Salzburgring quotes from Races 1 & 2

Quotes from the podium finishers of Salzburgring first race

Yvan Muller: “Inheriting the pole position after qualifying was certainly useful. My start wasn’t perfect, but certainly better than in Slovakia. In the first laps, I mostly focused on bringing up gently the tyre pressure, as I knew this was going to be crucial. Then, I could push and build some advantage. López came back on me very close, but then he made a mistake, so I could breath again.”

Tom Coronel: “I am very happy, it was a good race. I took a good start, I was surprised by Loeb at the first braking, as he braked earlier than expected, we had a little contact and then managed to find room to pass. I focused on not losing the streamline of the Citroën cars ahead of me, otherwise I knew it would have been difficult to keep Loeb behind. Then, I could take second again when Pechito went straight at the chicane. It was a good fight after that, but I was determined not to let him pass, and it worked out well. We are growing step by step after an awful start of the season, I am adapting to front-wheel drive and understand every day better how the car wants to be driven.”

José María López: “I did a mistake in qualifying yesterday and one in the race today, which proves that I’m not invincible! I had an amazing start of the season, and maybe that was abnormal. As the season goes on, things get more levelled, which is normal, especially when you have team mates so good and experienced. At the start, I benefitted of the incident between Loeb and Coronel, but then when I was getting closer to Yvan, I had this straight off at the chicane, I need to understand why because I didn’t push that hard on the brakes. Passing Coronel was impossible, he did a great job and we had a nice fight, and also my front tyres started to be very tired.”

Franz Engstler: “It’s a great result, and it’s nice it happened here at the Salzburgring, a very special track to me. It’s almost home race for me, as we are so close to Bavaria, and I have more than 300 guests here. I thank the team for giving me such a good car.”

Quotes from the podium finishers of Salzburgring second race

José María López: “It’s nice and a little bit unexpected to take my third win of the year here, as I was probably not the best of the three Citroën cars, but things turned out this way and now I am leading the championship with 41 points. It doesn’t mean much, as we saw today, things can change very quickly. I never imagined to be in this position, but the championship is still very very long. In Race 2 I opted for a non-aggressive set-up with a very low wing and that paid off as I was very quick on the back straight, which was crucial to pass the Honda cars. For sure, the second safety-car helped, but sometimes you have to be lucky.”

Gabriele Tarquini: “I am happy with the result, that’s the best we could achieve today. The car felt good, very well balanced, and we are clearly improving, but there is nothing we can do against the Citroën cars on the straights, they have much more top speed. There was simply no fight with Pechito and there was no way to resist. The safety-car didn’t change much, it would at most take one more lap to Pechito to pass me…”

Tiago Monteiro: “It’s my fourth podium of the season and I am happy with the result. At the start, I got sandwiched between Bennani and Michelisz, we touched but luckily, there was enough room for everybody to pass. At the moment, the Citroën is in another league and there is nothing we can do. We are closing the gap in corners but still very far way in the straights.”

Franz Engstler: “I don’t know what to say, except it has been a lovely weekend: great track, fabulous weather, a lot of friends and two wins… In Race 2, the most difficult moment was the start, with all the confusion ahead of me. I saw the LADA cars going in every direction, there was a lot of dust and carbon debris on the track. Luckily, I managed to go through unhurt and with no punctures…”