ETCC - Fulín: "it was absolutely very clear, with high concentration and driving without mistakes was necessary"

25.06.17

ETCC - 2017 Race of Vila Real - Post-race press conference

ETCC, Touring Car, Race of Vila Real, motorsport, FIA

Present:
Petr Fulín, Křenek Motorsport, first position Race 1
Norbert Nagy, Zengő Motorsport, second position Race 1
José Rodrigues, Target Competition, third positon Race 1 (subsequently penalised)
Zsolt Dávid Szabó, Zengő Motorsport, first position Race 2
Plamen Kralev, Kraf Racing, second position Race 2
Igor Stefanovski, Stefanovski Racing Team, third position Race 2

Q:
Petr, you enjoyed an intense fight with Norbert Nagy all the way in Race 1. Was it difficult to keep the lead?

PF:
Yes, just like yesterday, my mirror was absolutely ‘green’ (the dominant colour on Nagy’s car) for approximately 30 minutes. It was nice, because I know Norbi is correct, even when at the Nordschleife we had some crazy moments. But it was absolutely very clear, with high concentration and driving without mistakes was necessary. That's why I was able to be in front also at finish. But Norbi was very fast and it was very fun.

Q:
Does it change your approach for the rest of the season knowing you are building your title lead race by race?

PF:
To be honest I don't know how many points from the second race will be awarded but as I told you yesterday - the most important is life experience, because life is short and I think that we enjoyed the weekend. I have to thank my team and also this guys here. Concerning the second race I'm a little bit disappointed because if you spend a lot of time and travel 2,500 kilometres both ways and you race three laps behind safety car it's not racing. But it's motorsport and I understand the reason that you have some schedule and especially for WTCC and the TV. That's why it's a shame for everybody [to have a short race] but we were successful and it was very nice way for me.

Q:
Norbi, very good result in Race 1 despite losing one place to Petr and then in Race 2 an accident Talk us through both races?

NN:
Race 1 was very, very fun. Of course, it was not a good thing that I lost the first position, but all laps were very, very crazy so I'm very happy with those points and with the pole position points. In the second race my start was very, very good, better than the Hondas…finally. After that, Lalušic's start was very bad and I couldn't overtake him because the gap was not enough and a lot of cars overtook me. After the right-hander there were two more cars near me and the only chance to overtake was if I took the lef-hander on the right side but it was very dusty and that's why I crashed my car. So sorry for my team.

Q:
José welcome to the podium on your debut ETCC race weekend. You had an equally intense fight for third with Igor Stefanovski and then there was a contact. What happened?

JR:
It was a great fight with Stefanovski but I think it was a great result for me and I'm very happy with my performance today in this great championship. It's an amazing circuit here. It's a pleasure for me to be here with great drivers and it was a great fight with Stefanovski.

Q:
Would you consider coming back to ETCC in the future?

JR:
In this season I think no. It's not possible because I'm doing TCR Germany but it's a pleasure for me to be here today.

Q:
It was a very short race and a lot of time spent behind the safety car so how was it for you out there Zsolt?

ZDS:
It was difficult. Because when I had to go at race pace I saw that the safety car is coming back and I have to slow down. After that, the safety car went away and I had to go as fast as I could. After that the safety car came back again and that's why it was really hard. The temperature in the car was very hot and that's why it was tough.

Q:
Plamen, change of fortunes for you maybe today after the difficult start to the season? Pleased with your two races?

PK:
Not only difficult start of the season but also a very difficult event this weekend. It was my first time here. Yesterday we had a lot of problems to find the right set-up and tyre pressures and the car was slow and was understeering all the time. I'm happy that we managed to make some good changes and today our pace in Race 1 was pretty good. We were all cars within two-three tenths of a second. I'm happy that we improved our pace here although this track is new for me and difficult but we managed to be competitive. Regarding the second race I understand the race was very short and we were lucky to be on the podium. I'm happy to have my first trophy from ETCC. I hope we will manage to find finally our good set-up and keep going in a good way in the championship.

Q:
Igor, a difficult first race and then a podium. Can you be satisfied with that result?

IS:
Yes, it was a good weekend for me and my team because we picked up some points. In the first race I had contact with the local hero. I don't know why, but overall it was a good race and weekend. The second race was short but that's also motorsport – like Petr said. It is the way it is.