NEWS [ 147 ] - 25 Oct 2009
WINNING DRIVERS’ QUOTES
James THOMPSON: After qualifying eighth I had few hopes to win today. Being sixth on the grid with a SEAT turbodiesel far ahead was not encouraging. I thought that I could maybe finish in the top three of the first race and then try everything in the second. And it worked, although a lot of credit for this goes to my engineer who led me towards the right tyre choice. I usually go for the wrong one… I also have to thank the team, because they have done an amazing job. The car was perfect in both races. Quick and consistent.
Franz ENGSTLER: I am really happy! For the whole weekend I found myself driving the car in the worst possible conditions for rear-wheel drive. I had a lot of oversteering and it was not easy to stay on the track and try to catch the others. I was also lucky to escape the incident at the start of the second race. When I rejoined after swerving on the grass I said to myself: let’s hope that nobody hits me now!
Norbert MICHELISZ: Everything worked very well until the second race. Then we made the wrong tyre choice. It was a shame, but I’m happy anyway. This was a great opportunity and I am proud of myself, because I was able to claim pole position and to win the first race on my first outing with the TDI car and in such difficult weather conditions. I wish to tank SEAT Sport for giving me this fantastic opportunity.
Marcis BIRKENS: The beginning has not been easy for us, as Zadyisich and his BMW proved that they could be strong competitors. And in fact they were faster in qualifying. But we did some changes, which enabled me to have a consistent race pace. I’m proud to be the first Baltic driver to win the European Cup.
Carsten SEIFERT: We came here to win the Cup and we accomplished our mission, which is a good way for the team to end the season. Obviously I would have been happier if there were other competitors, but we have worked to improve performance during the weekend and I was able to achieve a very good pace.
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