Erik Zabala: “We have to work ahead of Navarra”

Team Clairet Sport driver Erik Zabala completed a complicated third round of the 2026 TCR Spain season at Valencia to remain in second place in the championship with a fourth and third-place finish.

“Well, in the second race we did a bit better than the first,” Zabala told TouringCarTimes.

“I did a bad start, but the traffic during the first lap was ok.”

Despite the poor start, the situation improved for the Audi driver during the second race and the Spaniard finished on the podium.

“We later had better pace than yesterday,” said Zabala.

“And after the restart after the safety car, we were able to fight with the Cupras and the Hyundai, although they were superior to us, above all in corner exit and top speed.”

The championship now faces a three-month break, returning on October 9-11 at Navarra in Spain.

“These are points we have to work with during the summer to prepare for the races in Navarra,” the Audi driver added.

Zabala is placed second in the drivers’ championship, 24 points behind Cupra driver Viktor Andersson.

“We have done well, we knew this was the worst weekend for us,” said Zabala.

“We are still behind Andersson, but it’s not a big advantage. So we will see what we can do at our home race in Navarra.”