WTCR Race of Portugal post-Qualifying press conference quotes 02.07.2022: WTCR Race of Portugal, Circuito Internacional de Vila Real, July 1-3, 2022 WTCR − FIA World Touring Car Cup, Rounds 9 and 10 of 20 Vila Real, July 2, 2022 In attendance: Santiago Urrutia (Cyan Performance Lynk & Co), pole position, Race

WTCR Race of Portugal, Circuito Internacional de Vila Real, July 1-3, 2022
WTCR − FIA World Touring Car Cup, Rounds 9 and 10 of 20
Vila Real, July 2, 2022



In attendance:

Santiago Urrutia (Cyan Performance Lynk & Co), pole position, Race 1
Yann Ehrlacher (Cyan Racing Lynk & Co), second position, Race 1
Néstor Girolami (ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport), third position, Race 1
Tiago Monteiro (LIQUI MOLY Team Engstler)




Santi, your first time in Vila Real so very nicely done. It looked tricky but you made the fewest mistakes and gained most in the final sector.




Santiago Urrutia (Cyan Performance Lynk & Co), pole position, Race 1

Yeah, Q3 is all about, especially on street circuits, taking risks, you know? You go flat out and give everything you have, and that’s what I did. I made a small mistake in sector two and sector one that cost me a little bit of speed, and I said I’m going to go for it in sector three and I pushed.


Finally it was a good lap. But then I wasn’t sure if it was a good lap but of course I had Yann behind me running last. But what to say? As you say it’s my first time here. I had good speed at Pau as well and that was my first time on a street circuit, very good here since FP1. This is because I have a good car from Cyan, so I have to thank all the boys that they give me a really fast car to put it on pole today.





Your last pole was MotorLand Aragón in 2020…


Santiago Urrutia (Cyan Performance Lynk & Co), pole position, Race 1

Yeah, it feels like years ago. It’s definitely good to be back here on the top.






With Yann by your side, which puts you in good stead on a circuit where it’s difficult to overtake.



Santiago Urrutia (Cyan Performance Lynk & Co), pole position, Race 1


Yeah, definitely. We have both cars on pole position because Yvan is in P10 and Yann is P2 so this is really good for us, for us as a team. If we can do a good strategy we can obviously go for the win in both races.


I’m super-happy to have Yann as well being quick the whole day and to finish the job in qualifying is really good, so let’s see what the strategy is for tomorrow. But definitely everyone is happy at Cyan.







Yann, much the same for you really, but it was in the last sector you lost out. A good result for the team.


Yann Ehrlacher (Cyan Racing Lynk & Co), second position, Race 1


Yeah, sure. Well done to the gents next to me. It’s difficult to put together a good quallie in Vila Real, it’s really challenging and it’s nice to be back with all the fans around the streets and they are really passionate. Our pace has been good all day. It’s good to put 10 points in the bag. That’s quite important and for the Teams’ title as well. I’m quite happy about this.


Then tomorrow we need to put all the things together and we will see how it goes. We have a good package to score good points for Cyan with Yvan starting from pole in the second race. I’m looking forward to it, it will be an intense race and probably eventful as well.




The theme in Aragón was temperature, but here it was hotter. Did it feel like that in the car?



Yann Ehrlacher (Cyan Racing Lynk & Co), second position, Race 1


You feel it, definitely. There is no air here. But in Aragon the temperature was more difficult for the cars and tyres. Here it is difficult for the car but the performance is more down to the commitment that you put in your lap.


You need the balls more than the set-up.So the temperature here has more impact on our physical condition than the car, probably.





Néstor, you are sat next to Tiago who struggled in Q1, as did most of the Hondas, but here you are. Talk us through qualifying from your perspective.




Néstor Girolami (ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport), third position, Race 1


Hello everyone. First of all, I’m happy to be back in Portugal. It’s a really nice atmosphere when we come here, with the fans, with everybody, cheering for Tiago first but also for the Honda drivers, all of us. You can feel it inside the car and it feels really good.


Apart from that we didn’t expect to be here in Q3. It was clear after FP2 where was our pace. Suddenly some cars didn’t perform well in qualifying, which was the tendency in the last event. Or we are not playing as smart or the others are playing better…


With the rules we have it is clear what they are doing. I think everybody has seen that. Hopefully something will change for the future because I like pure motor sport and I like to push 100 per cent. I’m sure when you see my lap from the inside I left nothing.


Also I brushed my mirrors, so I was at the absolute maximum and I was sleep very well tonight because left everything and I’m extremely happy. Also for the team because from day one we are pushing and we understand the way to race is like that. I really like that, so let’s continue with this and focus on tomorrow.






You and your team-mate Esteban Guerrieri often do a rain dance and there is a chance for tomorrow. How much will that affect things?



Néstor Girolami (ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport), third position, Race 1


For sure if it rains it is better for us. We know how strong our car is in rain conditions. Even if we have a good start position for the main race, with wet conditions it is even better for us. Also for the fans I wish that we have nice weather, sunny and they can enjoy. But also if it is wet they can enjoy for sure. I’m very positive for tomorrow.






Tiago, you missed out on Q2 by four hundredths of a second, so that must be more than a little frustrating.



Tiago Monteiro (LIQUI MOLY Team Engstler)


Ha, yes! Indeed very frustrating, of course. We arrived quite pessimistic, as we said, and like Néstor said we were not expecting and I think the conditions made it possible. But still to lose Q2 by so little time was quite frustrating. Contrary to Néstor, I was not in an amazing groove or rhythm. It was really a struggle actually to get that time.


I was P10 or something like that just before the end. I thought it was enough. I went for one more run, the team did a fantastic job to change the tyres fast enough, I think we were the only ones to do four runs. But in the end I was just over-driving a bit. When things are not in a perfect shape, we all said it, it’s such a demanding and difficult race track you are taking so much risk.


 But if everything is not perfect it’s really hard and it was one of those days. The car can obviously do it, but I was not really able to do it. Struggling with the set-up and the rhythm a little bit. It’s even more frustrating because obviously if you get into Q2 you get more runs, you get more rhythm and confidence and that’s what’s important here. We still want to give a good show to the fans and that’s the most important thing.


They are so happy we are back after this long stop. Qualifying was quite exciting nevertheless and I’m sure there will be two very good races tomorrow.






You spoke about that flow and confidence before the weekend, and I know that counts everywhere but I’d imagine it’s a real street circuit thing.



Tiago Monteiro (LIQUI MOLY Team Engstler)


Exactly. It’s amazing, I’ve been in this position many times, really brushing the walls, putting your mirrors down, you feel like you are using everything you can, you can extract everything from the car. Thank God it has happened many times in the past, it was just not the case today.


I was pushing hard. My third attempt was actually my best lap of the weekend, it was a decent lap to be in Q2, it was just missing a little luck this time.





Richard Rodgers, photos WTCR