ETCC - Post-qualifying press conference

17.09.17

ETCC - 2017 Race of Zolder - Post Qualifying Press Conference

ETCC, Race of Zolder

Present:
Norbert Nagy, Zengő Motorsport, first position
Igor Stefanovski, Stefanovski Racing Team, second position
Fábio Mota, LEIN Racing, third position

Q:
Norbi, you set an impressive 1m39s lap and seemed quite unbeatable, even though Igor Stefanovski pushed hard. How did the lap go for you?

NN:
I still can't believe it now... When we arrived here I didn't have the car put together, there was only the the chassis and that's it. But because of all that, I felt no pressure, also because I missed a lot of yesterday's testing. I just tried to enjoy my time, enjoy the driving and that proved more easy as a result.

Q:
It seems it won't be a run away race for anyone, considering the close gaps. How do you see your chances tomorrow?

NN:
Honda has had really good starts, so I think that is the hardest thing for us this year. My starts are better and better so we will see. This is not a very wide track and overtaking will be difficult, so a good start is important.

Q:
Igor, you had been very impressive already this morning. You initially complained about oversteer, but could you have gone even quicker in qualifying?

IS:
First of all congratulations to Norbi who did an amazing lap for pole position. My mechanics did a great job with the car and I'm happy with second position. But tomorrow is the race and it will be difficult because everyone is so close. I'm happy and thanks to my team who worked perfectly on my car and we will see how it works out tomorrow.

Q:
It's not a very long run to the first corner. How important is the start here?

IS: 
It's [the start] very important. I tried some starts today but Norbi does good starts and we will see. I will do everything to push to move to the front.

Q:
Fábio, amazing lap and you pipped a Honda car to third place. We know they have great starts, how worried should you be tomorrow?

FM:
First of all, congratulations to Nagy. Despite what happened to him yesterday he did a superb lap and I hope he can keep the place tomorrow because he deserves his position in the ETCC standings. He deserves some success in this championship, so all the best for him. And also for Stefanovski, who's been very fast this weekend. It's important to mention that I went into slipstream of Stefanovski on my fastest lap and I could see he's using the track very well, so congratulations to him and it seems the car is working pretty well too, so they are a very strong competition this weekend. As for me, I need to say the Honda cars will be a bit tricky tomorrow. Everyone knows that their starts are a strong point of their car. So we need to pay attention the first three corners after the start, to avoid being behind Honda cars. As Nagy said, it's very difficult to overtake here as the track is not very wide. I'm happy for the third position but I think we need to work a little bit more because the pace is not there yet.