ROUNDS 1 & 2
DRIVER QUOTES FROM THE RACES
Yvan Muller, SEAT Sport France – 2nd in Race
1, 2nd in Race 2
“I am tired! The first race was good but the second
race was amazing. In each of the nine laps something was happening,
it was incredibly tough. I was just focused on finishing it
because the opening event of the season is always tense and
I wanted to score as many points as possible. The car was
perfect but I got my result with a bit of luck. To win a championship
you always have be within the top five and then at the end
of the season you won’t be far from the top place.”
Augusto Farfus, N.technology – 8th in Race
1, 1st in Race 2
“Race 2 was spectacular and I am really happy to have
won it. As for the first race I don’t really know what
happened with the car because after the crash at the first
chicane I lost my rear bumper and therefore a lot of speed,
then at the end Rydell hit me. I had a great start in race
2 and Alex and I had a fun and tight fight. As for the accident,
it was nothing special. We broke at the same point at the
chicane a touched lightly but unfortunately for Alex he broke
his steering axle and it ended his race. I am pleased to have
won this race with my team and we will work on getting the
most out of the Alfa Romeo 156 throughout the season.”
Andy Priaulx – 1st in Race 1, DNF in Race 2
“My collision with Dirk is easily said: I
went up on the inside which was the racing line. We got bunched
up so I went wide and stayed on the racing line on the exit.
I was just driving forward and the next thing I know I got
a massive hit on the rear left which turned me round and we
ran out of road and went straight into the barriers. I was
delighted with the first race win but it’s a tough situation
having not scored in the second. I go away feeling both happy
and sad.”
Alain Menu – 10th in Race 1, 3rd in Race 1
“It wasn’t expected that we would be
in the top three this weekend. We qualified 19th and ended
up with a podium in race 2 so I am very happy for the team.
The car was competitive with the help of slipstreams and it
felt good. I had a little problem with the starts of both
races but with the slipstreaming being so important here I
managed to get back some positions. I don’t expect us
to be this successful in Magny Cours because we need a few
more races to improve. However if we can get some good tows
as I did here we can hope to do well.”
James Thompson – 3rd in Race 1, 9th in Race
2
“We didn’t expect to be fighting for the race
victory here; actually we were only hoping to get in the points
so we were very pleasantly surprised. We worked well in qualifying
and if you can get towards the front at that stage you can
have a good chance in the races. The car is fantastic on the
tyres which makes up for its aerodynamic problems. I have
done a lot of touring car racing in my time and race 2 today
was the craziest I’ve been involved in for a long time.
Regarding the incident with Dirk (Müller) and Andy (Priaulx);
I was in the middle, Dirk moved to the right into me, hit
me and so I hit Andy and then they both fired off into the
barrier.”
Dirk Müller – 4th in Race 1, DNF in Race
2
“I was quite happy with race 1. After the safety car
re-start I lost grip on the rear so I was struggling to keep
up with the car in front and had to give up 2nd place and
took 4th. I think I was the unluckiest in the incident in
the second race. I was on the outside, I saw Andy in my mirror
but I had a blind spot so wasn’t sure if there was another
car. So I carried on straight coming into 5th gear and got
a huge sideways hit. It was the heaviest crash of my career.”
Alessandro Balzan – 9th in Race 1, 4th in Race
2
“We were really fast in the test days last week but
id didn’t expect my car to be strong and competitive
on race day. I started right at the back but the tyres worked
well and every lap got better and better. My main aim was
to win the independents category. I saw a lot of crashes ahead
of me and managed to finish 4th overall. A fantastic weekend
for me.”
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