Gabriele Tarquini not ruling out Slovakiaring win

Gabriele Tarquini set the pace in today’s testing at Slovakiaring. The Italian is confident ahead of the weekend, as the Lada Vesta TC1 seems to be ever-improving since he joined the Russian manufacturer.

“Being first is always good,” said Tarquini to TouringCarTimes. “The car seems to work quite well, I was optimistic yesterday as well, because this track suits our car better than Paul Ricard. In France the car was much better than last year but we still had a lot of problems, which were partly linked to the layout of the track.”

The Italian is not sure where the Ladas will end up, but his targets are clear: “Honestly I don’t know where we can get, because I used new tyres today and did a good lap, but I hope I will be able to have a better race than in France and have a podium. It is my personal goal.”

The former World Champion has a special feeling with the Slovakiaring, where he won two races since the WTCC started visiting Slovakia in 2012: “I like this track very much, it’s very technical and every mistake can cost you dearly. There are some difficult braking areas and it’s very long, I really like it. There is obviously a special feeling with Slovakiaring because I won here as a privateer with SEAT when we first came here and I also scored my first win with Honda, I have very good memories and hopefully I will have more to remember after this weekend.”

Tarquini is sure Lada can win as long as the team can make use of the opportunities along the way: “I think we can win. I don’t know if we can win here, if we can win the opening race or the main race, but for sure our goal is to win some races. The car is not bad, so if we exploit all the opportunities we will be able to have some good results.

“The Citroëns are very heavy in this race for instance, and we must take advantage of that. It will be much tougher when they are less heavy for everyone. If it rains, or it’s difficult to overtake, we must take the opportunity to raise a few eyebrows and pull a surprise on everyone. For sure we are not here to fight for either championship, because it would be silly to say we are strong enough to do that.”

Having been involved in the development of the Vesta TC1, Tarquini would be equally happy if team-mates Nicky Catsburg and Hugo Valente could win as well: “I would be very happy if we could score a few wins. I would also be happy if some of my younger team-mates won, because the car was heavily influenced by my input in the winter development phase and they use my setup, which has changed the car massively since last year. It would be great if I gave them the opportunity to win, a bit like a teacher who gives his students the tools to succeed.”

The Italian also discussed the new Manufacturers Against the Clock format, a completely new challenge for the drivers: “In terms of driving you must not make mistakes. The first corner is crucial, you must not waste any time. You need to have a clear agreement with your team-mates and be smart enough not to slow down, because we start on the same line and generally there is not too much difference on the getaway. Except the Nordschleife, probably, where there is a very long straight, there will be no overtaking. I did it by staying at the front in France because I got away better than my team-mates, you need to be careful not to make any mistakes.”

Although not exciting from inside the car, the level of concentration and pressure makes the MAC3 event enjoyable for the drivers: “I have to admit it’s not too exciting in the car, because I never look in the mirrors knowing that my team-mates will not overtake me. If I am too distant in the last part I try to slow down to allow my team-mates to make use of the slipstream, otherwise the race is more exciting because you’re fighting for track position. The entertaining bit for a driver is to keep concentration all through the two laps, because you need to be very quick and at the same time make no mistakes.”

Tarquini is conscious the event is exciting from the spectator’s point of view: “It was very entertaining at Paul Ricard because we were really close and lost out to Citroën by 30 thousandths. We lost time at the beginning but then we were quicker than them, so it was really exciting to watch. Hopefully it will be as fun in the future.”

All three Lada Vestas made it to the top ten, with Nicky Catsburg in third and Hugo Valente seventh in today’s testing.