Pepe Oriola’s team protests Maxime Potty after QLR clash

Pepe Oriola enjoyed his TCR Benelux debut with the Ferry Monster Autosport team, but was upset after an incident with WRT driver Maxime Potty early in the race, with the team lodging a protest about the lap 12 incident at Zandvoort in the qualifying long race.

“I’m really disappointed as I had a big hit from behind,” said Oriola to TouringCarTimes. “We’re going to the stewards to show the video, as it was a really big hit from the #52 Volkswagen, who couldn’t finish the race either.”

While Oriola fell down to sixth, he and co-driver Danny Kroes recovered to finish fourth, while Potty and co-driver Mathieu Detry would go on to finish a lap down in ninth.

Oriola explained the weight difference between himself and 17-year-old co-driver Danny Kroes in the long race has a special handicap, as the car has to meet the TCR BoP weight limit for the lightest driver during the long race, so with the car having to be 1,315kg with Kroes onboard, the taller Oriola had to race with a much heavier car.

“In the sprint races tomorrow I won’t have the weight, so I’ll be able to push harder,” he explained. “I could really fell it up the hill, I just couldn’t keep up with the others, but I’m really happy to help Danny, and also to race even if it’s in the TCR Benelux format, as it’s better than being on the sofa at home. The atmosphere here is also amazing with this Max Verstappen day.”

Oriola’s co-driver Kroes will start third for his first sprint race in the morning, and drove through to fourth despite a minor drama at the start of his stint.

“I hit the wall on my first lap, and after that the steering wheel was bent but still set a good time, so that’s important for tomorrow,” said Kroes.