Gabriele Tarquini says battling with Yvan Muller for the title feels like 2008-9
Gabriele Tarquini has launched himself back into the lead of the drivers’ standings after victory in the second race of the weekend at Slovakia, and says it feels like old times as he and Hyundai rival Yvan Muller begin to pull away in the championship.
Tarquini’s fourth win of the season sees him move three points clear of Muller, who secured third in the race after starting seventh, though the positions could well be reversed tomorrow with Muller starting ahead of Tarquini on the grid for Race 3.
The BRC Racing Team driver’s victory made up for his Race 1 error, bogging down off the line and falling to fifth from pole, from which he was only able to recover to third.
“I knew I needed to do a good start, as I experienced this morning that it’s not easy to overtake the SEAT as they’re very fast on the straight,” said Tarquini to TouringCarTimes. “Even though (Norbert Nagy) was able to survive on the outside of corner one, he couldn’t stay on the outside of corner two.”
Reflecting on the championship battle with old rival Muller, Tarquini added:
“It’s nice as the first two positions, it feels like 2008 and 2009 when I was fighting with Yvan with the SEAT. However, I’m still not thinking about points now. I’m just focussed on scoring points in each of the races.”
