Santiago Urrutia keen to break podium duck in Spa opener

Front-row starter Santiago Urrutia says he is keen to make amends for a lost podium last time out at Hockenheim in the opening race of the weekend at Spa-Francorchamps.

The WRT Audi RS 3 LMS driver starts Race 1 from second on the grid, after having missed out on pole position by a slender six-hundredths of a second to rival Audi driver Gilles Magnus.

Urrutia started the first race at Hockenheim from second but suffered a poor start which left him sixth at the finish. The Uruguayan driver told TouringCarTimes that a better start this weekend is key to maximising the potential from his Audi.

“[I’m] Pretty happy with that, we look strong and the Audi definitely has the speed, so let’s see what we can do in the race,” Urrutia said.

“I need to push myself and score points. I’ve missed out on the podium for the last two weekends so if I get a good start, we’ll see how it goes. We had the pace at Hockenheim and we are fast here as well, so it’s important I get off the line well.”

Urrutia had attempted to work with his WRT team-mates Maxime Potty and Ash Sutton to give each driver a tow down the long straights, but this plan unravelled after Potty made a mistake at Pouhon.

The former Indy Lights driver believes the tow will be a deciding factor in the race result later on today.

He said: “It’s all about the tow and I’m sure the leader cannot run away because the two can give you like six, seven tenths.

“I’m not going to go super hard, I’m just looking to get the podium but I am sure we have the pace to win the race today. If I have the chance to go for it, I will.