Mikel Azcona on Vila Real pole: “Ehrlacher gave me almost four tenths”

BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse driver Mikel Azcona claimed pole position in Vila Real after a strategic move that saw him take advantage of Geely driver Yann Ehrlacher’s slipstream to rise to the top.

“It was a good execution in Q2, trying a slipstream with Yann, that had already been the fastest in Q1,” Azcona told TouringCarTimes.

“That was a perfect lap; the slipstream gave me almost four tenths, Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been in a position to challenge for pole.”

The Q1 session was complicated for the Spaniard, with the team performing setup changes in the middle of the session.

“We were adjusting the differential setup to try and get a bit more ‘front-end performance’ because in Q1 I didn’t have the pace to fight for pole, so we’ve tried to gain a bit of performance by tweaking the differential and the rear suspension, and it improved,” said Azcona.

Azcona and his team-mate Norbert Michelisz tried slipstream strategies in the free practice sessions, but couldn’t put them into action in the qualifying due to the Hungarian’s technical issues.

“I didn’t get a lap behind Norbi because he had problems in Q1, his driveshaft broke, then his suspension also broke,” Azcona added.

“So I had to find another strategy for Q2, which was the one with the man to beat, and it was the best option we had.”

The team worked the strategy to make sure Azcona left the pits behind Ehrlacher.

“When we were waiting for him in the pits and he came out, we followed behind because we knew the man to beat would be a good benchmark,” said Azcona.

“The truth is, it’s been a brilliant lap; we’ve given it our all and everything’s been perfect.

“Ehrlacher gave me almost four tenths, and that’s given me the chance to be in the thick of the battle – otherwise it would have been very, very difficult to fight for it, because in Q1 he was six-tenths ahead.”

Azcona carries 40 kilos of compensation weight, and believes that keeping three Geely Preface TCRs behind in Race 1 is going to be complicated.

“It’s not going to be easy, to be honest, because they’ve got better race pace and their tyres degrade better,” said Azcona.

“It’s true that starting first is always an advantage, but even more so at Vila Real, where it’s very difficult to overtake, so now I’m going to study the strategy carefully and try to defend my lead.

“Tonight I will dream of the Joker laps, this is a new strategy, so we will see.”