Campos Racing’s Hugo Valente says he is “disappointed to not get pole” after qualifying in second for the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) at the Nürburgring Nordschleife, just 1.252 seconds behind pole man José María López.
It is the second meeting in a row in which the Frenchman has mixed amongst the manufacturers at the wheel of his Campos Chevrolet, having qualified in second at the Hungaroring.
Valente admits that he is pleased to have once again shown his potential, having earlier admitted to TouringCars.Net that he is focussed on delivering strong qualifying performances to get his name out there.
“I think it’s the only real track where we can say that the driver makes a difference maybe more than the car, so I’m happy that I showed my potential today,” said Valente to TouringCars.Net. “I don’t think I could have done better in a Honda or a LADA, for example. Our car is good; we have a good engine and have shown strong pace in fast corners last season and this is a track with pretty much only fast corners, so I’m not surprised to be fast here.
“Pechito [López] said that it’s pole that he wanted to get for himself – it’s the same for me. I couldn’t get pole today, but it’s a great achievement to finish second and to make a name for myself and for the manufacturer’s to start to get to know me.”
Valente was also second fastest in the second free practice session, missing out on topping the times by just 0.895 seconds. The Frenchman hopes that he has been able to surprise the Citroën team once again by mixing it at the top.
“I don’t think they saw me coming. They are so fast and so used to always being first, second and third. But I strongly believed that we could get pole to be honest.
“I had a good lap in free practice two that I made a lot of mistakes in. Of course, it’s impossible not to make mistakes here in one lap. I strongly believed we could have got pole today.”
Turning his attention to Sunday’s two races, Valente admits that he is concerned about the starting performance of his Chevrolet Cruze, which has often been beaten off the line by Honda and Citroën cars in 2015.
“It’s great to be P2 in qualifying, but if you’re going to be fifth by the first corner then there’s no point in being fast in qualifying, so we’re working on that,” added the 22-year-old. “I hope to get a good start tomorrow and to at least hold position and we’ll fight for a podium.
“I don’t know if it will be easy to overtake here – it seems impossible and if by any chance you’re close enough to overtake, [the defending driver] just has to close the line and you’re not going to pass.
“Pechito can always make a mistake; he’s not a computer so maybe one day he’ll make a mistake and I’ll be there to take a chance. I don’t wish him bad luck though!”