Gabriele Tarquini praised his BRC Racing Team for their efforts in repairing his car following the second World Touring Car Cup (WTCR) race at Ningbo, enabling the Hyundai driver to finish second in the final race.
Tarquini had earlier taken fourth in the first race of the weekend on Saturday to preserve his lead at the top of the drivers’ championship standings.
But a damaged intercooler in the second race, caused on the opening lap, gave the Italian a non-score and saw him briefly relinquish that lead in the points.
The BRC mechanics worked flat out to repair the i30 N in-between the two races, enabling Tarquini to take up his fourth-place grid position for the final race of the weekend.
Tarquini then benefitted when Honda’s Esteban Guerrieri retired from the race ahead of him, whilst he also passed team-mate Norbert Michelisz to finish in second behind race winner Thed Björk.
Tarquini was relieved to leave the first of two Chinese race weekends with his lead intact – with the experienced racer having suffered a net one-point loss to his advantage.
“The toughest was just to survive with a five-place grid penalty for race one,” said Tarquini. “But I finished fourth, so it was a very good Saturday for me.
“Unfortunately, the second race was not as good as the first one. I had a big accident at Turn 11 because there was a big fight in front of me and a car stopped in the middle of the chicane. I broke the intercooler and the race was over for me.
“Fortunately, the guys were fantastic for me during the second race and the repair time. They changed the radiator, the intercooler, the front splitter and everything. In the end, the car was almost perfect.
“The third race was very good for me because I gained two positions on the first lap and after it was just following Thed.
“He was faster than me in the initial part of the race and also after the restart, so there was no chance to follow him. I’m happy with the second place.”