ROUNDS 3 & 4 QUALIFYING QUOTES
Gabriele TARQUINI - SEAT Sport Italia, pole position
“I dedicate this pole position to Matteo, my new born
son. It was a good session for me despite making a mistake
by getting a bit too close to Priaulx at one point. I was
pleasantly surprised by the car, especially considering it
is carrying an extra 30 kg. Plus, to break the lap record
shows the car’s capability and both the high performance
and endurance of the tyres. I’m definitely in the right
place to start the race tomorrow and despite having a BMW
behind me I’m still optimistic.”
Rickard RYDELL - SEAT Sport Sverige, 2nd fastest
“Gabriele and I are the two oldest members of the SEAT
team so I think that shows experience counts here. I expect
it will a difficult task for me at the start because the BMWs
are notoriously quick off the line. When I went out on new
tyres I encountered traffic, it was on third lap on these
tyres that I was free to set my best time so I know there
is still room to go faster. It doesn’t really matter
whether it is raining or dry tomorrow as long as it is clearly
one or the other, if it is in between nobody knows what to
expect and it’s difficult.”
Jörg MÜLLER – BMW Team Germany, 3rd
fastest
“I lost my clutch on my first lap which caused the
rear to lock on the downshift, obviously making things harder
for me. I am looking forward to tomorrow, it is going to be
tough. There are three or four manufacturers who have the
capability to win races and even more drivers - I just hope
it is a clean fight. I expect to be on the podium tomorrow
and I would like to be standing in the middle of the three
drivers.”
Tom CORONEL – GR Asia, 8th fastest
“The car feels good, especially over the curbs and
I don’t think there are any difficulties. I was fast
from the start in the free practice sessions and my times
were among the works drivers so I’m happy. I like the
fast chicanes here and it all looks good for the race tomorrow.”
SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS VISITS MAGNY-COURS
Double Champcar champion Sébastien Bourdais arrived
in Magny-Cours to support his father Patrick racing in the
International GT Open series. We asked for his impression
on the FIA WTCC.
“It’s a very interesting championship. There
are important car manufacturers involved, with a number of
top-level drivers and teams. The competition is great.”
Do you think that, sometime in the future, we may see you
racing here? “You never know. For now I’m still
committed to the Champcar, but I’m leaving all the doors
open. As I said there are important manufacturers who invest
important budgets to compete in the WTCC with professional
teams, which is something interesting for any professional
driver. I don’t know how long I will continue racing
with single seaters, and I will be carefully watching how
the WTCC develops in the near future.”
The championship arrived in Magny-Cours with a French driver
in the lead. What do you think about Yvan Muller’s chances
of claiming the world title? “It’s too early to
make predictions. This is a very competitive series, but I
have to say that Yvan is an excellent driver and drives for
an excellent team. I think he has the same chances as the
likes of Priaulx, Thompson, Tarquini, Zanardi and others.
I sincerely hope he will be the World Champion.”
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