Nika International’s Rickard Rydell says that he is “very pleased” with his return to the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) in Argentina, despite only scoring a tenth and ninth place finish in Sunday’s races.
Swede Rydell is returning to the WTCC for a complete season for the first time since 2009. On his first visit to Argentina, the Honda driver qualified in a lowly 16th position, having experienced a technical problem at the wrong moment.
In conditions approaching 39°C on Sunday, Rydell guided his newly-built Civic to two points finishes, admitting afterwards that the conditions were some of the toughest in his illustrious career.
”It’s a great feeling to be back in the WTCC, and given our lack of pre-season testing, I’m actually very pleased with the way this weekend unfolded,” said Rydell.”The heat has been incredible here in Argentina, with temperatures of more than 70 degrees inside the car, and these were two of the toughest races I’ve ever driven. I was getting good use of all the training I’ve done this winter!”
Having struggled to get close to the front, Rydell admits that the team have learnt a lot about the car in the heat of the weekend in Argentina, and he heads to the next event with extra data to move forwards.
“We went here knowing that one and a half days of testing in the cold of Italy wouldn’t be enough, but we have learned a lot and we are definitely making progress,” added the 47-year-old. “We made changes to the car between every session – even between races, which is something you normally never do in the WTCC – and we have now got a month before Marrakech to analyse all the data. Leaving this event with points on the table is certainly a good start.”
Team Principal Nicklas Karlsson cited the team’s lack of pre-season testing – and knowledge of the new TC1 regulations – as issues which hindered their progress over the weekend.
”A positive weekend for us,” said Karlsson. “We are very much aware that our pre-season preparations haven’t been as thorough as we would have liked, and we approached this event basically as an extended test. We have kept evaluating different set-ups all through the weekend, making radical changes, and we have taken a lot of valuable information out of that.
“Rickard was sitting 11th after the first run in qualifying, and about to improve on his next attempt, when we had an untimely technical problem. Without that, things could have potentially gone slightly better still.
“The entire team have done a wonderful job, and scoring points here in Argentina surpasses our expectations at this stage of the season.
“We continue to lack experience of the TC1 regulations compared to other teams, but we are getting there and expect to make continued headway in Morocco and throughout subsequent races.”