Remembering when… Girolami impressed on WTCC debut

Néstor Girolami, whose FIA World Touring Car Championship comeback in Japan from 2-4 September was confirmed earlier today, made his point on his WTCC debut – quite literally.

Driving a Nika International Honda Civic WTCC, the Argentine finished P10 in the opening WTCC Race of Slovakia on 21 June 2015 to score one championship point.

While P11 in the second counter meant he was unable to add to his scoring tally, the race was equally eventful after a dramatic start when Girolami narrowly avoided ploughing into the back of Ma Qing Hua’s stranded Citroën, after the Chinese driver stalled leaving the grid.

“It’s my first race and to get one point is good,” Girolami said at the time. “In the second race I was position 11 and this is important to finish the races and learn lap by lap. In the second race I made a good start but I found Ma stopped on the grid. I was very, very close to crash but it was lucky I could pass but it was very, very close. Thank you to everyone for their support.”