WTCC Monza - Race : They said...

Andy PRIAULX – winner of Race 1: “I struggled in the race as I was the lead car in a long train and it was heartbreaking to see Rob (Huff) and Gabriele (Tarquini) disappear ahead. On the last lap though I suddenly saw tyre rubber across the track at the Ascari chicane and then Tarquini and Huff came into view. I managed to pass Tarquini but there were yellows so I had to follow Huff through the Parabolica. As soon as I saw the green flag though I passed him so I am very happy. I also want to dedicate this win to my grandmother who died on Wednesday.”

Yvan MULLER – winner of Race 2: “I didn’t expect this but we were looking after our tyres because we know this track is hard on the front-left. We changed the set up to be more conservative on the tyres. Tom (Coronel) was a bit faster at the end of the straight and first chicane and I was faster in the two Lesmos and Ascari so I just had to close the door at certain places to avoid him passing. It’s a good start to the season and to be the leader after three weekends is great. Everyone bet on the diesel cars to be on top here but we have shown that the petrol powered ones can also win on a fast track.”

Augusto FARFUS – second in Race 1: “I expected the rolling start to be hard as there were quicker cars behind me. I got to the first chicane and I think I was third but I lost a lot of places. The last lap was crazy though so I am just happy I brought the car to the finish.”

Tom CORONEL – second in Race 2: “I was happy just with a third place but when an opportunity presents itself you have to take it. I was happy just to collect the points and I wasn’t pushing too hard and by surprise I saw Nykjær had gone off so we were a little bit lucky to collect another place. I was still getting to know the car and I said give me two races, and now we are here.”

Rob HUFF – third in Race 1 and 2: “I was hoping for a fourth and fifth this weekend and we have done better than that. The team did a great job but third in Race 2 was also a bit lucky. We did set the car up though to try and avoid having problems with the tyres I had the worst start ever but managed to get the inside in turn one and get out ahead of the pack. I am really pleased to be up here again and for the team to be leading the championship.”

Fredy BARTH – winning Rookie in Race 1: “I don’t think it could have gone better. I was really happy sitting in P8 but to get to sixth is very satisfying. Everything worked well for us and it shows again how in WTCC many things can happen even though it is just a short trace. It was quite exciting and if you manage to keep the car on track you can get a good result.”

Norbert MICHELISZ – winning Rookie in Racer 2: “I was expecting a better result in race 1 as the team did a good job and I knew the car was competitive but that’s racing. In race 2 the car was almost perfect and i enjoyed coming through from the back. These races help you a lot as a driver and we’ll probably have more like this but it would be nice to start from the front and be first to see the chequered flag.”

Mehdi BENNANI – winning Independent in Race 2: “It is my first time racing here so we had a good test before the race but I am still learning. It was a nice race though for me and I trusted Monteiro ahead and was following his lines and was able to get a good slipstream from him and Fredy Barth.”

Stefano D’ASTE – winning Independent in Race 2: “I am very happy. It was a difficult weekend as we had issues with the car on Saturday. Today I worked hard with my engineer and we solved the problem. We tried a different set up and my car was perfect. I’m very pleased to get an Independent win at my home race.”