What they said ? Drivers gear up for Race of Argentina

Leading drivers from the FIA World Touring Car Championship stopped off in Argentina’s oldest city, Santiago del Estero, yesterday morning ahead of WTCC Race of Argentina.

Thed Björk, Nicky Catsburg, Esteban Guerrieri, José María López and Norbert Michelisz visited the city’s famous cathedral, watched a performance by a local traditional dance group, before meeting local and national media at the Centro del Bicentario where Fernando Gorbaran, President and CEO, Messe Frankfurt Argentina, the race promoter, François Ribeiro, Head of Eurosport Events, the WTCC promoter and Ricardo Sosa, Sub-secretary of Tourism, Santiago del Estero, were also in attendance. This is what they had to say.

Thed Björk (Polestar Cyan Racing): “I’m full stronger than ever with full batteries! To be new in the championship with the team it’s been a very hectic start with many races. The team has put in a lot of work, all the mechanics, everybody and it’s good to have some rest in the summer months. We’re all recharged and ready to go in the second half of the season. We’re working hard to try to be faster, try to get podiums and maybe a win in the second half of the season.”

Nicky Catsburg (LADA Sport Rosneft): “Last week I had the 24 Hours of Spa in Belgium. It’s always a tough event and I hardly had any sleep during the night so before coming here I did not have a lot of rest. The last couple of races we’ve consistently shown we’ve been strong enough to fight for the podium. In the little break we’ve had we’ve continuously developed the car and found more speed. Personally I have a lot of expectations. We have to wait for the weather. If it rains, we can be stronger than in the dry. But we’re really looking forward to scoring some podiums.”

Esteban Guerrieri (Campos Racing): “After almost 10 years of racing in Europe and then two more in the USA, I was really hoping to make an international comeback and doing it in a world championship in the WTCC is really great. The drivers here admire the way Pechito has become champion and now it is me having the opportunity to race in this category and I am very happy. Of course it’s a handicap to climb into the car on Friday without a previous test but, to be honest, it’s something that happened to me a lot in my career. I have had situations when I am new to a category and have been in a rush to get to grips with a new car all of a sudden. But I will have some serious conversations with the team to get all the details they can tell me.”

José María López (Citroën Total WTCC): “I am very, very happy to be racing in Argentina again. In 2013 I was doing three national championships and I had already done 43 races but the WTCC was a free weekend so my father pushed me and convinced me to do this race, to rent that BMW. It was an opportunity in life and it was such an important move for me in my career because it opened the door to what I achieved recently. Everything what happened after that story in Termas was fantastic and I must also thank Citroën for all these years giving me such a performing car and to the fans in Santiago and the whole country for their continued support. It’s a track where I always have a great feeling, it’s wide, fast and very interesting.”

Norbert Michelisz (Honda Racing Team JAS): “First of all, it was a very nice welcome here in Santiago del Estero. It’s always good to come to places where people are so enthusiastic about the sport. I was seven or eight times on the podium this year but we did not manage to win a race. Of course that’s the most important thing individually but unfortunately it’s not come so far. I’ve always liked Termas since 2013 when I drove on the track for the first time. It’s one of my favourites. It’s wide and possible to overtake. When I started at the back of the field like last year I managed to finish fifth or sixth so I really like this race.”