Rickard Rydell: “We have a lot of catching up to do”

Former BTCC and STCC champion Rickard Rydell is about to start the 2015 FIA World Touring Car Championship with Nika Racing.
”I am really looking forward to getting the season underway. I’ve been waiting for this weekend for the past year, and I’m truly excited about this brand new adventure with Honda – even though I’m well aware that we’re currently not where we want to be,” said Rydell.

The team has only completed one test day ahead of the season start with the TC1 specification Honda Civic and Rydell is cautious in his expectations.

”The delay of the car means that we haven’t completed a full testing programme. We would have needed four or five more days in the bag to learn about the set-up, but the one test we did manage to do was all positive,” said Rydell.

The Swede last raced a full season of the WTCC in 2009, then driving for SEAT with the diesel powered León.

”The TC1 is a lot faster than the type of car I used to race in the WTCC, but it has got similar weight distribution and I think it suits my driving style. Honda have been working hard over the winter to close the gap to Citroën, but we have to be realistic and, personally, I’d be happy if we can run in the upper half of the midfield in the early races. I’ve never driven the track here in Argentina and our rivals have a year’s experience of the new rules, so we do have a lot of catching up to do initially,” said Rydell.

Rydell’s goal for the season is modest, but still saying that he is ”quietly optimistic”.

”My target for the season is to score at least two podiums, and while I would never underestimate the challenge ahead of us, I’m feeling quietly optimistic. We have got a very effective, strong team – just look at the history of where we’re coming from – and I’m convinced that there is real potential in this project,” said Rydell.