Photo: ETCC Media

Kris Richard and Petr Fulín take title to the wire after close fight in France

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Kris Richard and Petr Fulín head to the season finale of the 2016 European Touring Car Cup tied at the top of the points table after sharing wins in Magny-Cours, and both drivers know they have work to do over the summer break to win the first ETCC title of the TCN2 era.

Kris Richard took pole and led the first race at the Magny-Cours circuit in France, but lost out after misjudging the officials’ flags at the end of the race He had been given a black-and-white warning flag for exceeding the track limits as a final warning, and his Honda team-mate Peter Rikli then received a mechanical black flag for damage on his Rikli Motorsport Civic TCR, after which Richard headed down the pits to serve a drive-through penalty when he didn’t need to.

“I don’t want to talk too much about Race 1 because I was an idiot,” said Richard during the post-race press conference. “I thought it was a drive-through but it wasn’t. I saw a guy with a black flag and the number 11. I thought should I come in or not? If I don’t and I get a black flag and I get disqualified or should I come in and maybe lose some places and not be disqualified?”

“Didn’t you have the radio?” asked his title rival Fulín.

“After the second lap we had no radio, I don’t know why,” Richard responded.

Fulín therefore picked up the victory in Race 1, and worked his way forward from eighth on the grid to second in Race 2 to match Richard on points heading to the season finale in Imola in October, where the Czech driver is looking to win his third title in the ETCC’s Super 2000 class.

“We have the same points but I feel we need to do something special for Imola,” said Fulín. “(My team-mate) Christjohannes Schreiber had a crazy experience with the engine. In Portugal it was not the same but a similar problem for (Mladen) Lalušić, that’s why (I worry that I) will be next,” said a concerned Fulín.

Adding his thoughts on the championship battle, Richard added:

“We have a lot of work (to do). I think I need two new doors. I (also) need a new radio!”

The season finale of the 2016 European Touring Car Cup takes place at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Italy on October 2nd.