Pierre-Yves Corthals relying on a good start to manage high temperatures

Pierre-Yves Corthals inherited pole position from DG Sport Compétition team-mate Mat’o Homola in Bahrain. The Belgian admits he didn’t expect his Opel Astra TCR to be as quick as it was around the track, but he reckons a better temperature management was key to the positive results the team achieved in qualifying.

“I have the pole position, which is really good, but I really didn’t expect to be as fast as that”, said Corthals. “Everyone has problems with the air temperature, but maybe the others suffered more than us.”

The Belgian believes two mistakes slowed him down: “I made two big mistakes during my fastest lap in Q2 so I lost a lot of time. I’m really happy for the team and for Opel because it’s good to have the pole position in Bahrain when we are with Formula One.”

As for today’s race, a good start will be crucial in Corthals’ bid to have fresh air going into the engine to manage the high temperatures of the desert: “I will try to get a good start and keep fresh air in front of me because that will give me an advantage over the others who will have hot air going into their engines.”