Comments from the top drivers of Porto

The two FIA World Touring Car Championship races in Portugal, at Porto, were eventful. Both races were restarted due to crashes. Sergio Hernandez injured his foot after an accident in the first race, Alain Menu destroyed his car in the second race, SEAT privateers Mehdi Bennani and Tom Boardman crashed in to each other due to another incident and more. In this article we have gathered quotes from the top drivers of the weekend.

Augusto Farfus, BMW

“I want give this victory to all the BMW people at the factory in Munich, everyone here and BMW Team Germany. I am happy to win the race and very happy it’s the 100th.

We knew we were not the fastest in a straight line here so starting Race 2 from pole was a great help and the car was fantastic. When you start a season you want to win the championship and we will look to Brands Hatch to see what further points we can get.”

Gabriele Tarquini, SEAT

“It was not easy. Track was different from qualifying. In that sense being the lead car is not the best position because you need to pay attention to learn the track conditions without a reference.

After two laps from the restart I was controlling the pace and after three laps the track was almost dry. In the end my pace was good enough to score victory..”

Yvan Muller, SEAT

“Let me say thank you to all my team-mates for helping me achieve this result because it was a real team effort. I struggled at the start of the weekend but have ended up with two podium positions which is fantastic.

The championship is long and to win you have to be in the points all the time, even small points because they can be very important.”

Robert Huff, Chevrolet

“This is a good result for us. Gabriele (Tarquini) drove fast and consistently. The best opportunity I had to overtake was at the start but he kept a good defensive line. I’m very pleased to bring eight points for Chevrolet. ”

Rickard Rydell, SEAT

“I was pleased with my pace this weekend and it was great to start second in Race 2. Unfortunately for me I was behind Augusto (Farfus) who was really quick and pulled away a little. It was a very good job by the whole team especially as free practice and qualifying showed how close the whole field was.”

Stefano D’Aste, Proteam Motorsport

“This has been the best weekend so far this season. Race 2 was very difficult because with the restarts it felt like three races. In the end everything was ok and I am very happy. I had lost a lot of points in the previous three races through bad luck but the championship is long and I will keep trying to win.”