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WTCC - T.Monteiro: "Now the big points are tomorrow and this is what matters so it’s clear we have competition"

08.04.17

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

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

Drivers present:
Tiago Monteiro, Castrol Honda World Touring Car Team, first position
Néstor Girolami, Polestar Cyan Racing, second position
Norbert Michelisz, Castrol Honda World Touring Car Team, third position
Rob Huff, ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport, first position WTCC Trophy
Mehdi Bennani, Sébastien Loeb Racing, leading local driver
Alexander Murdzevski Schedvin, Volvo Polestar, Winning WTCC MAC3 manufacturer

Q:
DHL pole position number four Tiago and the seventh for Honda following a dramatic qualifying session here in Marrakech. Talk us through your lap?

TM:
As they say in Japan ichiban [Japanese for number one]. It’s really what we needed after all the hard work over the winter. We’ve said that many times already but it was important to show it now and show the progress is real and we were there. We’ve been fighting with Norbi to be up there and it was a matter of doing a nice, clean lap and pushing as much as we could but without any mistakes so I was happy with my lap. I wasn’t sure if it was enough but I was happy nevertheless, braking late and pushing hard.

Q:
Turning next to Néstor Girolami and what a sensational start to your career as a full-time factory driver for Polestar Cyan Racing. So nearly pole here in Marrakech for you?

NG:
First of all, I would like to congratulate Tiago for the pole position, all Polestar and all the guys for this amazing qualifying. For me it was the first time in Marrakech, nothing easy, because when you come to a street circuit always it’s very difficult to be confident with the track and in one second you can destroy your confidence. I took it easy through Free Practice 1 and Free Practice 2 and pushed hard through Q2 and Q3. For me it was amazing, nothing bad, one Volvo between two Honda. For tomorrow we expect more, to get some points and start the season really well. And also winning MAC3 we start the season like a dream. Now we will see for tomorrow when we are looking forward to a really good result.

Q:
Obviously a very dramatic qualifying session but as Néstor touched on a great battle is already shaping up between Volvo Polestar and Honda. What does this mean for tomorrow’ races?

NM:
We were already looking forward to that. The winter was already a bit too long and I couldn’t wait for the season to start. I was a bit disappointed with my performance today in qualifying because Tiago showed the car was capable of a first-row performance with pole position. But I did not have the confidence and even with a perfect lap I wouldn’t have been able to match Tiago today so congratulations to him. It’s a really important result for the team, to gain confidence for the races and for future events. I’m happy because starting in P3 is still a possibility to score some good points so let’s wait and see.

Q:
Did missing FP1 have a big impact on the result this afternoon?

NM:
It’s difficult to tell because the session of 45 minutes should be enough as I was driving last year here and the circuit didn’t change too much. Maybe it affected my performance a little bit because to gather the information for the set-up it’s important to be on the circuit as much as possible. Some time was missing from me this morning but I don’t want to put my result down to that.

Q:
Another driver absent from FP1 was Rob Huff but what a way to hit back with a run in Q3 and the fastest time in the WTCC Trophy on your debut in the Citroën. Not a bad effort out there, right?

RH:
Up until 11h45 this morning I wasn’t driving and a huge effort from the team and one seatbelt company from the UK in particular, Sabelt, for coming out late last night, driving six hours across the UK and bringing me some seatbelts and flying in from the UK at 06h00 this morning. The team did a great job but we missed vital time and that showed. In Free Practice 1 we lost a lot but I’m very happy to have made the qualifying let alone the top five. Points make prizes and we know from the past this is potentially Citroën’s worst track and definitely one of the best ones for Honda as we saw last year. But I have to be very happy sat here after qualifying so happy days.

Q:
Turning next to the local hero Mehdi Bennani and a great last-ditch effort from you to get into Q3. For a long time it looked like you weren’t going to make it but tell us about your lap because that must have been big pressure to get into Q3?

MB:
For sure. Every time I am in Morocco I am doing my best to make everybody happy. People in Morocco are following me in all the races and pushing me to do well and I really appreciate the support from all of Morocco. Here it’s big but positive pressure and I try to do my best. When you do over your best you swap from the other side of the limit and you touch the car or you are struggling with the set-up of the car and that’s why I feel happy with the Q3 performance because we know we have 50 kilos more than everybody and this is not the best layout for Citroën so in the end this is a good result to be in Q3 and to perform compared to the other drivers.

Q:
Turning next to Alexander Murdzevski Schedvin, Head of Motorsport at Polestar. Now the first time Volvo Polestar has taken part in WTCC MAC3 and you’ve beaten Team Honda. That must have been a very proud moment.

AMS:
Of course it is and we’re extremely happy and we’ve just calculated that is the first time we lead a world championship as a brand and we will savour the day fully. We have 20 tough races to go but this is the here and now and we’re very happy. The team performed impeccably. The car to beat at this track of course is Honda and we were 0.239s off in qualifying but we managed to outgun them in MAC3. So just a super-good feedback to everybody in the team who have been working day and night since the Qatar race. We’re really happy right now.

Q:
And one of your drivers is up here having qualified second, one of your new signings for this season, Néstor Girolami. Does this already vindicate your decision to sign him?

AMS:
We already waved a ‘hello’ to him last season and already from the first outing we had at Motegi in Japan we were quite sure he had something special. Given the fact José María López heard he was coming and ran away to Formula E it’s proof enough that he was a good signing.

Q:
Turning back to Tiago, now pole position is one thing but tomorrow you have a race to go and win but the last time you were on pole in Portugal you won so what’s your strategy going to be?

TM:
At a street track pole position is always a bigger advantage than it is on a usual track because obviously it’s difficult to overtake so I need to take advantage of that. Similar to Vila Real really: if I do a good start starting from pole that means about 80 per cent of the job is done. Obviously you can always have problems with brakes and temperatures but it was important to have pole position. Now the big points are tomorrow and this is what matters so it’s clear we have competition. Norbi is there, Néstor has done a great job and the other Volvos are not far away and the Citroëns as well are going to be competitive so I need to keep my head down, get a good start and bring it back home.