A frustrated Mat’o Homola says he is expecting the Balance of Performance [BoP] to change in the TCR regulations, after a difficult start to the FIA World Touring Car Cup (WTCR) weekend at the Hungaroring.
Homola struggled for pace in his Peugeot 308 on Saturday, being consistently over a second and a half off the pace in practice, before qualifying 15th and finishing race one in 20th position.
The DG Sport Compétition driver says he has changed almost everything on the setup of his car in a quest for more pace, but has struggled to find a configuration which works to make him faster.
“We can say, that we have changed almost everything – from the geometry, through suspension up to the differential setup,” said Homola. “I have to say, that the car does not behave as we would like to. I pushed hard, really, but we still need at least one second to reach the top.
“I tried my best and pushed really hard. We changed several things on the setup during the [qualifying] session, but there was no significant change in the car’s behaviour.
“I managed to speed up a bit at the end of the session, but P15 and 1.735 seconds gap to the fastest is not the place I want to be. I could go faster, two to three tenths maybe, but it won’t be 1.7 seconds even in the best-case scenario. I believe, that there will be BOP change after this weekend.”
After finishing towards the back of the field in the first race, Homola admits he felt frustrated with being unable to take the fight to the drivers ahead, having dropped to the rear of the field at the very start.
“I did everything as we practiced before, but the car almost stalled,” explained Homola of his start. “I managed to overtake several drivers, but we lack racing pace and we lose up to two seconds to the fastest. Tomorrow is another day, I will do my best, but this is so frustrating.”