“A great result” to keep points leads, says Jean-Karl Vernay

Jean-Karl Vernay remains at the top of the drivers’ standings after the FIA World Touring Car Cup weekend in Spain, despite failing to reach the podium in the two races.

“After our weekend in Aragón, I’m still leading the championship, which is a great result,” said Vernay.

“After an uneventful Race 1 [finishing P9], I had a good start in Race 2 and made a pass on-track to consolidate my fourth place.

“It was difficult to try a move on the cars in front as they were slightly quicker than us. It was a good weekend for points, and that’s the most important thing. I think we can be happy about Race of Spain, so let’s focus on the next round.”

Franz Engstler, the head of Engstler Motorsport, says the team still needs to unlock the qualifying potential of the all-new Hyundai Elantra N TCR.

“As a team we have mixed feelings about Race of Spain,” said Engstler.

“On the one hand we have achieved our aim of gaining ground in the battle for the teams’ crown, but we didn’t have the consistent weekend we were looking for at Race of Spain.

“We’ve managed to maintain Jean-Karl’s position in the lead of the drivers’ championship, but we need to work to understand how we can improve our qualifying performance. We know the Hyundai Elantra N TCR is capable of winning races, and as a team we need to make sure we do everything we can to enable both Jean-Karl and Luca [Engstler] to compete for victories.”