Boardman happy with early progress with new SEAT engine

Tom Boardman has moved from the SEAT 2.0 litre TDI engine to the new 1.6 litre turbocharged petrol engine from this weekend, and is happy with the progress made throughout Saturday despite a lack of testing ahead of Portimão.

Special Tuning Racing’s first engine went to Darryl O’Young, whilst Tom Boardman had to wait until this weekend to receive the upgrade, with Tiago Monteiro now the last driver on the grid waiting for the upgrade.

Boardman’s best lap of 1:56.260 was only 1.5 seconds slower than Gabriele Tarquini’s in Q1, but with the times so close that was only good enough for 19th on the grid, but the 28-year-old isn’t too downbeat with his performance so far.

“We’re using it as a test really,” said Boardman to TouringCarTimes. “But it feels absolutely great, now when I’m around cars I can stick with them, but I’ve got a lot to learn with this engine.”

“It feels lighter and more nimble, you can be more aggressive into the corners as it’s got more mechanical grip, but the turbo engine, the 2.0 litre (BTCC NGTC) turbo is definitely quicker . (The WTCC 1.6) feels like a proper race engine. You’ve got all the options with the map and the anti-lag.”

Looking ahead for what he can do in the races, Boardman’s hoping to benefit from the mistakes of others, and is most of all looking forward to the opportunity to be able to attack as opposed to just defend as he has been with the TDI.

“I think there’s going to be a lot of tyre issues here and a lot of mistakes as well, so you never know, but I’m definitely going to push, I’ve got a car under me that’s able to keep up with them all.”