Augusto Farfus, fresh from winning the Nurburgring 24 Hour race, and after a good points scoring weekend at Monza, spoke to TouringCarTimes about his plans.
TouringCarTimes caught up with Farfus at last weekend’s round at Monza, where the Brazilian claimed pole and completed a BMW 1-2 in one of the most exciting WTCC finishes in history.
TcT: You’ve just switched to RBM after being with Schnitzer for three years. How is the the relationship with the new team?
“Mampaey’s team feels great. Obviously I have a lot to learn: I have to understand the working method of the engineer and the team. On the other hand, Bart has never run two cars for an entire season, just like Priaulx has never had a teammate. If I may say, however, we’re all good. Sure, the car is the same, but of course there is still room for improvement. ”
TcT: What is your relationship with your new team-mate Andy Priaulx?
“Priaulx is a great professional. I am very happy to work with him. Even before joining RBM I had a great relationship with him, and I think we’re both happy to work together. ”
Farfus’s BMW 320si at his home race in Curitiba
TcT: What’s the future of the WTCC going to be like in your opinion?
“This is a moment of transition, as expected. It’s obvious that with the regulations changing next year, it would be illogical to spend money to develop a new car, but I am convinced that the series may rise.”
“Next year might be difficult because everyone will want to see how the new regulations will work and evaluate the championship, but I think that by 2012 the WTCC will improve a lot.”
TcT: What’s the future looking like for Augusto Farfus?
“As for me, I want to continue with BMW and get good results. It feels great to be here. Theissen is a fantastic person, but not only him!”
“Last year I was with Schnitzer and it was great, this year it feels as good to be with RBM. We all love motorsport, and I think this is the real glue that binds us and makes us work well together.”
“Looking farther, I’d like to follow BMW wherever it may go. If they decide to migrate towards the DTM I would not mind, but honestly I am fine in the WTCC. Having never tested a DTM car and never having seen a live race I can’t say which of the two championships I would prefer, but I can say that I believe all the leagues have their own pros and cons.”
TcT: Would you prefer your involvement with the GT or the WTCC?
“Again, the two leagues have positive and negative aspects. The M3 is more powerful, and running that car in Germany, which is the symbol of German motorsport, has been awesome. On the other hand, dividing the car with other drivers means not being able to ever be 100% happy with it, as you can’t fine tune it, and find compromises for setup.”
The BMW M3 Farfus co-drove to the N24 win
TcT: Do you expect the GT program will take time and focus away from the WTCC?
It’s obvious that it costs time. Surely it is difficult because there are so many engineers and after finishing a race in 24 hours you leave the car totally exhausted. Nevertheless I feel so lucky that I’d even run five 24 hours in a row. As I said, running the M3 has something magical. ”
TcT: What do you think of the weekend in Monza?
“Yesterday was fantastic. I never thought I’d take the pole position. The rolling start is difficult for us, though. Also, here at Monza if you put a wheel in the wrong place you’ll destroy the car, as there are the the bollards that can damage the suspension.”
“I think that being lighter than the others has helped me a lot. Surely the slipstream was crucial, but the weight was of great importance. However, I would like to point out that it was not easy to do a clean lap while exploiting the slipstream from the back of such a long tow.”
