Ignacio Montenegro: “I knew I would get a penalty”

Ignacio Montenegro (Honda) dominated the qualifying race for the 2024 FIA Motorsport Games at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia, but it was far from easy for the Argentinian.

“It was a very hard race,” Montenegro told TouringCarTimes.

“Not all the cars are the same and I’m racing here with a car that is not my usual one and, when the start came, I felt that the clutch was very light and, in order to not stall the car, I jumped the start.”

The RC2 Motorsport drive knew from the start that he would be penalized: “I knew I would get a penalty, and I was pulling away from Eric (Gené, Cupra) when the safety car came out.

“I thought the penalty was communicated a bit too late, as I was waiting for it in order to decide what to do. I was aware that I would receive a penalty and that’s why I pulled from the beginning, but the decision could have come a bit sooner. Still, there was just enough time to do something about it.”

The race had multiple incidents but Montenegro’s concern was a different one: “I was worried that there could be a second safety car because, if it would have happened, I wouldn’t have been able to build the advantage.”

From the moment the race was green again, Montenegro had just seven laps to rectify the situation: “We had just 13 minutes to do it but we had the pace and managed it by just 5.5 seconds, and I’m happy because we proved we have the pace to win and to take a medal home.”