ETCC - P.Fulín: "I think I was very fast, had good speed during all sessions and also qualifying and the first race"

27.05.17

ETCC - 2017 Race of Nurburgring - Post-race press conference

ETCC, Touring Car, Race of Nurburgring, motorsport, FIA

Present:
Petr Fulín, Křenek Motorsport, Race 1 first position, Race 2 third position
Igor Stefanovski, Stefanovski Racing Team, Race 1 second position, Race 2 first position
Fábio Mota, LEIN Racing, Race 1 third position, Race 2 second position

Q:
Let's start with Petr, the winner of Race 1. It seemed uneventful for you after Schreiber retired. I assume it's never boring on a track like this, though?

PF:
Firstly, I would like to thank my team because they made a great job. The car was really closer to what I like. It was really easy to find good set-up on this track in the morning, but afterwards - especially in this [warm] weather it's difficult to find the right [tyre] pressure. Right now I can say that we found good [tyre] pressure for the race, although not in the qualifying. Concerning the first race, I pushed very hard for at least 30 or 40 per cent of this track, including the GP course, but Christjohannes had tyre puncture. I suspected that was the reason why he stopped. If you look at us [drivers in the press conference] it's very easy to be here if you have SEAT and the right tyre pressure.

Q:
Then in the second race you finished third starting from eighth position. How exciting was it to fight through the field?

PF:
You remember some penalties in Monza and Hungaroring? I think it would be a better idea to check the red lights before the start because I saw nothing [a person on the radio had to tell him when to start]. It was the reason why I left as the last in the last position. I think I was very fast, had good speed during all sessions and also qualifying and the first race. Concerning the second race it's very difficult to overtake here, you have approximately two or three places or some mistake of your competitors in front of you. That’s why it was very difficult to take some positions back. But I knew that this one would be a problem. I think it’s now very close between us [competitors] and that's my target. As I told you yesterday, this track is something special. You enjoy every metre of it. You are never sure here. That's why I try to enjoy this great atmosphere. It's hard to comprehend why some 300,000 people watch the race here, BBQ in the evening and drink some beer. It's great, it's not only the track but everything together. That's why I'm really satisfied. I was afraid I would go home in bad atmosphere, with some crash or something. Now I know I will spend very nice seven hours in my car driving home.

Q:
Let's go now to Igor Stefanovski. You finished second in the first race and you won the second race, so welcome back to the podium. Before the race you said you plan to win it, or to be at least on the podium. Talk us through your races.

IS:
This is one of my best races in my career. For me it's a great opportunity - also for my team because of their good work on my car set-up. This track is almost like a hill climb and I was two-time European champion. For me that was the race of my life today! Compliments to Fulín and Mota, I think that we [all] did a good job this weekend.

Q:
Huge congratulations to you as well Fábio, you must have enjoyed some exciting racing here this weekend. First in Race 1 and second in Race 2. Tell us, how was it for you?

FM:
First of all, like my colleagues here I'd like to thank my team. As you know this is a very long circuit, you need to be confident in the car 100 per cent. Any car failure could be dangerous around here. So first of all thanks for all their great effort. In Race 1 I admit there was a lot of pressure on my shoulders. The start of the season was not as I expected it would be. The pace that we showed since this Thursday meant that we could have a chance for a nice weekend. I also spoke with Fulín before and I think he understood that I was tense, but in the end it's a big relief to make P3 in Race 1. Race 2 was different. The start was very bad and I had bad vision from my position but I could make two or three overtakes on my first lap. There was one on the Nordschleife and another one in the GP circuit and it was very intense. The fight with Igor was also very nice – we were racing very closely. Igor must have been struggling with the tyres and I had the opportunity to win the race but in the last sector Petr was very strong and compliments to Igor – I agree it's the biggest moment of his career as of now and [congratulations] to Fulín – the driver that we already know as the European champion, so it was all really good.