Present:
Mehdi Bennani, Sébastien Loeb Racing, first position
Tom Chilton, Sébastien Loeb Racing, second position
Nicky Catsburg, LADA Sport Rosneft, third position
Norbert Michelisz, Honda Racing Team JAS, DNS, leading local driver

Q:
Congratulations Mehdi on an amazing driver but how difficult were the conditions?

MB:
If you asked me one time which race I’d win in my career, I’d never thought I’d win in rain conditions but it’s happened today and I’m very happy. I tried to manage a good start, I take a little gap and this gave me more confidence to drive consistently and this is what I tried to do. But in the condition like this you have to be brave to stay on the track. A lot of time I was a little bit close to going out of the track but it’s like this. We are driving against the best drivers in the world so we need to drive to the limit. The last three or four laps I tried to manage my gap and take my win here. It was very close the last race [in Slovakia] but this time it was for us.”

Q:
Tyre choice was a key factor today. Certain drivers chose slick tyres, you obviously did not. How hard was that call before the start of the race?

MB:
I had a big conversation with my engineer. After my out lap I was thinking it was too risky to do slick tyres and after I decided to do the best with what I had. I didn’t think about the options of the other drivers, I just thought about doing my best with what I had on my car and that’s it.

Q:
Turning to Tom Chilton, Mehdi Bennani’s Sébastien Loeb Racing team-mate, a great one-two for the team and a great way for you to bounce back from what has been a difficult start to the season it has to be said. You must be satisfied?

TC:
It’s very satisfying. It’s just a shame Sébastien Loeb wasn’t here himself because I think the boss would have been pretty happy with that one. To go from 10^th to second was amazing and I was closing down Mehdi at the end of the race – I just wish there were more laps left. There was that decision at the beginning of the race – do we go slicks, do we go wets – it was really hard when you’ve got your engineer in your ear going ‘López and Muller are going slicks’. But as much as it was slicks on your out lap it was raining. There was still water in the gap in the stones and it only takes a little bit of water and it will be completely wet and it won’t dry. I made the decision to go for wets and it was a good call. The first lap was just amazing. Everyone was just sliding left, right and centre and I was just trying to keep out of trouble. I think being in the British Touring Car Championship for 10 years – bearing in mind we were doing three races per weekend – I’ve done a lot of wet races and that suited me quite well here on a circuit that’s just been re-laid. And it was very, very slippery – all drivers will say this was the most slippery circuit they’ve raced on. For me having lots of wet experienced really helped me today and I’m actually really excited about getting back in the car for race two, even though I’m starting one place further back in P11 and I don’t think that matters because we had so much pace.

Q:
Thank you Tom and turning to Nicky Catsburg who finished third for LADA. There was a time when you were second and there was a great battle between you and Fredrik Ekblom in the Volvo. Please talk us through your race – it looked very interesting watching live on WTCC Premium TV?

NC:
It was a bit mixed feeling I would say. I’m happy to be on the podium again – my second podium in the championship – but in the end I did quite a lot of mistakes, especially in the end. Tom [Chilton] was definitely faster but normally I would have kept the position if I didn’t make so much mistakes so I’m a bit unhappy about that. The fight with Ekblom was quite good, I enjoyed it but the track was… I’ve done ice driving that provided more grip than the track did today. It was like driving on eggs. It was so slippery and every little mistake cost you a couple of tenths. It was a strange race, a little bit unhappy with my own performance but happy to be on the podium. The tyre decision, to be honest I really, really did not understand why anyone went on slicks and I just want to say this. On my grid laps it was so wet still and I saw people going on slicks. It was still raining and I thought ‘what are they doing?’. I don’t understand why so many people went on slicks – it was really strange to me.

Q:
Turning back to Mehdi, obviously not the first time you’ve won in the WTCC but was this a better victory given the tough conditions you’ve faced out there?

MB:
Also in Shanghai my first win was very tough and I had to fight with two factory drivers on my back with Tiago Monteiro and Gabriele Tarquini. Here in the rainy conditions I was not feeling confident when it was raining. Everybody close to me – my friends, my family – my wife even – were thinking I was not really confident because I was a little bit in trouble with the rain this morning. But I am very happy to win in this condition because it’s something you can add in your career record. It’s something very strong but same as my win in Shanghai because a win is a win at the end.

Q:
Turning to Norbert Michelisz, a whole nation is feeling sorry right now. Can you explain what happened on the formation lap?

NM:
It’s so unfortunate. I’m so sorry for all of the people who came. We had an issue with the engine. I’m not sure if it was the turbo or something else but I just felt there was something wrong during the formation lap and the car started to smoke more and more. I was trying to get back to the pits because I knew if it was a failure we’d need every minute. But the smoke inside the car was too big for me to see the way so I just tried to figure out where the marshals are closest with the extinguisher. Hopefully we can repair the car because in circumstances like this, even starting from the back, there is the possibility to score points.

Q:
So is there a chance you’ll make it onto the grid for the Main Race?

NM:
The guys are doing their best but it’s very difficult to tell you know. There’s a small chance. Everybody is doing their best to repair the car but if I’m honest I see less chance. Changing a turbo is not that easy on these cars. You have to get all the parts around it out of the car to be able to change it. It will be tight for sure.

Q:
And it’s fair to say disappointing is not a big enough word?

NM:
It’s huge disappointment. It’s the most important weekend by far and it’s very bad when these things happen. I had a feeling it would be like this, it’s difficult to explain. I’ve had very nice memories from the Hungaroring, it’s always had a very special place in my heart. I dreamed to be on the podium and there’s always a chance in the second race if we can have the car repaired.

Questions from the floor:

Q:
Question to Mehdi Bennani (Morad Moutaouakkil (TV 2M, Morocco): How pleased are you to win this race and hear your national anthem being played?

MB:
For sure it’s stronger than P2! I hope all the country will be very happy and very proud for this result. It’s something like the best present you can give the people who trust in you and give you the opportunity to fight in the world championship in the high conditions and with a good team. The big thanks and the big support is from our King of Morocco and I want to say thanks to everyone for giving me this opportunity and this win is a present to all of them so thanks.

Q:
Question to Tom Chilton (Szilvia Magyar, Motorzaj.hu, Hungary): Did you think when you were celebrating your 100^th race at the WTCC Happy Hour on Friday that you’d be on the podium here today?

TC:
Well that was 99^th race and I’m very happy to finish second and I’ll be working even harder, knowing how confident I am in the car, to get a win. But all the other people who were on slicks to get wet tyres won’t be doing that this time so I think it might be harder. Obviously my goal is to get on the podium again, however hard that will be I will try my hardest. In qualifying I was devastated because I was 8/100ths off pole for the reverse-grid race. I would love to have started on the front row with my team-mate. When I was starting 10^th I was thinking it’s not fair, I should be at the front trying to get a podium but on my last lap I was thinking I’m top two, this is where I would have finished if I’d started front row and this is where I would have finished if I’d started at the front and now I’m here. I’ve gone on this emotional rollercoaster all weekend but that’s motorsport.