Serbian racing driver Dušan Borković says that his first objective is to learn as much as possible as he makes his World Touring Car Championship début in Morocco this weekend.
Borković steps up from the FIA European Touring Car Cup, where he finished third overall in 2013. Even though the Serb was at the wheel of a normally-aspirated S2000 Chevrolet Cruze, Borković admits that there are few similarities between that car and his 2014 steed, an RML-built 1.6 turbo Chevrolet built to the championship’s new regulations.
“My first objective is to learn,” said Borković to TouringCars.Net. “I have to learn how WTCC works: tracks, my new car, the Campos team – basically about everything. Even though I was in ETCC last year as a stepping-stone to WTCC, this is vastly different.
“I didn’t have much time to test, due to the change of rules and lack of time for car delivery, so for me its important to survive and take in all experiences from this year to help me in the years to come.
“I am very lucky to have great support from Serbia and my main sponsor NIS company, they understand that this is the year to learn and grow.”
“The car is much harder to drive,” said Borković of his new 2014-spec Cruze. “I cant compare with the 1.6T 2013 WTCC cars, because in ETCC I only drove a normally-aspirated S2000 car, so without a turbo. As I said before, everything is new to me. I love the new car, it’s the real deal.”
Borković added that due to his height he is unable to adopt the same seating position as his competitors. The Serb is one of the tallest drivers in international motor racing and is easily the tallest driver in the WTCC.
“For me its even harder that I can’t sit in it the way other drivers are sitting,” explained the 29-year-old. “I am 207 cm [6 ft 9 in] tall and that is a problem with the seat position. My knees are bent too much, my helmet is hitting the roof and and my back is crushed because the seat buckles are too low. But who said racing is easy?”
With a lack of testing, especially in comparison to anticipated pace-setters Honda and Citroën, Borković admits that the set-up of the car will be an issue over the season and something he and the team will have to continually work on.
“We didn’t have much time to work on a set up and that will be a problem throughout the season, since everything is new to me and the team. But I am sure we will work hard and learn to overcome these shortcomings. Campos racing is a great team and along with RML development, I am not too worried about the cars performance.
“For first few races of the season I am sure that teams with Chevrolet will share some information, since the car is new to all of us.”
Borković was absent from the official WTCC test in Valencia at the end of March due to his RML Cruze not being ready in time. However Borković has been able to carry out pre-season testing at other European venues visited by the WTCC later in the season and will have Campos boss Joan Orús as his race engineer, who Borković says is responsible for him being in the series in the first place.
“I couldn’t test in Valencia’s official test because my car wasn’t ready at that time,” said Borković. “I managed to test for one day in Spa-Francorchamps and two days in Paul Ricard. It meant a lot to me and the team, but its just not enough to feel confident. Its better than without testing, that’s for sure.”
In only his second season of touring car competition, Borković will already be going up against legendary drivers who have been competing at the top for decades. Borković admits that he is not daunted by such a prospect.
“This is a dream come true,” admitted Borković. “Last year was a warm up for this. Even though WTCC was my goal, I still cant believe I will compete with [Sébastien] Loeb, [Yvan] Muller, [Gabriele] Tarquini, [Rob] Huff, etc.
“I am here to stay, so I will work hard to learn from more experienced drivers. I respect all of them, but I will fight hard to become one of them.”
When the lights go out in race one in Marrakech on Sunday, Borković will officially become the first Serbian driver to compete in the WTCC. This fact is something which he is proud of and the Serb hopes to be able to raise the profile of the sport in Serbia as his career progresses.
“Serbia is now a small country that has had many wars and suffered a lot in the past years,” explains Borković. “Now Serbia is climbing up and so am I in the racing world. Serbian people love sports and are eager to follow any sport where we have a representative. We have Novak Djokovic [in tennis] who is representing Serbia all over the world. That is my goal as well. I am sure that the whole Serbia and the region of Balkans will follow me and WTCC.
“My goal is to popularize WTCC and racing in Serbia and Balkan region. To give fans somebody to follow and cheer for. [Norbert] Michelisz is doing a great job in our part of Europe, but Serbian people are ready to have their own in the one of most watched racing series in the world.”