Mikel Azcona: “I did the maximum of what I had”

Mikel Azcona was close to race leader Yann Ehrlacher throughout the first FIA TCR World Tour race at El Pinar in Uruguay and said he was flat out trying to challenge for the lead.

“It was a very tough race. I did the maximum of what I had,” said Azcona.

“I knew before the race the only chance to win the race was at the start, so I did a super good start and then I tried my move in T3.”

Two safety car restarts meant new opportunities for the BRC Hyundai driver who ultimately finished second, just six tenths behind his Lynk & Co rival – with neither drivers carrying compensation weight this weekend.

“I saw that the car was working perfectly, but I was not in the position to attack in T12 which is the only place to overtake,” said Azcona.

“Anyway, I am happy with P2, which was the maximum we could achieve today. It’s time now to think about the 2nd race and to try and get some more points.”

Ehrlacher’s win means that the Cyan Racing driver has moved up into second place overall, 21 points behind points leader Norbert Michelisz who finished fifth.

“The start was crucial for us, and we knew it, so we had to nail it,” said Ehrlacher.

“As soon as we kept in the lead we made a big step towards the win, then it was not easy as Mikel was very quick behind and was chasing. Every time we were building a gap it was reduced to zero with the safely car, so we had to start again but at the end of the day the team gave me a very good car and we maximised it so it was good points we scored.”