In attendance:
Jean-Karl Vernay, Audi Sport Leopard Lukoil Team, first position
Yvan Muller, YMR, second position
Rob Huff, Sébastien Loeb Racing, third position
 
Q:
Jean-Karl, you said before this race you have a love of street circuits and you proved that with your victory today. Explain how it was possible.
 
JKV:
Well, I had a good start and I was hoping for a safety car, pretty much. The start was pretty good, I was able to stay in the front pack before Mandarin, Yvan was on the inside for the next corner and I just tried to help him, to push him, to go into P2. The smartest thing was it was too difficult to overtake him so I just stayed second, which was already very good and I was hoping for a safety car. And it happened the lap after. With our top speed we knew we would be able to overtake and that is what happened. After that they were quicker than us in the old town because we had a quite heavy car, so I just tried to stay out front and make no mistakes, be really consistent, make a good exit from the last two corners so Yvan could not overtake, and it was good. I’m really happy, happy for Audi and the team and the sponsors. The target was to be P3 in the championship after Race 1. I’m really happy and excited, but we have to stay focused on tomorrow and the races to come. Then we might celebrate tomorrow, but there is still a long way [to go].
 
Q:
Yvan, a very good start for you, but you just couldn’t keep Jean-Karl behind. Explain your race please.
 
YM:
Yeah, my start was very good. I could see on the warm-up lap Rob did a bad start so I knew there was a chance there. I didn’t expect to do a better start than Rob, but fortunately I could be on the inside of him at Turn 1. Then fortunately Jean-Karl was behind and he gave me some speed to stay at the front… After the safety car there was no point, I couldn’t keep Jean-Karl behind and I had two options: I could shut the door, but it was a big risk to lose two or three places, so I prefer to let him past and secure my second place. I still pushed behind him to try to put on pressure, but he was too good.
 
Q:
Rob, you started from the DHL Pole Position, but you didn’t get that victory number 10 in Macau. What happened out there?
 
RH:
Yeah, I didn’t get an horrific start, but it was not the best. We struggle in sector one, we make our speed at the top of the hill, we know that. Ultimately we struggled even with the added weight on the Audi to chase it in a straight line. It was quite obvious to see how quick JK was in a straight line and he used it very well, so congratulations to you, my friend. With the safety car and stuff, it’s difficult with our car. We are quick at the top, but not in the places where we can try to overtake. So we need to stay in front, so we need to make a better start tomorrow.
 
Questions from the floor:
 
Neil Hudson (TouringCarTimes, Sweden):
 
Q:
Question for Yvan. It is now just you and Gabriele Tarquini for the championship. Gabriele has a bad starting position tomorrow. What is going through your mind?
 
YM:
There are not many scenarios, I have to do my best. I will see at the end what will be the result. I still have a lot of points to make up on him, so I will try to avoid any problems.