Extra weight will make for “difficult weekend” say Clairet brothers

Team Clairet Sport Peugeot drivers Teddy and Jimmy Clairet are predicting a challenging TCR Europe series weekend at Zandvoort following opening practice on Friday.

After enjoying their best series weekend so far last time out at Paul Ricard, both Jimmy and Teddy arrived in the Netherlands with added weight, which they believe will make life slightly more complicated in qualifying and the opening race on Saturday.

Jimmy Clairet in particular, who sits third in the points standings after winning Race 2 in France, reckons that getting the best of the weekend and limiting the damage is the key, especially with points leader Mikel Azcona missing this weekend as he competes in PURE ETCR.

“Zandvoort is a difficult track with a lot of elevation change, so the extra weight will definitely have an impact,” Clairet told TouringCarTimes.

“I have 30kg so I hope it won’t affect me too much and I will be able to get a good time in to make Q2.”

For team-mate and brother Teddy, the task is steeper this weekend, as the Paul Ricard Race 1 winner carries the maximum 60kg of compensation weight for each of the weekend’s two races.

Teddy finished FP1 a lowly 18th, with Jimmy 15th and things didn’t get much better in the disrupted second session. The pair ended up 15th and 16th in the standings.

“We know that the Peugeot 308TCR is a great car but that it doesn’t handle weight as well as some of the other cars in the field,” Teddy added.

“So we know it will be a difficult weekend. 60kg will be very difficult for me to do much but I will do my best to go after some points if possible.

“I don’t know what to expect really, it is the first time I’ve raced with this much weight. So we will see where we end up.”