Nathanäel Berthon: “I had a very good car today”

Comtoyou Racing’s Nathanäel Berthon looked set to be one of the main contenders for the first WTCR race at Sakhir, but a bad start ruined the Frenchman’s chances, crossing the line in third place.

“I made a very bad start and ended up in P6. So it’s good to be back on the podium after falling to sixth place,” said Berthon.

The Audi driver was however able to recover ground, attacking third-placed Néstor Girolami (Honda) on the third lap and made a move at the following turn.

“We had very good speed and the car was good,” explained Berthon, who was then already three seconds behind the leader. “I made two moves but not in the straight.”

Berthon has been competitive all weekend, but doesn’t think that he would have claimed an easy victory if he’d had a good start.

“I think Mikel played it easy as he’s racing for the championship but, if my start had been good, maybe I could reach the front,” explained the Frenchman. “But I would have had to take some risks, so it wouldn’t have been easy.”

Berthon rued tyre problems which hampered him again in the second half of the race:

“My team gave me a very strong car. For the first six or seven laps it was very good, but then had some vibrations.

“I had so many issues and points and points lost due to the tyres, but I couldn’t go faster after five or six laps, this has happened a lot this year,” concluded Berthon.