Present: 
Thed Björk, Polestar Cyan Racing
Nicky Catsburg, LADA Sport Rosneft
Tom Chilton, Sébastien Loeb Racing (representing Citroën and the WTCC Trophy)
Norbert Michelisz, Honda Racing Team JAS
Anna Bazilier, General Director, Moscow Raceway
François Ribeiro, Head of Eurosport Events, WTCC promoter
Victor Shapovalov, Team Principal, LADA Sport Rosneft

Q:
How happy are you to bringing the WTCC back to the Moscow Raceway and how pleased are you with the season so far?

FR:
The manufacturers have worked a lot over the winter, LADA and Rosneft have worked a lot and keep developing the car. Honda have developed the car. Volvo have been testing a lot before their first season and it’s all because they are all running after Citroën, which has set the bar very very high. I never seen WTCC manufacturers working and improving like they have from one season to another and the result we see is more balanced competition between the manufacturers and we have seen some very good racing so far. We’ve had many different winners, many different pole-sitters and Moscow has always delivered good and close racing and I am hoping and think it will be the same this year.

Q:
There’s a new manufacturer and a new initiative for 2016 in WTCC MAC3. What can you tell us about those two things?

FR:
It’s good to have a new manufacturer on board, Volvo Polestar have joined us. They will upgrade their presence in the future but they decided to start with two cars to avoid sacrificing their testing programme. And, indeed there is a new event this year for the manufacturers. WTCC MAC3 brings a new element to the championship. It’s especially for manufacturers and takes place 10 minutes after qualifying. Each registered manufacturer puts three cars on the grid and it’s exactly like a team time trial in the Tour de France. The objective is not for the fastest driver to set the best time possible but it’s a collective effort to bring the third driver as quickly as possible over two laps against the watch. It’s an interesting dynamic because Qualifying Q3 is the most individual effort a driver can make and 10 minutes after it’s the exact opposite. In MAC3 drivers are succeeding together and dying together and this is exactly what happened in Marrakech with Honda when Norbi made a mistake and penalised the result. We also saw in Nürburgring when Citroën made a mistake with the fuel. It’s very interesting and very new and we hope the spectators will like it. We hope it will be a good show and Moscow will love this MAC3 drama. Since the beginning we’ve had some very close gaps and exactly the same lap time, no gap, in Slovakia and normally we would expect Moscow to be very close.

Q:
The WTCC’s route to Moscow Raceway was not really smooth this year – what can you tell us about this?

AB:
We’re happy to have WTCC back thanks to LADA Sport – they are the promoters of the event this year with Eurosport and Rosneft. Together we’ve worked out the best way to have this round and make it free for the audience. We hope that free entrance will bring more spectators to our grandstands. This is a very special weekend which will continue for four days – that’s something new! On Friday we have tests and free practices as usual. On Saturday WTCC’s qualifying and MAC3 and also support races of Mitjet 2L Cup of Russia. And on the main day, Sunday, WTCC main races and also a unique Lada’s cup with old-timer cars. Moscow Classic Grand Prix and its 140 old-timers occupy the last day on Monday. We are sure that this will be a great motorsport event and invite everyone to come and see!

Q:
This weekend LADA is participating in the home round as a team and also as a promoter of the Russian round, I suppose it’s a special responsibility. But first of all what can the Russian fans and journalists expect from the team in terms of results? What targets do you have?

VS:
In winter there was a lot of work made to establish the Russian round, there were a lot of difficulties and challenges and that’s why LADA Sport decided to become the promoter of the round, and it all started to work. We hope it will be a successful event. As for the team performance we are sure that it will be our strong round, I can’t predict the exact place but I can assure you that we will fight for the victory at this round. Let’s wait and see what we’ll achieve. But we are absolutely ready.

Q:
Were there any special tests or other kinds of preparation before the Moscow round? And how much does the Moscow Raceway suit the LADA Vesta?

VS:
No, we haven’t made anything special. Already last year we saw how good was the Vesta at this circuit. The same we saw at Slovakia Ring, which is a bit alike. We are good at the low to mid-speed corners where you need high downforce. I don’t think anything changed since last year.

Q:
What do you think of the brand new teams’ race – WTCC MAC3?

VS:
At the very beginning the idea looked a bit strange, all of us were not sure if this is good or bad. But when we saw MAC3 for the first time in France, we were all very impressed because it looked really interesting and exciting. I think it was a surprise for everyone. And I need to say that the idea definitely worked.

Q:
LADA’s home race and your one-year anniversary in the WTCC. How excited are you about this weekend?

NC:
I’m definitely looking forward to this weekend because last year it was my first event in the WTCC and it was great to drive for LADA in front of the Russian fans and the support was amazing. I finished P4 last year and I’m sure with the team we have made huge improvements to the car since last year. Like Victor said we have high expectations and we’re definitely going for the victory or at least a podium. With the support of the Russian fans this should definitely be possible.

Q:
In terms of a result what can you achieve?

NC:
We can definitely count on more. Last weekend at the Nürburgring was a little bit strange with a strange track but this is more a normal track and during this season we have shown we have increased our performance. This track was good for us last year and with the improvements we have made I really think a podium will be possible. I am definitely going to go for victory.

Q:
You’ve have some good results at this track in the past. How confident are you of a good result this weekend?

NM:
Firstly, it’s very nice to be back in Moscow again. Moscow Raceway from a personal point of view I like a lot. It has a nice rhythm and layout. And from a sporting point of view we saw in the last years the Civic was competitive no matter if it was 2013, 2014 or 2015 we were always close to fight for pole position and last year we were also very close to fighting for the Main Race victory so I am quite confident for this season. With the upgrades we have on the car makes it much better in terms of traction in the mid- and low-speed corners and we have these kinds of corners at the Moscow Raceway so I have to say I am quite confident.

Q:
It’s been a competitive start to the season for you. How pleased are you with how it’s gone?

NM:
We set high targets for the beginning of the season. It’s the third year of the TC1 regulations. I remember in 2014 I said we have to win the world championship. Of course we realise, as François said, Citroën set the bar really high and they are doing a really good job. Of course as a sportsman it’s always the target to beat everyone else. As a racing car driver I would like to win every race I am starting. I know it’s quite difficult but I see a realistic chance this season to fight for the Manufacturers’ world championship. It’s quite difficult to fight against Pechito because he is always so fast and so consistent every weekend. But we won’t give up. We have three cars and that’s a bit of an advantage I think. If we are a bit clever we can close the gap and fight for the Drivers’ championship. I would also like to thank the promoters. I know how difficult it is to get a race weekend with free entrance. I remember the first race in Hungary when it was free. It was a huge success because of this. We will try to do a good show and I would like to invite anybody who is interested in motorsport to come and watch us racing this weekend.

Q:
Welcome to Russia for your first appearance at the Moscow Raceway. What have the opening races of the season been like for what is a new team and new car?

TB:
I am like Norbert, I am very happy to be here in Moscow together with my team. Volvo is new to the WTCC for the whole year but with a really committed package. We have tested the championship before but now we are trying to be world champion. But the first year, the first rounds the time goes so fast. We want to develop the car but the race weekends keep on coming. But we are trying to develop the car as fast as possible and, as a driver, I am trying to learn the tracks also as fast as possible. We can say now we are very happy, we are trying to make as good progress as possible. As we have seen on the different tracks we have been to it’s always difficult to predict what our performance will be. Norbert said this track will be very good for the Honda so I want to say that about our car. The race track seems like it has lots of slow and medium-speed corners so we will go out on Friday to see how it is and try to make a good result.

Q:
With no knowledge of the track, how do you prepare for the weekend?

TB:
We have a lot of meetings in the team and I have a simulator that I am driving. I am comparing the simulator to the onboard videos on the internet and it seems like the onboard videos are quite good. But in real life it is always different because there are so many feelings when you are driving. It is sometimes to predict the difference. But the basics are good and we try to learn as quickly as possible. But we know the LADAs want to have a good result here and are pushing very hard for this. For the moment we will look a little bit we hope we can be there, looking around and trying to get a good result.

Q:
You’ve had some good results at this track in the past and been involved in a number of good battles. What can you achieve this weekend?

TC:
Firstly, thank you to the organisers for organising this amazing boat. It’s amazing we’re all here floating down the river having a press conference. This is a first for us and it’s absolutely fantastic. I love Moscow, I’ve always been very successful here. Last year I was racing a Chevrolet with ROAL Motorsport and I remember having a fantastic race with Muller and López in their Citroëns. I know round this circuit because it’s very tight and twisty, which I really enjoy, the extra success ballast can really hurt you hear. Being in one of the Citroëns this year we have to carry 80 kilos, which I am sure is going to hurt us. Last year I managed to take away a trophy, winning the WTCC Trophy, and got voted the number overtake of 2015 when I passed López and Muller up the inside at Turn 3. I am hoping something like that can happen again but being in a Citroën I’m obviously very positive. It’s a fantastic race car and Sébastien Loeb Racing do an excellent job with the car. I’m massively in the fight now, not only for the WTCC Trophy but for the main Drivers’ title outright so I am very much and very focused this weekend and looking for forward to racing at this great race track.

Q:
It will be a busier weekend for you than normal because you’ll be representing Citroën in WTCC MAC3 for the first time. How important is that for you?

TC:
Being part of MAC3 is the first time for me this year. I think it’s the right move from Citroën. The last two race meetings I have been quicker than Mehdi Bennani who has been doing it since the beginning of the season because he knew the car a lot better than me. The car is actually quite hard to drive and has taken me quite a few races to get used to it. But I know understand the car completely. And as much as Nicky Catsburg was saying the last race was not a normal race track for us, those of you who don’t know the Nürburgring F1 circuit peels off to a circuit called the Nordschleife and in total it’s a 25-kilometre lap with about 166 corners. And these corners go up and down, very steep hills with on and off camber. It’s the perfect test for a driver to learn the car because it’s got every different type of corner. So the Nordschleife my brain was like a big sponge and I was absorbing so much information of how to drive the car. It was excellent. In the first race I only finished four-tenths of a second behind López and I really felt that I was following him on all these different types of corners but I now I feel I actually know how to drive the car. So I am very excited now and hopefully I can remain for the rest of the year as Citroën’s number three driver in MAC3.

Q:
To all drivers, would you prefer wet or dry conditions because there is a possibility of rain this weekend?

NC:
I definitely prefer the dry. The racing is much faster like that and it’s a bit more safe, so I prefer the dry.

NM:
I have to follow Nicky. The car is competitive in the wet as well but for the show in terms of having more spectators on the race weekend I do prefer it to be dry.

TB:
I have to say the performance of the Volvo car earlier this year we have to have dry weather actually but if it gets wet we have another opportunity to develop. But I joined the WTCC to go out into the world for the warm weather because we have all the rain in Sweden all the time and now I would have only sunshine!

TC:
On that bombshell I was 10 years in the British Touring Car Championship and I did an awful lot of wet races. This year we had a very wet race in Hungary where I went from 10^th to second. I am kind of hoping it’s going to be wet but after my performance last weekend with my first double podium, a second and a third, that was dry so I’m quite happy for it to be dry. I’m very 50/50, I don’t mind.

Q:
Why does the rain seem to be following the WTCC this year?!

FR:
We’ve never had this in 11 years with 80 per cent of our races have been wet. It’s a bit depressing I must say. When I saw the weather forecast apparently it’s changing a bit… but when I saw the weather forecast for Saturday and Sunday… in the middle of June you don’t expect this but anyway it will be a good show and a good TV show but if there is a shop somewhere I can buy dry weather conditions I will pay myself I promise you.

VS:
I don’t think there will be any difference in the weather. The team will be prepared for whatever weather. The rain can give more possibility for championship points if there is chaos but a lot will depend on the weather.

Questions from the floor:

Q:
Maria Melnikova (DROM.RU, Russia) to François Ribeiro: Would you like to have a Russian driver on the grid?

FR:
The promoter does not recruit drivers, it’s up to the teams to recruit drivers. Sometimes we are helping and pushing a bit drivers, new drivers in a championship or drivers migrate from privateer to factory driver. But to answer the question if I would like to have a Russian driver on the grid, definitely. We had some in the past, they were obviously not playing at the world level, they were driving below the standards of the world championship. And it’s a world championship the WTCC and the highest level of touring car driving on the planet. It’s very difficult. I would love to think that in the future we will get Russian drivers again on the grid but what Russian people expect to have a Russian driver is to have a winning Russian driver. It’s good to have in Hungary Norbi as a local hero but when we go to the Hungaroring and to Budapest 70,000 fans are expecting Norbi to win races, not just to be on the grid and that’s the objective we have to set in the future for Russia. I am not enough familiar with the development of Russian motorsport but I see, for me, Russia is still an emerging market in motorsport, no comparison with UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain or Holland. It takes some time to make good drivers. Look for how many years you had to wait to get a driver into F1 and you see how much he is struggling in F1. I think it’s a process. The TC1 cars will make things easier now for young drivers coming from a single-seater environment. I have seen a lot of drivers in F4, F3, GP2 or GP3 and probably the answer for the future of a Russian driver in the WTCC is coming from that area of international motorsport, a young driver who today is in single-seaters. I would be ready to help and advise but we are not the ones recruiting drivers.

Q:
Boris Primakov (MIRINFO.RU) to Victor Shapovalov: What do you think about the performances of your new drivers for this year, Gabriele Tarquini and Hugo Valente?

VS:
They are doing fine. At the beginning of the season it’s usual to have problems because you don’t have enough testing and drivers need to have that time to adapt to the new cars. We expect in the second part of the season the team will be very strong. Gabriele has brought a lot to the team as a driver and as a professional person who knows a lot. The young drivers in the team are very expectant and they have high hopes for the second half of the season.

Q:
Boris Primakov (MIRINFO.RU) to Victor Shapovalov: Are you looking at new drivers from Russia for the future?

VS:
In the same way as François said, I would like to have a Russian driver in the team but it needs to be at least as good as the drivers we already have. There is no point having a driver of the same nationality as the team when he can’t get points and go to the top 10. The main problem is the big gap between the Russian championships and the world championship, that’s why we need a good school here in Russia and a strong Russian championship. That’s the main problem for now. It could possibly change in the future because the championships here are getting better and better but it can’t be decided in one day or one month, it takes a lot of time. In Argentina they have a very strong championship and that’s why they have a lot of good drivers. We need the same type of championship here to have some drivers in the world championship.

FR:
To answer your question also I had dinner a few months ago with the directors of SNP Racing who are investing a lot into Russian motorsport and Russian drivers and I told them you have Formula 4, a few drivers in touring car at national level, you also invest in Le Mans and Indy but if you want to make a proper Russian hero in motorsport you should pick two or three Russian drivers and help them and put them in touring cars. I had a discussion with them because Le Mans is great and it’s probably the biggest race on the planet but who remembers the winners of Le Mans two or three years ago? No one because the cars are the heroes of Le Mans, not the drivers. In touring cars, you have the opportunity to provide an international driver and make them someone. That’s what I said to SNP Racing. I don’t know if they heard my message but I will definitely repeat it to them because I am sure they could play a role in the infrastructure because you have Moscow Raceway, Sochi on the other side, you have the ASN, but you need backers because supporting young drivers costs money.

Q:
Alexander Kabanovsky (Motorsport.com) to all drivers: How important is having a home race?

NM:
From a personal experience it has a really high importance for me to have a race at home. It puts you in the spotlight and if you have a bit of luck, you have some success the WTCC offers it just puts motor racing in a different perspective, which is just what we need. For this I thank the promoters for giving free entrance because I think we can achieve a wider audience, not only enthusiasts but new fans to the race track. The young Russian generation can become the next generation of successful touring car drivers, which is not only important to the Russian motorsport world but to the whole country.

NC:
We don’t have a Dutch one as well. I can say that in Budapest in Hungary for Norbi it even gives me goosebumps when he comes out of the pit box and all the crowd is cheering it’s very nice and I would love to have a race in The Netherlands as well. For Russia to generate more interest and get companies to support the young drivers it’s perfect to have a race here in Moscow, it’s a good thing.

TC:
Going back to Norbi because he’s the only one of us here with a home race. Nicky hit the nail on the head when you get 80,000 people in Hungary going ‘Norbi, Norbi, Norbi’ on the foghorn. I want to go to England and everyone to go to England and go ‘Tommy, Tommy’. So if anyone here could shout Tommy that would make me very happy. England is pretty much home to motorsport in the world. It’s founded some of the greatest racing drivers ever to walk the planet and the current one obviously being Lewis Hamilton and there’s a long, long list. When you go to a UK race track a lot of the corners are named after a legend be that in cars or bikes. It makes you realise how many drivers there have been. I love the fact we’re in Moscow and every year the crowd gets bigger and bigger. I would love it if it did rain and the crowd still got bigger because that shows you how much people still want to come and watch because it’s so exciting. I actually we really enjoy… when I’m not racing myself there’s a very big grandstand with lots of different coloured seats. I go and sit there at Turn 3, which is actually a very tricky corner when you’re balancing the car on the brakes and the throttle and it’s having a bit of a drift. I like watching the young drivers who are learning how to drive, seeing how they are coping with that corner. I thoroughly enjoy the racing around here and I can see that every year the driving standards are getting better and better and it won’t be long before there’s a driver from Russia back in the WTCC and that’s a positive thing.

TB:
It’s always nice to race in your home country. For Volvo and the Volvo factory in Gothenburg it would be very nice to have one race. I was there two days ago and all the people building the cars really love what we’re doing in the WTCC. Obviously to go to Sweden, many of them would like to come to the race and that’s why LADA is supporting this race because they are bringing people who are working on their cars and proud of their cars. We have to remember the manufacturers also because they are important and have some influence.

FR:
Volvo would also like to go to the USA…

TB:
This is also important because the USA is a big market and really important for Volvo so I would say it’s probably more important to have a race there now than in Sweden so let’s go to America where we would probably have some sun.

Q:
What can you say about the calendar for next year?

FR:
It’s too early to say about the calendar structure. We have done a lot of changes two years ago when we changed 40 per cent of the calendar. Now I would like to stay a bit more consistent with the races but make them grow and a bit bigger. If we have a good event in Russia we will come back to Russia. I don’t expect huge changes in the calendar next year.

Q:
Alexander Kabanovsky (Motorsport.com) to all François Ribeiro: Why didn’t the proposed WTCC race in Sochi not happen?

FR:
You need to be two to dance tango. I am not sure we were ready to dance the tango in Sochi. It just did not happen. Sochi is a Formula One circuit. There was the idea to open the championship there because it was the same latitude as Madrid with a pre-season media launch in the mountains using the ski resort and then coming back to the track for the opening race of the season. But it did not happen. I have a really good relationship with Moscow. When I gave them very honestly a phone call and said we are going nowhere with Sochi. They kept the door wide open for WTCC and I’m very grateful for this and I’m very grateful the support from LADA and Rosneft. AS a promoter you are always looking for new things to promote your championship. I don’t know if Sochi would have been good but it’s not on the agenda any more for this year. One thing I am certain on is the quality of the racing and the organisation has always been good. We always want more spectators and we found a way to change the organisation of Moscow Raceway to make it more accessible to the Russian fans. I hope now we get good weather. But it just happened like this, don’t look for political reasons. It just didn’t happen and it’s as simple as this.

Q:
Alexander Kabanovsky (Motorsport.com) to all François Ribeiro: Why is there often clashes with F1 races. Would it not be better to avoid the F1 calendar to ensure a bigger audience?

FR:
It’s becoming impossible frankly speaking, absolutely impossible. Putting together the calendar every year is becoming more and more difficult. I am sure you notice F1 has increased their calendar, I am sure you have noticed MotoGP has increased their calendar. It happens we have broadcast obligations to both series through Eurosport. To make the logistics work on the global strange and if you want to fit the logistics and broadcast constraints you just can’t avoid clashes with Formula One, it’s just becoming impossible. We tried to avoid a clash with the Le Mans 24 Hours next weekend because it’s the biggest motorsport for Eurosport and I have no airtime for this. But it’s just like this. We had to fit Moscow and co-ordinate it with the date of the race at Nürburgring because that’s not a date we control, that’s down to the German federation. Then you need some time to travel to Moscow and some time to travel to Vila Real at the other side of Europe. Really there was no other place for Moscow to happen. But Moscow Raceway has been very kind to adapt their calendar to our dates and our needs.