WTCC Portimao - Qualifying : They said...

Tiago MONTEIRO – pole position: “I’ve not had many poles in WTCC so I’m glad to get another one, especially at home. We were pessimistic really as realistically we thought it would be impossible but we knew if we could get a good clear lap we could do something good. In Q1 I had a misunderstanding with another car (Priaulx) which I didn’t see coming. I thought that was it and I would be starting from the back of the grid but the SR-Sport team did an amazing job to change almost the whole of the right rear in about six minutes and the car still felt good! I got a good tow, everything fell into place and it worked out for us.”

Yvan MULLER – qualified second: “When my engineer said I was just 0.05s behind the pole, I cannot tell you the word I used! But when I found out it was Tiago on pole, I was happy for him at his home race and I am pleased with my second place. We are competitive but there are tyre issues again, the same as in Monza and Zolder so I will do my best to save them and finish the races.”

Augusto FARFUS – qualified third: “Taking into account the circumstances and circuit layout it is definitely a good result. It looks as though it should be a good track for BMW but it isn’t. We have had a tough weekend. P3 is positive though and I am confident with our race pace. I need to get a good clean start and then stay with the front runners. We are not the quickest on the straights but we are getting closer so a podium could be possible.”

Norbert MICHELISZ – top Rookie, P6: “It is a good feeling to be the best rookie again, but I am now looking at the overall standings as well. Our aim was to first get into Q2 and then to get as high as we could. I think tomorrow the key question will be whether people can manage their tyres. I am confident we can achieve a top eight finish in Race 1 and then we’ll see what we can do in Race 2.”

Colin TURKINGTON – top Independent, P10: “I’m really pleased to be here in WTCC. It wasn’t easy in qualifying but I’m really happy to have made it into the top ten. I am learning every session and getting closer to the pace. In Q1 I had a good lap, picking up a bit of a tow from Coronel. In Q2 I had another good lap but that was as much pace as we had here today.”