Zandvoort: quotes from the race day

After a good weekend for the front wheel driven cars, Chevrolet and Seat have taken both a win. Alain Menu secured the first win of the season for Chevrolet in the first race, while Gabriele Tarquini was the fastest man in the second race of the day. Here’s what they had to say:

Alain Menu:
“I couldn’t have expected more from the first race, it was almost a dream. I always thought we could get a podium here but it was unknown how the tyres would wear over a race. I wanted to be kind on my tyres and therefore I didn’t push too hard. They did drop off a bit so when we had the safety car I was slightly concerned. It was good to have Nicola (Larini) behind me because I knew he wouldn’t do anything stupid. Everything came together and I believe a lot of the success came form qualifying so well.”

Gabriele Tarquini:
“The win is an especially good result considering the trouble we had with qualifying. We changed things on the brakes and the car worked well. I had a great first race to go from 13th to 7th which meant points and lining up on the front row for race two. Andy (Priaulx) and I made contact when I came from the inside. Perhaps he didn’t see me because he closed in and when we hit he went wide. Then it was hard to keep the lead with several BMWs behind.”

Nicola Larini
“I didn’t have a great start in Race 1, but it was good enough to keep my position. I didn’t challenge Alain (Menu), not only because he is my team-mate, but also because he was just too fast to catch. Behind me was Rangoni but I wasn’t worried about him until the safety car. Then I got concerned because my tyres were worn but in the end it finished perfectly. What I achieved in race two was the best result possible. I didn’t have the speed to overtake the BMWs normally but when Rangoni and Priaulx made mistakes I was ready to gain from them.”

Augusto Farfus:
“There were plenty of times it might have been possible to make a move on Tarquini because I was quicker than him on the infield. I decided to wait until the end of the race to see if he lost his tyres but the opportunity never came so I had to settle for second. To be leading the championship is positive but that also means going to Valencia with a lot of weight. The challenge of the championship is still out there for everybody.”

Jörg Müller:
“The lights went out extremely quickly for this race. I, as an old guy, must have better reactions than the younger ones because I got off at rocket speed and overtook five cars on the straight. We had a bad day yesterday, but this morning after the warm-up we completely changed the set-up: springs, dampers, roll bars, everything. For race two I had the perfect car. In terms of the championship the past shows I am the man of the second half of the season so let’s wait and see.”

Luca Rangoni:
“It has been a perfect weekend for me. The first race was tough because mid-way through I had a problem I couldn’t identify. My grip went and I lost contact with the two Chevrolets. The second race was fantastic and I was involved in a great fight. In the end I decided to leave the fighting to the works drivers because I am focused on the independent category.”