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ROUNDS 13 & 14 RACE QUOTES
Alessandro ZANARDI, BMW Team Italy-Spain –
8th in Race 1 and 1st in Race 2
“Today my biggest thanks go to my team because last
night I was worried that the car wasn’t right and they
trusted me enough to change things. After these changes the
car felt so different this morning. I had destroyed my previous
car in Spa and that meant the team had to build me a new one,
so no holidays for them, but now they said they forgive me.
It was a close call in Race 1 and I got a bad start because
the lights caught me by surprise. I had a good car beneath
me and was lucky to pass Farfus on the last lap which meant
pole for me in Race 2. In that race I simply focused on the
start and then took it turn by turn, lap by lap. It wasn’t
easy because the pressure was on and it was tough to keep
such great drivers behind. I was not surprised when Jörg
tried to overtake me because it is in the blood of these drivers
to attack. In a way Imola was going to be my dream day but
looking back now I am glad it didn’t happen because
it would have been understandable for people to say ‘yes
but he did it at a circuit he knows very well’. But
here I have struggled in the past so it really was a case
of something magic happening for me today.”
Andy PRIAULX, BMW Team UK – 1st in Race 1 and
2nd in Race 2
“It has been an absolutely fantastic weekend for me
but what made my weekend special was seeing Alex (Zanardi)
win. It’s a very technical and complicated circuit and
he was under pressure from us, so to drive as he did is sensational.
For me, my new car has hit the sweet spot. I knew straight
away it was good and it feels like I have last year’s
car back. It means I can drive confidently and aggressively
and hopefully make it count but we will see, there is still
a long way to go but I feel positive about the circuits that
are left and I will work hard to finish all the races.”
Jörg MÜLLER, BMW Team Deutschland –
2nd in Race 1 and 3rd in Race 2
“I don’t think my race 1 start was that great
on my part, instead it looked like all the others were sleeping.
Last year I came from 12th to 4th so I knew this was a circuit
where there is a lot of action going on and you can overtake.
I thought ‘relax, stay calm and finish in the top three’,
which I did for both races this weekend. In the second race
I didn’t want to do anything unfair to Alessandro (Zanardi)
and I have to say he made no mistakes. I am happy to be part
of one the most memorable races in the history of touring
cars, and probably also for disabled sportsmen.”
Rickard RYDELL, SEAT Sport – 2nd in Race 1
and 7th in Race 2
“t was a positive weekend for us here. We like the
track and I’m happy we were able to fight with the BMWs.
The SEAT team have done a very good job because it has been
a tough job developing the new León at the same time
as the Toledo. I am looking forward to driving the León
in Valencia. I think we need a little more testing but this
weekend was encouraging, the car has good corner speed and
downforce. We need to work on the balance a little bit but
it has great potential.”
Thomas KLENKE, Ford Hotfiel Sport – 10th in
Race 1 and 20th in Race 2
“Earlier on in the second race, I had to take avoiding
action when driving with a bunch of cars. In doing so, I took
a curb harder than I´d normally do. I´m afraid
that caused the damage to my tyre or the rim. It´s a
shame that I didn´t have the luck to bring the car home
and score our first ever drivers´ points.”
Adriano DE MICHELI, JAS Motorsport – 15th in
Race 1 and 18th in Race 2
“I am very happy because I was on the podium among
great drivers. I really need to thank the team because with
my inexperience it is very important that I have trust with
the people I work with. The Honda is a very fast car as we
can see from Colciago’s pace in Puebla but this is new
to me and that makes it difficult. It really is a good result
for everyone involved.”
Tom CORONEL, GR Asia - 21st in Race 1 and 13th in
Race 2
“In the first race I was stupid and made some mistakes.
I was running second of the independents and then I braked
too late and Hennerici overtook me. The second mistake was
the same and I went straight on at a corner so I was nearly
last. In the second race I was a little bit lucky because
De Micheli and Hennerici had an incident and that meant I
could focus on my own pace. I am closing the gap in the trophy
fight but there is still a long way to go.”
Fabrizio GIOVANARDI, Alfa Romeo Racing – 26th
in Race 1 and DNF in Race 2
“For Alfa it was not a good weekend and especially
for me because I was lying second in the championship and
I needed to gain points. However we still have three races
left and I think we can come back from this. In Race 1 my
rear tyres blew up when Cirò hit me so I was finished
there; in the second one I made a good start but unfortunately
I touched Rosenblad and that broke my rear suspension. I hope
that I have better results in Istanbul.”
Alain MENU, Chevrolet - 11th in Race 1 and 8th in
Race 2
“I’m happy that I got another point and that
makes it two weekends in a row that I have scored which is
great. Overall it was good weekend but a bit of a shame that
in the first race I lost a couple of places on the last corner
or I would have had a better position for the race 2 and maybe
a better finish. All in all it is positive.”
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