Dusan Borkovic relieved after delivering podium result

Dusan Borkovic scored his first ever podium in the FIA World Touring Car Championship at Suzuka, Japan. The Serbian was very emotional at the end of the race and tears came off his eyes as he crossed the line and even later, on the podium, as he celebrated with the team.

“It is historic not just for me but for Serbia, I still can’t believe it, it feels like a dream,” admitted the Campos Racing driver. “I had such a difficult season, I am a rookie so I should have improved over the course of the season but somehow after Marrakech I went down the cliff and started making too many mistakes and got too many bad results.”

In Suzuka the Serbian tried to change his attitude and it worked out for him:”I tried to be more careful in qualifying this time, I knew I could have pushed more but I just wanted to get a clean lap in and take the car home. In the first race I was behind Tiago Monteiro’s Civic and I was quicker, so I decided to try to overtake him with about four laps to go. When I managed to do so, I was quick enough to close the gap to Tom Coronel who was a few seconds in front of me, so I knew there was pace in the car.”

“As for the second race, due to my lack of experience, all I was thinking of was trying to avoid all mistakes and keep the car on the black stuff. I was not interested in putting pressure on Gabriele Tarquini, as second was more than enough for me. I was a little slower than Norbert Michelisz, we made contact at the last chicane but it was just a racing incident.”

“After that I realized I could push and be comfortable with the car at the same time, so I opened a gap an managed to keep my second place. Even in the car it felt like a dream, I was almost driving unconsciously. I would like to thank all my supporters from Serbia, including the Prime Minister who is helping me in my racing career, my team and my wife, who is so supportive.”

Speaking to TouringCarTimes, the Serbian admitted it felt like a black monkey flew off his back after this result:”It is a big relief for me, I felt a lot of pressure because everyone not only in Serbia but in the whole Balkanic region was looking up at me and waiting for a good result, and now that I’ve managed to do it I feel like a lot of that pressure has eased off. I proved myself I can do it and I think this will boost my confidence and ultimately make me a stronger driver in the future.”

Borkovic scored a total of 22 points this weekend, 3 more than he had in the entire season until the Race of Japan.