FIA ETCR driver quotes of the Day 09.05.2022: FIA ETCR eTouring Car World Cup Pau Circuit, France Sunday, May 8th 2022 CUPRA EKS Mattias Ekström #1 A dream result finishing 1,2,3 on our first weekend with CUPRA EKS. Adrien and Tom did a perfect job the whole weekend as well. T

FIA ETCR eTouring Car World Cup
Pau Circuit, France
Sunday, May 8th 2022



CUPRA EKS

 

Mattias Ekström #1



A dream result finishing 1,2,3 on our first weekend with CUPRA EKS. Adrien and Tom did a perfect job the whole weekend as well. There can only be one winner for sure and I'm happy that it's me. But I would also be happy for the others and to get maximum points put us in a strong situation to start off the season like this. But again, I also have to say it was very hard Super Final and a big fight with Mikel.


I know him from last year when he was my team-mate, so it feels like racing my little brother who I gave all the tricks last year and now had to eat them! And yeah, he was very fair, but we all pushed very hard. In the end I look forward to more great Battles as there’s lots of racing left this year and can't wait for the next one in Istanbul.

 


Jordi Gené #28

A great weekend for the team with P1, P2 and P3 and also finishing as top manufacturer. It started off for me with not a nice experience in qualifying but I ended up doing a great job helping the team to achieve a great result in the end.


I’m very happy for the team. I'm here to help get wins and every time I'm getting more and more confident with the car. I’m very happy in FIA ETCR for CUPRA EKS and we keep pushing.

 


Adrien Tambay #27

I’m very delighted and emotional to win here in Pau. It's a track - probably my favourite track - where my dad won in Formula 2 and he certainly gave me the right advice on racing here! It feels very special to win my DHL Super Final with a new team at the start of a new season. To win on my first time back in an FIA World Cup, professional international series is mega.


I'd like to give thanks to the whole team. Everyone at CUPRA EKS is doing a great job. Thank you Xavi Serra for the trust. And everyone in the team that will recognize themselves, Captain Matitas also and honestly, it's just a great start to the season. I can't wait to be back in the car in Istanbul.



 

Tom Blomqvist #10

It was a super good result for the team today. Mattias showed his class to be crowned King of the Weekend. Adrien getting the win and me second in the FAST pool, it couldn't have gone much better really today for CUPRA EKS, so very happy about that!


My first weekend here in ETCR was good fun; I enjoyed it a lot so it bodes very well for the rest of the season.

 

 

Romeo Ferraris

 

Luca Filippi #25


For the DHLA Super Final we were in the hunt for a decent position and I felt great with the car. It was fun at the beginning with Maxime and with also with Jean-Karl. We overtook each other a few times. But then, I have to be honest, I got on me the dirtiest hit I ever had in a straight line. Going from turn two to turn three, I was going straight; Maxime in front was going straight; Vernay on my side was going straight; and then suddenly - in a straight line, full acceleration - he turns into me.



I lost control and the car is totally destroyed. I have no words to describe how I feel and what I think about the reckless move he made on me. I think it's probably the dirtiest ever situation I've been involved in. And I have no words to describe it.

 

Maxime Martin #36


First of all, it's really shameful for the other car to crash like this here in Pau. It's bad because it's going to put them on the backfoot for a part of the season which is not good. For my part, I basically had a clean Super Final with some small fights.


I started third and finished third and here in the city I think it's the best we could do. I used my head as much as I could with the power up and managed the race. It's an okay first weekend here with the team and in the series so I'm quite happy.

 

Giovanni Venturini #21


So, honestly I have not a lot to say. I could not start the Super Final so in the end there were no points I could score. So now I prefer to look to the next round where we will be in a better shape.

 

Bruno Spengler #7


In the end it was good points this weekend. I think we progressed well through my first weekend in FIA ETCR and also was really enjoyable to work with the team. They did a really amazing job through the weekend, preparing the car and helping us to gain confidence. I think we made steps every day even if, in the end, it was not enough to win today. We can be happy with the points we scored.


It's a track where it's easy to break things. And on our current list, we managed to not break anything. It's sad for my team-mates that they couldn't race due to a bad manner from another driver but in the end. I'm a bit sad for them and it would have been nice for the team to have another car to score points. But that's how it is and now we will focus on Istanbul and try to come back stronger.

 



 

Hyundai Motorsport N

 

 

Mikel Azcona #96

The Super Final was the best session of the weekend. The car was working fantastically. We put a lot of hours in this weekend working with the mechanics and engineers; it was a tough job, but in the end you can see the results of our efforts – not only was I able to put pressure on the Cupra, which was the fastest car this weekend, I was in a position to try and overtake too.


Overall, the weekend has been very positive. We didn’t start in the position we wanted to be in but every day we were improving. The car is strong now and I think we will be very competitive with the Hyundai Veloster N ETCR in Istanbul.

 


Norbert Michelisz #5


Unfortunately, an easy race. I mean, starting from the pit lane, there wasn't anything I could do. When I realized the gap to the cars front, I just tried to try to finish the race to score points for fifth. I tried to save the car for Kevin because we share a car and I just wanted him to have the best possibilities for his heat.  


I have to say, I achieve my target for the weekend because my target was to finish every session to build to build confidence. So I was very happy with the rhythm up until the Super Final. I was really hoping for a bit more. But in the end it's part of part of the process, I'm happy with the points scored; I'm happy with my pace, especially towards the second part of the weekend, so we have a lot to build on for Turkey.

 


Jean-Karl Vernay #69  


The Super Final started fiercely and it wasn't easy. I made a good start, and also gained a  place because of Norbi,  then I just tried to go to the outside at turn one which didn't work then I went back to fifth place. Then I tried to overtake Filippi from the outside and he put me completely on the curb and when I braked I don't know what happened but we touched and he span.


I then tried to overtake Martin – I did a nice pass - and after we're just we were running out of push to pass. It's super difficult to come back when you start from so far back, especially here. You can manage push to pass when you start first. So we needed to keep our pole position for the best result here.

 



Kevin Ceccon #31


FIA ETCR is tough but amazing. The level here is so high but that’s what I love and that’s why we are here to compete. I made a mega start in the Super Final from sixth place – I tried to go round the outside as I had nothing to lose and gained some positions.


I fought with Bruno Spengler for third place for the entire race. The pace was there and it was a great note to end the weekend on. Step by step we are improving; we need to progress like this every session. We’re confident we can continue this upward trajectory in Turkey. We are all pushing forward in the same direction and our team dynamic is great, so this can only bring good results.





 
 Andy Stobart, photos FIA ETCR