Gabriele Tarquini was left relieved after a last-minute repair job from BRC Racing Team enabled him to claim victory in the second FIA World Touring Car Cup (WTCR) race at the Slovakia Ring.
A water leak moments before the start left the Italian racer’s Hyundai i30 N TCR sat on the front row with the front bumper missing to allow the mechanics to work.
Tarquini made the start without issues and claimed the lead from pole-sitter Norbert Nagy’s CUPRA through the high-speed right hander at Turn 2.
Once ahead by around two seconds, he elected to relax the pace slightly and ensure the car took the chequered flag, with the win extending his title advantage over Yvan Muller.
“It was not easy because on the grid we had some water leaking and the mechanics made a miracle!” said Tarquini after the race.
“There was falling some water and I thought I must stop after two laps. But they said ‘don’t worry, we’ve put in an old system like you and it will be fine!
“Qualifying was not fantastic but in the end I was second in the reverse-grid and this was good. The start was the key of my win because on the track the Cupra is very difficult to overtake and Norbert made a fantastic race, he made no mistakes and was consistently fast.
“I was pushing, especially for the first two laps. He drove very, very well. It was not easy with Norbert. He had a very good start and I was fighting side-by-side but I took the inside of Turn 2.
“After I just decide to push as strong as I can for the first two laps just to have a gap and then after that I managed because I wasn’t sure about the water and the cooling.
“It’s great, a great win because I will remember this win because I have never had a problem on the grid like this before. I gained a little bit of my points, my target was to win this race and I got the opportunity and you must use it.”
Tarquini will start ninth for the final race tomorrow, with BRC team mate Norbert Michelisz on pole position.