Photo: TCR Media

Pepe Oriola hoping for consistent Salzburg weekend

Pepe Oriola briefly led the championship in Monza, Italy, after the first race. The Craft-Bamboo Lukoil driver had finished the first head in second place, but a retirement in Race 2 pushed him out of the lead in favour of WestCoast Racing driver Gianni Morbidelli.

“It’s been a very tight championship, where anything can happen,” said the SEAT driver. “After finishing 2nd in the first race in Monza, I was the championship leader, but after having to retire in the second due to a broken suspension after contact with Morbidelli, I’m in third place, 21 points away from Gianni. In Salzburgring we will close an intense month of May, where we have raced almost every weekend. However, we have shown that we are a very competitive team and we are going flat out in every meeting. Austria will be no exception.”

After the third DNF of the season, the Spaniard is adamant he has to concentrate on finishing the races and scoring points:”I don’t care about what the other drivers do, I just want to be consistent throughout the weekend. Had I finished the second race at Monza, I could have opened a small gap from my competitors in the championship, but racing is like that. My priority at this stage of the season is to score at each race, without taking unnecessary risks, to avoid regretting them in Macau. For now, the objectives are being met and I continue to be a strong candidate for the title.”

Oriola has good history at the Austrian track, where he finished on the podium in the FIA European Touring Car Cup in 2011:”Salzburgring brings me a lot of fond memories of my beginnings in the world of touring cars, although it is a circuit where the weather can be decisive because rain for the weekend is expected. However, I hope to get something positive for my title hunt”.

Oriola is currently third in the championship, 7 points behind fellow SEAT driver Stefano Comini and a further 14 shy of championship leader Gianni Morbidelli.