Strong points haul the key to 2019 TCR Europe seat says Dániel Nagy

M1RA driver Dániel Nagy believes a strong weekend in Barcelona this weekend is key to securing a second season with the team in the 2019 TCR Europe series.

Hungarian Nagy endured a luckless two seasons in a Honda Civic TC1 in the World Touring Car Championship in 2016 and 2017 before making the switch back to TCR, which he last raced at the Hungaroring last year.

Nagy was 16th fastest in the opening practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya – his first running at the circuit – some 1.5 seconds off the pace of table topper Mikel Azcona’s PCR Sport Cupra.

The Hyundai i30 N TCR driver was baulked on several of his flying laps and managed a time of 1:56.446, four-tenths off his new-for-this-weekend team-mate Norbert Michelisz.

“For me of course, the main thing was to learn the circuit because this was the first time for me to be here. Of course, the red flag was not great because we lost some time, but overall I was satisfied with the learning procedure,” Nagy told TouringCarTimes.

“I was always blocked on my quick laps so I could have been much faster which gives me confidence, but a lot of work for FP2.”

For Nagy, this weekend is a case of building confidence at a new circuit, and the Hungarian’s preparation has focused on getting up to speed as quickly as possible, with qualifying a key area for improvement.

“With the Hyundai, it’s a little bit easier to learn the new tracks compared to the cars I was driving in the past. Of course the most important part is to find the braking points and then the balance of the car at the entry,” Nagy added.

“You have to decide the entry speed of the corners and then arrive when you feel you need to – you are usually on the edge of the grip level. Then you can work with the car so it’s important to get that feeling in every corner because from that point you can develop the setup for the weekend.”

Nagy remains an outside contender for the championship, currently placed fifth overall, but has opted to focus on recording strong results and securing a drive next season, something the 20-year-old believes is key to his future.

“This weekend could be important for my future. I was missing some performance on my qualifying so I am concentrating on this, having my mind clear and do a good qualy because this is the key and what I was missing during the year.”

“I don’t know what I am doing next year but I would be really happy to stay at M1RA because I feel very good and I have learnt a lot this year. They have given me back the feeling of why I started racing to be honest, after two really hard years in the WTCC.

“I really like the team, they are professional and they give me the chance to improve, so Hyundai and M1RA are my best option.”