Mikel Azcona has hailed his Hyundai Elantra N EV after taking pole position for the Kumho FIA TCR World Tour round at Paul Ricard.
This was the Spaniard’s second pole with the BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse team from the three rounds held to date this season, and his fourth overall in the TCR World Tour. His lap of 1:30.444 undercut the effort of Geely Cyan Racing ace Yann Ehrlacher, on the Frenchman’s home ground, by 0.099 seconds.
“The car balance was mega,” said Azcona, who led the way in both Q1 and Q2. “Some changes we did in qualifying made the car better and better every time, so as a driver I had the best car, which allows me to push to the limits and to set the fastest lap time and pole position. I’m happy for the team, but there is still a lot of work that has been done.”
Azcona headed into the weekend third in the championship standings, but the points given for qualifying have lifted him to equal second, and he has closed the gap to series leader Santiago Urrutia from 29 points to 18. It’s definitely game-on for Azcona.
Regarding Sunday’s races, he said: “I know what I have to do, so now I have to think about it. Don’t let’s stress too much to be honest. I really like to be without pressure and normally when I don’t worry all things go very well. I know what to do: sleep well and do a good start!”
Picture: WSC/Fastclick-AvensImages
