Mikhail Grachev hopeful of good qualifying results

Liqui Moly Team Engstler’s Mikhail Grachev was fastest in the second Free Practice session in Spielberg, Austria. The Russian is very happy with the result but does not want to hope for too much.

“I am obviously delighted with the performances of the car,” said Grachev to TouringCarTimes. “Nevertheless I don’t want to think about pole position too much, because I was also fastest in FP2 in Sochi but I failed to get pole, so let’s see what happens.”

The Liqui Moly Team Engstler driver says he is very happy with the Volkswagen Golf’s debut: “I am very pleased with the level of performance of the car. I didn’t know what to expect from a brand new machine, but it looks like it’s running very smoothly and it’s fast. Let’s hope to see more of that in qualifying.”

Grachev recently took his first podium in the TCR International Series: “The third place I got in Sochi was good for the morale, but it also made me hungry for more of the same. Coming from my local championship and having raced with them in Sochi I can see the great progress I’ve made, the TCR International Series features several high level drivers and just to be there in the mix makes me feel confident.”

The Russian thinks he can still improve his driving in certain parts of the track: “The two fast left corners (turns 5 and 6) and turn 8 are still a bit of a problem for me. I’m not slow there, but I think I could be much quicker. It’s a matter of confidence mainly, so hopefully I will be able to fix that in time for qualifying.”

Qualifying starts at 16.30 local time.