Sergey Afanasyev philosophical about tough Monza weekend

Sergey Afanasyev scored no points on Sunday in Monza, Italy, after he was caught up in an accident with Target Competition’s Michel Nykjaer and Liqui Moly Team Engstler’s Mikhail Grachev.

“It was tough, this type of racing for me is still new for me and I know I still need to learn,” said the Craft-Bamboo Lukoil driver to TouringCarTimes. “With single seaters and GTs there is not much contact, because if you touch someone then the aerodynamic disadvantage is too big, but this is a real contact sport and it’s not easy to get used to it.”

Things started to go wrong as soon as the lights went out for the SEAT driver: “The race started in the wrong way when I made a mistake and had a bad getaway. I was then hit in the first corner and one of my wheels was a little bent after that. I was lucky to pick up some gravel at the next corner, which straightened it up a bit, and was able to continue.”

The incident left Afanasyev in the back of the field, and lost time as he tried to climb back up to the top: “Later on I was chasing the pack, fighting with Kevin Gleason, then I caught the group and I lost too much time. I made up some ground but that wasn’t enough, and it was a shame because then I could have come back and fight for the top spots.”

Unfortunately I found myself in what I call the ‘dangerous area’, where the drivers are a little bit different and they fight so hard even for a single point, because they are not always in the position to do so, and they are also less experienced.”

Afansyev went on to describe the accident in which he was involved in Race 1: “I was in the wrong place in the wrong time. I caught Liqui Moly Team Engstler’s Lorenzo Veglia, but he braked too early in the first chicane and so I was really slow out of it. On top of that I missed a gear, so at that point I saw in the mirrors two cars opening like the tentacles of an octopus, and they were Michel Nykjaer and Mikhail Grachev.

I knew Nykjaer didn’t have as much top speed as Grachev so I chose to go on the left, but Mikhail must have thought that the car would have good grip on the grass. He just touched me and I went off, in Nykjaer’s way. At that point there was nothing I could do.”

The Russian driver did not blame Grachev for the incident: “I think Mikhail could have been a little more patient, because he was starting on pole position for Race 2, but that’s racing, these things can happen. I don’t blame him, I know he wanted the points, but it’s not a problem, he is young and still learning.”

Despite a tough weekend, the Craft-Bamboo Lukoil driver is still positive about his future chances: “The car is competitive, I am a bit too far in the points, but there is nothing I can do about that now, that’s life. I am competitive and I feel I am getting up to speed, hopefully I will be able to compete with Pepe (Oriola) and (Stefano) Comini soon.”

Afanasyev was awarded a five-places grid penalty for Austria, which is scheduled for next week.