Pepe Oriola cherishes regained points lead

Pepe Oriola is back in the lead of the championship, courtesy of his third win of the season at Oschersleben, Germany. The Craft-Bamboo Lukoil driver, who is equal on points with team-mate James Nash, hit trouble in the first race, but still managed to get the best possible result in the second heat.

“It’s very nice to be back in the lead,” said the Spaniard. “I had two incidents in Race 1, first with Gianni (Morbidelli) at the start and then I got touched by Antti Buri and ended up in the barriers. Luckily my car was not damaged and I could start the second race without going to the back of the grid. Buri hit me again at Turn 1 in Race 2, but I managed to save the car somehow and I got up to first very soon, so I am really happy. I’m looking forward to Russia.”

Oriola tried to manage the gap to Borkovic, who was second, although he realised late in the race that the Serbian was still quicker than him: “To be honest at the beginning I saw I had a huge advantage. I knew they had punctures on Thursday by using the kerbs too hard, so I decided to back off a bit and play it safe. I saw he was a bit too close towards the end of the race, I tried to push but he was still faster, so I guess he had a better set-up. Luckily for me it was too late for Borkovic.”

As for the title fight, Oriola knows his rivals from last year, Stefano Comini and Gianni Morbidelli, will come back stronger in future races.

“I am confident because I know that if I make no mistakes I can fight for the title until Macau, but I also know that James (Nash) is a very good driver, we are in the same team and I’ve known him for long enough to be aware of the fact that he is very constant, sometimes not the fastest but he’s more consistent. He scores all the time, I know he will be a hard competitor for the title, especially because we are in the same team. I am still sure that Stefano (Comini) and Gianni (Morbidelli) will bounce back. You can have a 40-points advantage and then lose it, as has happened to Morbidelli last year, so you never know until the last race.”

Oriola’s last win dated back to the curtain raiser in Bahrain earlier this year, when he won both races in the championship.