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WTCC - T.Björk: "It feels very good in the team, good atmosphere, everybody is pushing to win"

30.04.17

WTCC - 2017 Race of Italy - Post-qualifying press conference

WTCC, Touring car, Race of Monza, FIA, motorsport

Present:
Thed Björk, Polestar Cyan Racing, DHL Pole Position Award winner
Tiago Monteiro, Castrol Honda World Touring Car Team, second position
Rob Huff, ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport, third position, fastest WTCC Trophy driver
Alexander Murdzevski Schedvin, Team Volvo Polestar representative

Q:
Turning to you Thed and congratulations on your first pole position in the World Touring Car Championship. You are now the 25th driver to qualify on pole in the WTCC. You were happy when you got out of the car and you’re still smiling now. Just talk us through how you did it.

TB:
Yes, 25 people have been on pole in WTCC, there's more people who walked on the moon, right? But I feel really happy. You know it feels really good and I don't know what happened because I just felt great from the beginning of the day, the car feels great and it was such a nice qualifying, every qualifying – Q1, Q2 and Q3. So I just kept it together this time. Because last year I was in Q3 and I pushed really too hard.

Q:
And with Volvo Polestar winning WTCC MAC3 for the second time this season it really has been a great day and a great team performance, right?

TB:
It feels very good in the team, good atmosphere, everybody is pushing to win. And just to put it together in MAC3, that's the main point for us, because we are new to it. Nicky [Catsburg] has some experience but still we need to focus on the strategy and it’s working. Really putting the laps in that we can do. We were very happy in Marrakech, and at this track as well, but this time we wanted to win, though we were surprised how fast Tiago was.

Q:
How can you transfer this performance to tomorrow’s races?

TB:
I think the race tomorrow is going to be really interesting, because [from] what I've been doing here before in Monza is that you can overtake during the whole race. The tyres are so good that you can really keep pushing the whole race. In this touring car series I think a couple of people will want to go up in front, especially the guys next to me. So I'll try to follow them and get as many positions as possible. And then in the first race it’s not as easy as on other tracks because if you were on pole and made a good start you were in the lead. But the other ones would slipstream. So definitely a tough race but I look forward to it.

Q:
Coming to your boss, effectively, Alexander Murdzevski Schedvin, Head of Motorsport at Polestar. Second time this season we've seen Polestar win MAC3, an excellent team performance. Just explain the working behind that effort today.

AMS:
All weekend we've seen that the car is doing really well and also that the drivers have been well on the lap times. So we had a moment of anticipation there in the start sequence. They got off the line well. When they did, we felt quite comfortable that they will be able to perform. You never know what the competitors will do but in MAC3 you can not focus on anything but your own performance really, so we just wanted to keep it nice and tidy and [have a] good start. So when they got off the line well we were quite hopeful that eventually it'd be enough.

Q:
You spoke before the event about the pressure on the team this weekend to deliver a result. Is some of that pressure subsiding a bit now?

AMS:
Usually when we go into the season you know that some tracks may suit you better than others. So we said going into Marrakech where we lacked there last year so we were not expecting too much other than not to go to away game with too many goals against us. So it is what we have seen in Marrakech and now we know that when we come to Monza that’s the track where we have to deliver and we should keep our plan to be the contender for the world championship. So yes you're under a lot of pressure. And we saw also today going into Q3 with three cars you should feel quite confident. But two out of three burned and it was only Thed left but fortunately he delivered so I was quite happy.

Q:
Turning to Tiago Monteiro next, Tiago you experienced the joy of pole position in Marrakech just a few weeks ago and here you're second. Is there anything that could have gone better for you in qualifying or were you on full throttle?

TM:
First of all congratulations to everyone here and especially to the Volvo boys, they obviously did a very good job. It's great we have great fights and we have also Citroën here so it’s a nice mix I would say. I have to say we were quite surprised, very happily surprised about our performance here. When you know our technical background and when you look at the tests, the lap times we were doing here, we were really worried that it was going to be a very hard track for us. The great thing about this team is we never give up and we keep working all the time. The package came together very nicely. I must say that Japan did a very amazing job with the engine update, JAS did a very good job with the aerodynamic package as well. So everything gelled well together. I had a good car and I could really push. I did a very good lap. I could have gone a little bit faster, yes, there's always something more to take, but no more than one-tenth. I did a pretty nice lap. Obviously, Thed did a very good one and I couldn’t catch that. I'm nevertheless very happy about that and it's really a team effort, definitely.

Q:
So what do you have to do to beat them tomorrow?

TM:
The race is a different story. As Thed said you can overtake here, a lot of things can happen, slipstreaming is going to be important and how much the slipstreaming works on these cars, so of course starting in the front is important and the first row and we’ll see what happens. It doesn't mean that if you start first you will hold it because as we said there are possibilities to overtake here. It's a bit of a strategy tomorrow. Hopefully the car lasts, the tyre degradation lasts as well. I had a big scare this morning and Rob as well so we need to be careful with the tyres, it’s very demanding on the tyres. So there’s a lot of question marks still. We need to work a little bit tonight.

Q:
Turning to Rob Huff, pole position in the WTCC Trophy, third overall and for a time it looked like the overall pole, but not quite. Just talk us through your qualifying, please.

RH:
Yeah, it was a good Q1 and Q2, everything went totally to plan. Everything was working well, and of course you know being the single car team it makes life very difficult with the slipstreaming. We've got three Hondas and three Volvos towing each other and it makes a big difference here. I knew that if we can get into Q3 that we stand a good chance but unfortunately I didn't do the best lap with two oversteer moments. Huge congratulations to Thed, that was a hell of a lap. The sector two he did there was pretty stonking to be fair. So yes it didn't just quite work for us but I have to be happy with P3.

Q:
Is the season back on track now, given the Marrakech didn't go quite according to plan?

RH:
Yes, I hope so, you know we've got to make up for Marrakech. Hopefully throughout the year everyone else will have a bad round and we won't have anymore bad luck but we take it as it comes and score points as they come. Try not take too many risks, we know we've got a good car, we've got a strong car and we have to use this as an advantage.

Questions from the floor

Q:
To all drivers from Neil Hudson (Touringcartimes, UK): There were a lot of track limits investigations during that session and a lot of replays showing cars on their fast laps. Can you feedback on how comfortable you are with the integrity of your laps in qualifying?

RH:
I was quite happy with mine, it was definitely within the limits the whole time. I've seen a few replays and not saying anything against anyone but both of the guys next to me were, I think, quite close on the limits. Either we reinforce track limits or we don't and it has to be black or white. It's quite clear, we're told in the briefings about the track limits, it's in the briefing notes.

TB:
I was pushing like hell for this pole so pushing hard and I think I was really on the limit but I hope it's okay.

TM:
Whenever there is a proper out of bounds we usually talk about it in the briefing. We talked about the straight line but not about any other ones. So as long as you're on the track... I haven't seen the images so we'll see.

Q:
To Rob Huff and Thed Björk from Andrew Abbott (Touringcars.net, UK): Rob, before the season you said you were happy to be in a one-car team, that you were quite enjoying that. And obviously in Monza you've spoken about the slipstreaming being an issue without a team-mate. Is this the first time you maybe regret being in a one-car team or you're still enjoying it?

RH:
No, because I just use someone else. So for me it was quite simple. We're quite lucky because we're quite apart on the pitlane and we managed to get on the back of the Hondas, Coronel was in the middle, he went off at sector two, but if anything he did me a bit of a favour because I was catching him. That left Tiago in front of me and he and Norbi were making a bit of a team strategy I think. I just managed to get on back of Tiago and that was enough to get me through to Q3.

Q:
Okay and just getting into Q3 was the objective?

RH:
Yes, obviously I knew in Q3 there is no slipstreaming – it’s about one lap and I didn't do the best job in Q3, I made two mistakes. But also, really, I have to be happy. Honda have done a hell of a job with their new engine. There is no doubt that thing is very very quick indeed. We knew that Volvo, even from last year, was very very quick on the straight line and again we knew they were going to be very quick also here. So I think to be sitting here in Q3 in a private one-car team makes me very happy.

Q:
Thed, you were fastest in both Q2 with slipstreaming and Q3 without it, so that must be quite reassuring for you and the team.

TB:
The advantage is we have a team, we have a strategy and slipstreaming makes a lot of straightline speed and lap time. What I was focusing on, even when i was pulling the others at one point in Q2, is to have a good lap, to focus on the balance to go into Q3 by myself. I really wanted to go to Q3 because there is no slipstream and it's the same for everybody. But even in my Q2 lap I think I got a slipstream from Bennani, so even if you're three in the team, you still use other people. This is a track where you really have to take your chances and really do a good job when the offer comes.