Franz Engstler: “We just need luck on our side”

This weekend Liqui Moly Team Engstler scored a season-best result of fifth with Mikhail Grachev. Team principal and driver Franz Engstler met up with TouringCarTimes to comment on the weekend and on the future, including plans to build a TCR Volkswagen Golf.

“We had a good result with Mikhail today, but I was also in third at the start of Race 1,” said the German to TouringCarTimes. “Unfortunately I made contact with another car, and after that my toe was no longer correct, so I decided to stop and prepare the car for the second race.

“The team did a great job, repairing the car in time for me to do an installation lap, but then I had an electronic problem with the gearbox, so I had to stop as well. We are now looking forward to the next race.”

The two Audis were the protagonists of a strange Safety Car incident, as Grachev hit Engstler while they slowed down: “When I saw the yellow flags on the track I slowed down of course, but we were all close together so I believe Mikhail did not see them and just crashed into me. It was unfortunate, but these things can happen, it was right after the yellow flags.

“I don’t think that we were slowing down too much, it’s just that we were too close, I lifted the throttle because that’s what a yellow flag means, reduce the speed. I understand that it was difficult to see them, but again it was another unfortunate Safety Car period for me!,” said Engstler referring to his famous crash with the Safety Car in Pau.

Engstler is enthusiastic about the progresses made by the team with the Audi TT:”We are on the right track with the Audi, we just need a little luck. The team and Audi are working really hard, and we want to be successful with the TT.”

The German also hinted that the Volkswagen Golf the team planned to introduce will come in the second half of the year, but the focus is fully on the Audi at the moment: “I think we will see the Volkswagen Golf in the second half of the year, and then we will develop it and introduce it, but not until it’s ready. We are working very hard on the Audi, so our focus is completely on this project.”

Franz Engstler is eleventh in the championship, equal on points with team-mate Mikhail Grachev.