Eric Gené: “We feel strong for the races”

Monlau Motorsport driver Eric Gené (Cupra) is feeling confident for this afternoon’s FIA Motorsport Games qualifying race in Valencia after finishing third in the qualifying session.

“It was a very complicated session, as at the beginning the track was very wet,” Gené explained to TouringCarTimes. ”But we were able to manage the wet track with the slicks, so learning all the time, which is perfect for me, so very happy.”

The lap times improved during the last minutes of the session, with positions changing rapidly. Asked about his pace for the top spot, the 16-year-old said: “I think we still lacked a little bit to be able to fight for the pole position.

“We could have got the pole position if we had delayed our last lap a bit, but one never knows. But we are there, that’s for sure.”

Gené was third behind his team-mate and fellow Cupra driver Raphael Reis. The Spaniard is not surprised by the Brazilian’s pace : “Reis is a driver with a lot of experience and has shown great potential, so we knew he would be strong. But I feel good for the race, we know we have good speed and that I’m very consistent with race pace, so I feel strong.”

The TCR cars are running on Pirelli tyres for this event and Gené is happy with the performance of the tyres: “I’m satisfied with the Pirellis, we never had used them before, so I had to adapt quickly, but I feel comfortable and the tyre works very well.”