Photo: WTCC Media

Franz Engstler leads in TC2, set for busy weekend in France

By

Liqui Moly Team Engstler driver Franz Engstler dominated the TC2T class at the opening round of the WTCC in Morocco, taking pole position and winning both races. This weekend the 52-year-old will compete in both the WTCC and the ETCC, competing in four races in one day.

The German team will field three cars in the ETCC at Paul Ricard as well as two cars in the WTCC. Campos Racing will similarly field two cars in the ETCC and three in the WTCC, between them running ten cars in the two series throughout the weekend.

Engstler leads the Yokohama Trophy on 23 points in the WTCC ahead of Campos’ John Filippi, and hopes to see more cars in the TC2T class as the year progresses, with NIKA Racing joining the Championship with a Honda Civic for Yukinori Taniguchi later on, and Engstler hoping to add a third car themselves.

“I think the next races there will be more and more cars in the Championship,” said Engstler to TouringCarTimes. “In Paul Ricard we’ll do the ETCC, and after that we’ll bring that car into the WTCC as well.”

“We’ll do our best to be in the front at Paul Ricard. It’s a new race track, it’s a new situation, and in Paul Ricard we should be a little more competitive with the BMW, as in Morocco in the straights we’re a bit behind the SEATs.”

With the ETCC races held back-to-back on Sunday, with WTCC race one following, the German will be racing from 10am through to 2pm, before a short break before WTCC’s second race at 17:15 CET.

“It will be a hard weekend, but I’m a young man eh?,” said Engstler. “I’m motivated, I have a great team behind me and we hope for a strong weekend.”