Nicky Catsburg rues missed pole position chance

Nicky Catsburg had an impressive result in qualifying at Slovakiaring, missing the pole position by as little as four hundredths. The Lada Sport driver is particularly proud of the progress made by the Russian team.

“I’m very pleased,” admitted the Dutchman. “When I heard Yvan (Muller)’s lap time I thought it was impossible to match, but I gave it everything and I ended up being really close. I’m really, really happy with the performance. I think it shows we made a good step with Lada.”

Catsburg believes Gabriele Tarquini’s input was crucial to make progress with the car: “Since Gabriele joined us we made good steps forward thanks to him and also everyone else in the team. I think we improved massively the traction, which was a big weakness last year, so that’s good.”

Despite being happy with his performance, Catsburg was left wondering what could have been by José María López’s presence during his lap, for which the stewards decided not to penalise him: “I would have loved to be on pole in this race, but unfortunately it did not happen. I don’t know if it would have changed anything if José María López were not there, but it is what it is and I am still very happy with second.”

As to the MAC3 issues Lada had, Catsburg says the procedure was too quick and he wasn’t ready to start, before he got a puncture on the second lap: “They showed us the 15 seconds board, so my engineer gave me a countdown, and after five seconds the lights went on. I wasn’t ready with the procedure and I panicked a little and stalled the car. In the second lap I had a puncture, but at that point it didn’t really make a difference. It was a bit messy, I don’t know why they accelerated the procedure, but I wasn’t ready.”

Catsburg will start on the front row alongside pole sitter Yvan Muller.