Pepe Oriola hoping to win again tomorrow

Pepe Oriola won the opening race of the TCR International Series in Bahrain. The Craft-Bamboo Lukoil driver is surely happy with what he has achieved today.

“It’s definitely a good way to start the season,” said the Spaniard. “It was a pretty good race for me, although not easy. I made only one mistake at the beginning, when I attacked too hard my team-mate James Nash.”

Tyre wear issues meant the SEAT León suffered from understeer: “The only real trouble is that the tyres started to get consumed by mid race, which brought massive understeer. That allowed Gianni to close the gap a bit, but I don’t think he was as fast as us today. It is a really enjoyable experience to be racing here at Bahrain within the F.1 Grand Prix, although it means less practice time.”

Despite the championship being so long, Oriola shows his mind is already focused on the final goal: “I am very happy because I have met the target I had set for myself in Bahrain: winning. I can’t waste any chances.”

Oriola is now determined to repeat his win tomorrow: “I risked at the start, but I was able to enjoy the race as leader from the start. I hope to repeat the feat tomorrow. I will get to the track with this in mind. Anyway, it will be a very hard-fought championship.”

Race 2 will start at 14.30 local time.