Tiago Monteiro, Castrol Honda World Touring Car Team
Yvan Muller, Citroën Total WTCC
François Ribeiro, WTCC General Manager
Rui Santos, Mayor of Vila Real

Q:
How much of an honour is it for the WTCC to come to your city?

RS:
It is a real pleasure having WTCC in Vila Real. We have a lot of tradition in motorsport. We organise motorsport races since 1931. It is passion for us. So, it is a real pleasure to have this race in our city.

Q:
What benefits will the WTCC coming to Vila Real bring to the city?

RS:
We will put Vila Real on TV screens around the world. It will bring us a huge economical and financial impact not only for Vila Real but also for Douro and the North Region. In Oporto they had in 2013 an economical impact of 83 million euros. Let’s see what happens in Vila Real. 

Q:
Fifty million people will be watching live on TV on Sunday. What will they see of the city and the atmosphere generated by the fans?

RS: 
We expect around 200,000 people during the three days of the event. We see a lot of enthusiasm in all the north of Portugal so I believe we will achieve that number quickly.

Q:
It’s a lovely day outside, very hot and very sunny but why bring the WTCC to this city?

FR:
Rui Santos said that Vila Real has tradition. I would go a bit further. It was probably the time to revive a sleeping legend. It’s been here since the first international races since 1931, Stirling Moss won in the 1960s and for me this circuit is a sleeping legend and it was time to put it back on an international level.

Q:
Can you explain the background of the agreement to bring the World Touring car Championship to Vila Real?

FR:
It’s the latest deal we have done at the end of 2014. We were racing in Porto and we were very happy with the race in Porto. But there have been political changes in Porto at the end of September and I felt the conditions were not there any more in Porto to bring back WTCC in 2015. I was ready to cancel Portugal from the calendar and I remember I was on my way from Hong Kong to Macau when I received a phone call from the present of FPAK, the Portuguese ASN, so it was exactly the middle of November. The president of FPAK told me would you consider Vila Real? I told him do you realise that I will present the 2015 calendar in the first of week of December, three weeks after Macau, at the FIA World Motor Sport Council? I said it’s too late. There’s nothing we can do. But he pushed me and said you should come to see the city and the track and then make yourself an opinion. Immediately when I back from Macau I flew here, I took Tiago with me – I saw him in Macau and said what do you think if we go to Vila Real? Tiago told me I really don’t know that circuit, I have never raced there. We came to Vila Real with Tiago, with Maurizio Bartolomei, our Event Director, with Manuel Breyner, the president of FPAK, to see Rui. I asked the president of FPAK for two laps of the circuit. We were four in the car and Tiago was sitting at the back. We did the first lap in the road car and I was looking ahead. I said that track is unbelievable so I asked the Mayor for a second lap and I look at the face of Tiago and the eyes of Tiago and Tiago was telling me François, we cannot race here, it’s too quick and too fast. We will be over 240kph there, do you realise? When I saw the face of Tiago I said to myself this is the place for WTCC in Portugal, it’s just an amazing track. Okay let’s call it the Nürburgring of the South, whatever, it’s very, very rare to find a street circuit with such a natural layout, so quick and so demanding and so engaging. I must say I did not fall in love with the Mayor but I felt in love with that circuit very, very quickly. Still we took a big risk, a big bet because after two laps we went to the Mayor’s office and I said to him: in two weeks from now I’m in Doha for the World Motor Sport Council and we have to sign a contract in less than two weeks. Do you think you can do it? He said: ‘Look all my time is here and are ready for it’. There is also one other element that gave me confidence is that the deputy Race Director for the FIA is Portuguese, Rui Marques, he knows very well Vila Real and when I said to Rui in Macau do you think a) we can make Vila Real b) we can make it a success and c) a good event. And he said yes François we can do it. It’s crazy but yes we can. Without Rui Marques I would not have endorsed such a big risk because it is a big risk to put a world championship event in such a short period of time. I know hard he has worked with the FIA and the city of Vila Real to make a circuit at WTCC standards, which are not comparable to a national race. This is the origin of the agreement. At the end I think it’s a question of a fantastic track, a fantastic Mayor and a fantastic city.

Q:
It sounds like it’s bringing a lot of benefits to the championship. Can you define what those benefits are?

FR:
We will reduce even further the amount of WTCC events in Europe, I think we will keep only four maximum. We can keep only events in Europe with very strong identity. Vila Real has a strong identity whether we like it, we dislike it. Some drivers will also fall in love with the city. With the track some drivers will say the circuit is crazy, too fast, too dangerous. Yes, it is probably faster than Macau and yes it is probably dangerous with the amount of hidden corners – it will be a big challenge for the drivers. But this is a circuit and an event, which brings a unique profile because it’s not easy to find a street race so fast. I have never seen another one on the rest of the planet, probably Santa Fe in Argentina is also very quick, but in Europe this is the only circuit I know. It’s a circuit very close to people and for our championship, which is all about real cars and real racing it’s good to race in the heart of the city and also it’s a summer date, the last of the European season, probably it’s too hot and next year we will have to do it a bit earlier, we’ll decide, but I think this is a circuit that will leave something for the championship and will bring something particular.

Q:
We’re here this year but will the WTCC be in Vila Real next year and perhaps the year after?

FR:
If the first event is good, if the Mayor likes it, if his people like it then normally we should be here for the next three years.

Q:
We’ve heard François talk about the track. I know you’ve not raced on the track but have you any idea what’s to come over the next few days and the challenge you face?

TM:
Yes, I have an idea. It is a big challenge this track. We all should respect it. Make a mistake on Friday and you will probably compromise all the weekend. It is a race track where a small or a big mistake can have drastic consequences. I look forward to tomorrow to get the first laps. We cannot be aggressive from the beginning, we need to be cautious.

Q:
Now we saw you winning in Moscow earlier this season with a fantastic performance. Winning your home race I’m sure would beat that but how confident are you of getting that second win of the season at home?

TM:
Winning at home is an achievement that any driver wants. Winning is always good but at home has a special flavour. Only on Saturday we can see how far we are from our opponents and only then it will be possible to define a strategy for the entire weekend. We have to give it all and then check our potential, but obviously the objective is to fight for scoring the second win of the year.

Q:
And what about pressure? Being the local hero are you under pressure to deliver a strong result this weekend?

TM:
Huge pressure. All the people I talk wish me good luck but always finish saying: “It’s to win.” Now we have to be realistic. Our performance on street circuits has been good and I hope to remain so in Vila Real, even though this is a particular circuit. As for the pressure I can make a good management. It is something healthy and motivating. It is not a problem for me.

Q:
You start here a few weeks after your crash with José María López in the previous race in France. Is that all forgotten now?

TM:
We have our own objectives and we will fight for them. Incidents happen and that’s what happened in Paul Ricard. Vila Real is another race.

Q:
We were due to be joined by Rob Huff today but, unfortunately, he’s been delayed on his journey. Rob is one of the most successful drivers in street races in the WTCC but your record is not bad either Yvan so what is the challenge you face on street circuits and what does it take to be successful on the streets?

YM:
One of the key of the street circuit is to be confident with your car because on a street circuit you can’t do any mistake and to go fast you need a perfect car. If you are not confident behind the steering wheel you can’t go fast. On the normal circuit it’s a bit different, on a street circuit it’s impossible on a track like here, which is very demanding, very fast, pretty dangerous. When there are these three elements you need to be confident with your car.

Q:
We’re witnessing a fantastic fight for the WTCC this season between three Citroën drivers. It’s very close between you and José María López so what do you think of the title fight and how close it’s getting?

YM:
It’s quite tight now with Seb [Loeb] as well. We could see in Paul Ricard it was only one and half tenths between the three Citroën cars. For sure I don’t give up. Everything is possible mathematically, I am quite far behind but we never know and I will push until the end, I will fight to the end and then we will see the result.

Q:
Is it the possibility of a fifth title that keeps driving you or do numbers not matter?

YM:
The number doesn’t matter for me. I know I am four-time world champion but if you ask me how many race I won I can’t answer you because it’s not important. What is important is to do your job as best you can. Citroën trust me and I will do my job as best I can and give my maximum.

Q:
We’re already looking at 40 degrees centigrade during the weekend. How much of a challenge will that create racing in those conditions?

YM:
The forecast I have seen is 35 degrees outside the car and inside the car it will be at least 20 degrees more and then you have the overalls, the helmet and the stress. For sure it’s better than a sauna but it’s more complicated. It will be the same for everyone. We have to cope with it, prepare ourselves for that like we do during all the year on the physical preparation. If you are well prepared you can manage it.