Photo: WTCR

Wide open WTCR season heads to new grounds at Estoril

By

The FIA World Touring Car Cup heads to Estoril for the first time ever this weekend for round two of the 2021 season and it’s anyone’s guess on who will come out on top.

The opening race weekend at the Nürburgring Nordschleife three weeks ago had Honda and Hyundai at the top, with Tiago Monteiro winning the first reversed grid race and Jean-Karl Vernay heading a commanding Hyundai 1-2 with team-mate Luca Engstler in race two.

But the 25km Nordschleife is like no other track in the world, obviously vastly different to the classic F1 style circuit Estoril that “only” measures 4.182km – making it difficult to draw any conclusions from the first race weekend.

Local hero Monteiro, currently sharing second overall with fellow Honda driver Néstor Girolami on 33 points, is keen to continue his strong run this weekend.

“I’m very excited that we’re coming to Estoril. It’s a great track and I’ve won there in the past in the WTCC and in many other series. I’m sure there will be a lot of action,” said Monteiro.

Vernay, who is leading the drivers’ championship on 38 points, has raced at Estoril in the past as well and hopes to leave Portugal still on top of the standings.

“I know Estoril pretty well, I’ve tested here in the past and raced there too,” said Vernay.

“Hopefully we will be quick again and can look forward to a similarly strong performance with the same team spirit as on the first weekend in Germany. The most important thing is to score points and hopefully continue to be at the top of the ranking after the races.”

While the Hyundai and Honda teams had a strong first weekend, there are plenty of rivals wanting to close the gap.

Cupra team Zengo Motorsport had a dreadful opening weekend with returning former champion Rob Huff scoring no points at all. Bence Boldizs was the Hungarian team’s top scoring driver, currently placed 15th overall with just three points.

But there is no doubt the Cupra León Competición and the team are quick enough to challenge for the top positions, as shown by Mikel Azcona in the final part of the 2020 season.

Audi team Comtoyou Racing had an underwhelming season opener in Germany as well, with Nathanaël Berthon as their best placed driver so far in ninth position overall, 24 points behind Vernay.

Whether the shorter Estoril circuit will suit the new RS 3 LMS better on its current BoP level remains to be seen.

The Lynk & Co Cyan Racing drivers had a mixed weekend in Germany, with Yvan Muller and Santiago Urrutia claiming a double podium in the reversed grid race, but fell behind the Hyundais and Hondas in the second race.

The Swedish outfit has called for a Balance of Performance change ahead of the weekend, with its driver expecting a tough weekend in Portugal.

“We knew that Nürburgring was going to be tough, despite that it’s usually one of our best circuits. And I think it will be even tougher this weekend. Estoril is still a fun circuit to race on and we obviously have to be right on the limit this weekend,” said Thed Björk.

Estoril Schedule
Times in WEST
Saturday June 26th
Free Practice 1 – 09:00
Free Practice 2 – 12:00
Qualifying – 15:00

Sunday June 27th
Race 1 – 12:15 13 laps
Race 2 – 15:15 15 laps