Photo: TCR Media

Pepe Oriola calls for Balance of Performance changes for Volkswagen

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Pepe Oriola finished the first race in second and came home fifth in Race 2. The Craft-Bamboo Lukoil driver called for a revision of the Balance of Performance measures for the Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR, as with two wins in the last four races the Spaniard feels they are now competitive enough to weigh as much as the SEATs, instead of being 30 kgs lighter.

“After a 1-2-3 in Spa-Francorchamps they didn’t have any changes in the BoP,” said the championship leader. “They were very slow in Bahrain, but they are a new team and it was normal, we also had it last year. They have found the setup now and they are very quick, but it would be good to fight against them with the same weight.”

Despite these concerns, Oriola is happy with the outcome of the weekend: “I am really happy because I was worried about the ballast, it was really bad at Estoril. This time we managed the weight and we could take two good results. Of course it would be easier to have a lighter car under braking or in the corners. The SEAT is very fast on the straights, but in the corners the Golf is much quicker.”

The 2015 runner-up enjoyed the fight with Leopard Racing’s Stefano Comini in the second race: “Overall I was 60 kgs heavier than Stefano (Comini), we were very close in qualifying, so imagine what could have happened without that. We still had a good fight, I enjoyed it because it was clean, hopefully we can do it again with the same weight.”

When asked by TouringCarTimes if his secret is consistency, Oriola said: “It’s not really a secret, everybody knows that to win a championship you need to score points at every race. I still have some problems with the start, I think Stefano (Comini) will have to teach me how he does his starts, I have to sort that and I will have to focus on that. Everything will then come more easily, but after all I am 15 points ahead in the championship, so it looks like my strategy has paid off so far.”

Oriola has won two races so far this year, winning both races in Bahrain.