PCR Sport’s Mikel Azcona says staying out of trouble in race two of TCR Europe at Spa-Francorchamps was key to consolidate his championship lead.
The Spaniard has now extended his advantage in the standings to 11 points ahead of Dušan Borković, and 39 clear of race one winner Jean-Karl Vernay who sits third in the championship.
He scored a podium in race one and progressed from seventh to fourth in race two, outscoring nearest rival Borković on both occasions.
Speaking to TouringCars.Net after the race, Azcona was pleased with the progress he made throughout the weekend, and was happy to avoid contact in two incident-packed races.
“I’m really happy for the fourth position and for the weekend because it’s our first time here in Spa and we progressed during the weekend a lot,” said Azcona.
“Today P7 to P4, we maintained the car and did no damage and controlled the race. Now we are leading the championship which is fantastic and we need to continue this.
“The car was perfect in both races. We need to improve the car more throughout the season and to continue like this.”
Azcona also believes driving with patience and not getting engaged in unnecessary battles also helped him in the reverse-grid race.
“Today’s race was really difficult because the faster guys were behind me so you need to control in front and in the mirrors,” he said.
“I was slower than the cars behind so it was difficult. They came really fast and [Julien] Briché and Vernay were faster than me and I gave the position to them because it’s stupid to battle with them. I’m very happy though because it’s a difficult track.
“I’m leading this championship with a lot of good and experienced drivers like Borković and Vernay, world champion so I’m very happy it’s my first time in this championship so in my third meeting to lead the championship is amazing so we need to continue and try to win.”