Spirits are high at LADA SPORT ROSNEFT at the conclusion of the opening round of the 2016 FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) at Circuit Paul Ricard, as the Russian team was able to demonstrate that it is now more than a match for its rivals with solid points finishes for Nick Catsburg and Hugo Valente (Sunday 3 April).
In the Opening Race, Valente found himself third on the initial run to Turn 1, while Catsburg and Gabriele Tarquini emerged from a frenetic opening-lap tussle in sixth and tenth respectively.
Valente latched to the rear of Mehdi Bennani’s Citroen C-Elysee during the first half of the 16-lapper and he did a valiant job of attacking while playing a rear-guard action against the advancing Hondas of Norbert Michelisz and Tiago Monteiro. Sadly, the young Frenchman’s pace started to drop off as tyre wear became an issue and an opportunistic lunge by Michelisz was enough to relieve the LADA driver of third position and also allow Monteiro through.
Thereafter, Valente turned his attention to the fast-approaching Citroen of Jose-Maria Lopez; the reigning World Champion did his best to force a mistake with some bold moves, but Valente kept a cool head under pressure and fended off the Argentinian brilliantly to collect ten well-deserved championship points for fifth position.
Catsburg, who previously claimed to need training from teammate and touring car veteran, Tarquini, when it comes to door handle-to-door handle racing, showed great skill and judgement while embroiled in several high-intensity tussles on Sunday morning.
The Dutch racer traded places with Tom Coronel on lap one and, after locking horns with Monteiro, spent most of the race in pursuit of the Chevrolet driver. Catsburg clearly had more pace, but bided his time. A fair, yet robust passing manoeuvre on the final approach to Turn 1 opened the door to Volvo’s Thed Bjork, but the dispute for eighth place went right down to the flag, with Catsburg coming out on top.
Tarquini, meanwhile, was doing his utmost to hold back the Citroen of Gregoire Demoustier and the Volvo of Bjork while carefully managing tyre wear by keeping his distance to those ahead of him. However, on his eighth tour of the Southern French circuit, the Italian received a huge, race-ending biff from the wayward Demoustier that destroyed his right-rear suspension, and the Italian’s misfortune would continue on Sunday afternoon, as a collision resulted front-end damage and another retirement.
His teammates fared a little better on the French Riviera, as a delighted Catsburg kept the top four honest while driving to a solid fifth place and Valente finished seventh following an incredibly busy race against the Citroens of Bennani and Tom Chilton.
Catsburg said: “I am really happy, because last year the Race of France for us wasn’t very good and now we have come away with some fantastic results and a good haul of points. We couldn’t have dreamt of keeping up with the Citroens in 2015 and today we were right there with them. I still need to work on my starts and my racecraft – in race one I lost some positions while fighting, while in race two was much cleaner and I was able to get into a rhythm – but we can all be very thankful to the LADA team for what they have done over the winter. The drivers all share ideas openly and I think that is helping us move forward. I’m really excited about the next round!”
Valente said: “I’m very happy with how the opening round has panned out. I was disappointed with the outcome of race one; I can’t pretend to be happy with fifth after starting from the front, but I can’t complain too much because we weren’t originally on the reversed grid pole and we came away with solid points. I never got to drive last year’s Vesta, but it’s clear that the team has taken a big step over the winter. I have to step up my game because Nicky (Catsburg) was very fast today, but that’s a good challenge. I have been able to adapt my driving to the LADA Vesta as the weekend has progressed and that has helped in a lot of ways, so I’m encouraged for the rest of the season.”
Tarquini said: “It hasn’t been a good day in terms of the results for me personally, but it has been incredibly positive for LADA SPORT ROSNEFT as a whole. The car was very good and I was very happy with the balance. Nicky (Catsburg) is able to judge the improvements over the winter, because he drove the LADA Vesta at Circuit Paul Ricard last year. We really aren’t very far away from the Hondas and the Citroens and two or three tenths will make a big difference.”
