunga 26.07.2022: CUPRA EKS extends its lead in the FIA ETCR eTouring Car World Cup as temperatures soar in Italy All four CUPRA EKS drivers finish on the two DHL SuperFinal podiums at the Autodromo Vallelunga Piero Taruffi – with Mattias Ekström and Tom Blomqvis

    CUPRA EKS extends its lead in the FIA ETCR eTouring Car World Cup as temperatures soar in Italy


    All four CUPRA EKS drivers finish on the two DHL SuperFinal podiums at the Autodromo Vallelunga Piero Taruffi – with Mattias Ekström and Tom Blomqvist coming home 1-2 in Pool Furious and Adrien Tambay and Jordi Gené 2-3 in Pool Fast


    Ekström and Blomqvist finish 2nd and 3rd on the overall weekend podium


    Tambay still leads the ETCR drivers’ standings, with CUPRA team-mate Ekström in second



In hot conditions in Rome, the CUPRA EKS drivers managed conditions very well at Round 5 of the 2022 FIA ETCR eTouring Car World Cup at the Autodromo Vallelunga Piero Taruffi – with Mattias Ekström and Tom Blomqvist scoring a magnificent 1-2 finish for the team in the Pool Furious SuperFinal and Adrien Tambay and Jordi Gené netting a fantastic 2-3 result in the Pool Fast SuperFinal.



Ekström and Blomqvist accumulated enough points to take their place on the overall weekend podium, finishing second and third respectively.



Tambay still leads the ETCR drivers’ standings and is now just 14 points ahead of CUPRA team-mate Ekström. Blomqvist and Gené maintain their fifth and ninth place positions.



CUPRA arrived in Italy with a 202-point lead at the top of the manufacturers’ table – and leave with a 247-point advantage!



The CUPRA EKS team had to adapt to the extremely hot and challenging conditions, where the Vallelunga track temperature compromised grip levels. It was thanks to the collective hard work by the skilled engineers and mechanics in the CUPRA garage and the drivers out on track that once again saw the team get the very best performance out of its all-electric CUPRA e-Racer.



ETCR leader Adrien Tambay was unlucky in his Pool Fast Qualifying race as a rear left puncture dropped him to third, but he bounced back to win his Semi Final to line up on Row 2 for the DHL SuperFinal, where, in a close and exciting race, he took the chequered flag in second position.



It was a hard-fought weekend for reigning ETCR champion Mattias Ekström, who overcame some early issues by taking a more conservative strategy than normal – compromising a little on outright pace in search of the best overall performance package.



He put his rallycross skills to good use with a high-speed trip over the baked grass in Qualifying and then battled extremely hard in his attempts to win his Pool Furious Quarter Final and Semi Final races, coming home a very close second and third respectively. The Swede kept his best until last, winning the Pool Furious SuperFinal.



Tom Blomqvist was super-quick in Qualifying, with a lap time of 1:19.7754 setting the early CUPRA benchmark. He challenged for victory in each race after that and won his Pool Furious Semi Final to line up on Row 2 for the DHL SuperFinal, where in a close and exciting race he followed team-mate Ekström home for a splendid CUPRA 1-2 finish.



Try as he might, Jordi Gené was left frustrated in his heroic attempts to overtake in both his Pool Fast Qualifying and Semi Final races as he finished third both times. Then, from the back of the grid, the Spaniard fought a brilliant DHL SuperFinal to finish third.





Driver Quotes:


Mattias Ekström

“We had a little bit of early issues, so we tried to be conservative and took a strategy for this which for sure cost us a bit of pace. But we had to drive smart, because it felt like we had a lot of energy going into the tyres, so it wasn’t always best to be flat-out all the time. When you have very hot days like this you just have to try the best you can.”



Tom Blomqvist


“It’s a big shame not everyone could compete this weekend due to the issues with the tyres and so on. We had a few dramas early on but managed to adapt to the situation, which is the reason why Mattias [Ekström] and I finished on the podium here in Vallelunga and big credit goes to everyone in our team for that.”





Arnaud Hacault- photos Cupra