Frédéric Vervisch cautious despite strong free practice pace

Comtoyou’s Frédéric Vervisch finished his first day as a TCR International Series driver on a high, ending up fastest of all in the second free practice session at Spa-Francorchamps. Despite the good performance, the Belgian is not getting carried away and sets his goals as low as getting into Q2 in tomorrow’s qualifying.

“The car is quite different compared to what I’m used to”, said the Audi driver to TouringCarTimes. “It’s a front wheel drive, the car is quite heavy and there are no tyre blankets, so the only thing I already knew is the circuit. The Audi RS 3 LMS is better than I expected and it gives me confidence, which is positive. The car drives really well and I enjoy the feeling. The idea is to do the season and try to prepare for next year. We did no testing, as it was a last-minute deal, so we are taking it step by step.”

Vervisch’s goal is to get through to Q2 and put some mileage together, as he is still trying to get to grips with the new machinery after a switch from GTs.

“I want to put some mileage together and finish the races. I think the target needs to be getting through to Q2, at least at this stage. Today went according to plan, I did some practice starts and we also tried some new solutions, the pace was good and I’m happy with how it’s going.”

Coming from GTs, the Belgian is aware he is not used to the sprint races and the tough driving standards, which sometimes include contact. Vervisch is prepared to take on the challenge, although he doesn’t want to damage his car as he bids to put mileage together and gain experience and confidence in his new environment.

“I think I have to get used to it, I could be surprised”, admitted the Audi driver. “However, if you’re going to make contact with someone while you’re fighting, you need to have confidence in the car. I’m already happy at this stage in terms of confidence, and that is going to allow me to fight harder, but in general I want to try to avoid contact. It’s not a good idea to damage the car, but of course if I get pushes from everywhere I will need to react. Like I said, though, the main goal is to finish the races.”

Vervisch is convinced the other drivers were sandbagging, which leaves him taking his fastest lap in free practice into very little consideration. Once he gets through to Q2, though, he will focus on taking pole position.

“It’s just free practice and I had more new tyres, but on the second session we were more or less on the same level. Free practice 2 was more important for me to see where I was, I felt better than I expected. Anyone can sandbag though, and I’m not interested in the others yet. I just focus on myself and try to go from there, understand the car and see where we are when the others show their pace. Of course I would love to start at the front, it always helps.”

The Belgian also admitted that, upon request from the team, he could let Stefano Comini pass in order to let the defending champion gain more points for the championship. The two have already started working together with slipstreams in free practice, which they are planning to continue doing tomorrow in qualifying.

“I have been hired by the team, so I will do what I’m told to do. I will follow their directions, I have no problem to help the team. I’m here for Comtoyou and that’s my priority.”