Nicky Catsburg blasts driving standards after Motegi

Lada Sport’s Nicky Catsburg has hit out at the driving standards of some of his competitors at the most recent round of the World Touring Car Championship at Twin Ring Motegi, Japan, though the Dutchman was in fact the only driver to receive a reprimand for driving standards over the weekend.

Catsburg was caught up in an incident with José María López in the first race as the Argentinian charged forward from tenth on the grid in the reversed grid race. Catsburg was forced out wide at the hairpin in the incident by the Citroën driver, with the 28-year-old slicing his Vesta WTCC back on to the circuit, hitting the rear of the Argentine’s Citroën, which earned him a bad sportsmanship flag.

“I was having a nice fight with Pechito (López), but then he hit me hard in Turn 1 and could have broken my suspension,” said Catsburg to TouringCarTimes.

“He kept trying to pass me there, but everywhere else he seemed to be struggling, so I thought OK, I might be able to keep the position, but then (on lap nine) he forced himself up the inside and runs me wide off onto the grass. I was very aggressive coming back on the track, but he’d pushed me out and left me no room, and I wanted just wanted to get back on the track as that’s where we belong, no?”

Catsburg went on to finish seventh in the opening race, while in the main race, he dropped down the order after trouble at the start and found himself in a race-long battle with the Münnich Chevrolet of James Thompson.

“What disappoints me in this championship is that you almost get an invitation to smash people off, because (the stewards) do nothing about it,” he vented.

“At the start, I was on the outside with Rob (Huff), he runs me wide. At Turn 3, I was on the outside of one of the Volvos, and they run me wide.

“(After) Rob pushed me out, in the next corner, I pushed him back, and I should be penalised as well, but they do nothing. After the race, (Championship promoter Francois) Ribeiro comes and says “great television”, but for me, I don’t agree with that.

“Maybe I’m too naïve in thinking I can go around the outside, but with James (Thompson), I’ve had two races now, here and Argentina, where we’ve had fantastic fights. He doesn’t push me out, he gives me the room, I don’t push him out, and we have a nice fight, but some of the others guys, including López, they just push you out.”