Qualifying performance key to podium chances says Santiago Urrutia

WRT Audi driver Santiago Urrutia believes a strong qualifying performance will be needed if he is to fight for podiums during the TCR Europe series weekend at Spa-Francorchamps, following a promising start in practice.

The Uruguayan, who made the switch from single seaters to touring cars during the off-season, survived a scare at the top of Raidillon to end up second in the morning’s opening practice before being limited to 17th in FP2 following a red flag stoppage.

Urrutia is confident he can make the most of running zero compensation weight on his Audi RS 3 LMS, but believes a strong performance in qualifying is critical to success in the races.

“In the first session I had a big moment at Eau Rouge and I hit the wall on the outside. I had a bit of damage but I did the whole session with it and finished P2,” Urrutia told TouringCarTimes.

“But because of that, we had to put new tyres on the car, so we didn’t have any better tyres for FP2. By the the time we put a new one on the front, Briché crashed.

“We have no kilos but it seems like the Hyundais are still quick, so the BOP might be a little bit too open for them, but it’s so open and competitive. If you put everything together, you are at the back, so I think this should be a good weekend for us as long as we put it together.”

Urrutia missed out on a maiden series podium last time out at Hockenheim after a poor start from the front-row of the grid, leaving the former Indy Lights driver keen to make amends in Spa.

“I could have had a podium in Hockenheim, but I didn’t get a good start unfortunately. This weekend I need a podium man, the team has been working hard, I’ve been working hard but it’s going to come I’m sure,” Urrutia added.

“I want to fight for the championship and if everything goes well in qualifying, then I think we have the pace to fight for one tomorrow.”