Alain Menu takes blame for qualifying accident with Jean-Karl Vernay
Alain Menu and Jean-Karl Vernay came together at Acque Minerali in qualifying at Imola, Italy. The Frenchman was on his fast lap when he encountered the WestCoast Racing driver, who didn’t see him before the corner. The Leopard Racing Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR cut the chicane and crashed into the Honda Civic TCR. Vernay was left with a damaged front right suspension, which forced him to end up fourteenth for both races.
“It’s terrible,” said Vernay. “I was flashing Menu on the back straight before the chicane and he just blocked me on purpose. I tried to avoid him by jumping over the kerb, but when I came back on track I hit him.”
The Frenchman was not impressed with the Swiss at all: “With all the experience he has, he did a really stupid action, as he’s a guest driver and not even doing the championship and he blocked me on purpose. I’m not happy at all he broke my car, I would easily have been in the top ten, and now I’m P14 so no reverse grid, nothing. There’s no way he couldn’t see me.”
Alain Menu took the blame for the incident, saying he didn’t see the Volkswagen approaching behind him: “It’s my fault, I never saw him,” said the Swiss to TouringCarTimes. “In my defence, my left mirror was slightly moved, probably just before the session. I looked behind coming out of Acque Minerali, saw no car and thought I was okay, because I had backed off. The next thing I knew was he hit me. I am very disappointed, because I am always very respectful of other drivers, but I just never saw him.”
Despite taking the blame, the WestCoast Racing driver is convinced Vernay could have handled the situation in a better way: “Well, when he saw that I was slow he could have backed off, because he would have saved his car for the following lap to try again. I went to see him but he wasn’t in the garage, so I haven’t spoken to him, but I assume he expected me to move out of the way or go fast in the chicane to avoid blocking him, which is what I would have done had I seen him. It’s a shame.”
Menu also strongly denied blocking Vernay on purpose, as when asked by TouringCarTimes he replied: “No, absolutely not, never! Why would I do that to him? I just didn’t see him, I’ve never done anything like it, so no way.”
The Swiss will start from fourth in the second race, provided no penalty is handed to him: “Let’s see if I stay there. The car didn’t feel as good as in free practice, there was something a bit strange, even before the accident. The problem is the car is in parc fermé, so I’m not sure how much time the boys will have to check what’s wrong. If everything is OK, my target will have to be a podium.”
Although the team hasn’t spoken to Menu on the subject, the WestCoast Racing driver conceded it would make sense to let team-mate Gianni Morbidelli through if Menu sees him behind him: “I don’t know if we will have team orders, as it’s not been mentioned at all. I guess I would, it makes sense, he is fighting for the championship and I’m not.”
