Pol Rosell ready to fight for Race 2 podium

Liqui Moly Team Engstler’s Pol Rosell was probably one of the most disappointed drivers in the paddock, after the new Volkswagen Golf, which had looked more than promising in Free Practice, completely changed its behaviour in Qualifying and forced both him and team-mate Mikhail Grachev on the fifth row.

Despite the setback, the Spaniard still praised the Golf: “I don’t understand what happened today, because the car was not as good as it was this morning,” admitted the . Having felt how it is when the setup is good I know the Golf is a good machine, but today we had lots of oversteer, as well as understeer at the exit of the corners. We need to investigate very deeply and see how we can solve the issues we had today. I trust the team and the car will be much better than today come tomorrow.”

The Spaniard is disappointed but sees the bright side of things as he will start from pole position alongside team-mate Mikhail Grachev in the second heat: “It’s a shame because it happened on both cars as well, so we must have missed something in the equation. However we still have a good chance as we’re starting from the front row tomorrow in Race 2.”

Speaking of which, the Spaniard thinks that if the problems encountered today are solved, then he can pull out a good result tomorrow: “I think that we can perform well if we manage to find the problems and have more grip, like we did this morning. If we manage to get through the first lap and stay where we are then we can have a good result. I don’t want to say we are going to win, but if the car goes back to where it was today then we can surely go for a podium spot.

“It’s going to be a long night of work, though. The first race will be difficult, because it’s not very easy to overtake here, and also the temperature of the engine will start to go up if the air temperature is too high, but I have a good feeling for Race 2.”