Having kept consistently scoring in the first four races of the 2017 TCR International Series, new championship leader Jean-Karl Vernay feels that further improvements to the Leopard Racing VW Golf GTi TCR are required to help keep him in the title hunt.
“It has been a great race today and it was good for the championship as we took some valuable points,” said the Frenchman, who is just a single point ahead of GE-Force’s Dušan Borković after both races at the Bahrain International Circuit.
“Once again the start was a bit difficult for me, we will have to work on it as we need to have a better feeling with the clutch and the throttle. We must improve as we don’t want to lose too much ground at the beginning of the race.”
As per last season, the Volkswagen Golfs have struggled when it comes to the Balance of Performance allocations, especially with the Seat Léons of James Nash, Hugo Valente and Ferenc Ficza having a clear top speed advantage.
“There was no chance to overtake them and that was it. We were hoping for another podium, unfortunately we couldn’t get it, but P4 is great for the championship,” said the tin-top convert, who has impressed many since he joined TCR International at the beginning of last year.
“Our target was to score points as the Bahrain Circuit isn’t very good for our car, but we bagged 27 points here and that’s really good for the championship. The whole team was just exceptional again, we just need to continue this way, scoring points, and I am sure the win will also arrive.”
Vernay and Leopard Racing are hopeful of further success in the current campaign on tracks that will suit the Golf, as Spa-Francorchamps will see a potential improvement for both parties in competing for titles this season.