HEADLINES
- Another podium for Catsburg in the LADA SPORT ROSNEFT Vesta TC1 in the WTCC Race of Portugal (24-26 June 2016)
- Fifth podium of the season, a 50% podium finishing record in 2016
- Third in the FIA World Championship standings on 139 points
- Leaves the Portuguese street circuit intact, putting the memory of the 2015 visit to the barriers firmly in the past
The story of the weekend
- LADA SPORT ROSNEFT Vesta forced to carry an unprecedented 70kg of success ballast after its Moscow successes, placing the team and its drivers on the back foot from the outset
- Temperatures exceeding 30 degrees Celsius adds to the challenge of the Vila Real street circuit
- A calculated qualifying run sees a host of drivers vying for the coveted tenth spot in qualifying to achieve the Opening Race reversed grid pole, Catsburg closing the session in P9 behind fellow Dutchman Tom Coronel
- Catsburg got a clean start in race one, but opted to lose a position to Tom Chilton rather than risk contact
- Ran third to the flag in an incident-free race where any overtaking was at a premium
- Another good start in race two, this time gaining two places to run P7 behind Thed Bjork in the Volvo for the duration of the race and achieve a decent points score
Catsburg says…
On the Vila Real Street Circuit…
“Being in Portugal is great – the fans are amazing here. But being totally honest I don’t like this track and I am quite glad that it is over for another year. I guess my memories from 2015 influence these thoughts but it is also, in my opinion, a little bit dangerous and the track surface is inconsistent, making it a bit risky to push all the time, which I like to do. But I guess that is the nature of most street tracks and it is the same for everybody.”
On the performance of the LADA this weekend…
“My car was amazing all weekend. The weight we had to carry made a big difference and I think I was fortunate that my LLADA Vesta was not affected as much as my teammates’ who had issues with their cars, particularly Gabriele (Tarquini), so I am grateful for that.”
On the driving conditions…
“The heat in and out of the car is insane. I was packing the inside of my suit with ice to keep my core temperature down and everything in the car runs at critical temperatures, including me. The heat transfer through the brake pedal was actually burning my foot and I wasn’t helped in race one by my helmet cooling system getting disconnected on lap one! But I’m not complaining with these results.”
On his fifth podium of the 2016 season…
“I was super-pleased with this. Considering where we were in 2015 and how much I struggled with the car, to come to Portugal and get a podium was fantastic. I loved the trophy, which was appropriately a bottle of Port Wine, so the guys on the team get to enjoy the trophy as well.”
His thoughts on the championship…
“Yeah, I am P3, which is amazing. It is super-close back to seventh, so it is going to be really hard to hold onto it, but we are here at the mid-point of the season on merit and we will be trying hard to keep it up in the second half of the year.”