A power steering problem plagued Gilles Magnus’ opening TCR Europe race at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and ultimately forced the Comtoyou Racing driver out of the contest.
The fault, which also contributed to Magnus’ backward slide to 15th in the opening exchanges, hit again mid-corner at Turn 1, this time sending him into the gravel and into retirement.
Speaking to TouringCars.net, Magnus explained that the problem hit during the opening tour of the 2.89-mile Catalan circuit, losing the Belgian valuable ground.
He tried to reset the system under the early safety car period, but the problem returned mid-corner at Turn 1 and ultimately meant the RACB National Team member was headed for the gravel.
In missing the wall, Magnus’ car is otherwise completely undamaged.
“My start was really bad and, from the first lap on, I felt something wasn’t right,” Magnus told TouringCars.net in Barcelona.
“All of a sudden, I had no power steering then it came back again in the middle of the corner.
“I lost quite a few places for that but then luckily there was a safety car, I hoped to reset it all and then it would be OK, so that’s what we did and then after the safety car, in the middle of the first corner, no powering steering any more.
“I was pushing like hell on the steering wheel but there was nothing I could do. I went straight, I was lucky I didn’t hit the wall. Tough times.”
Magnus will start on the front row for tomorrow’s reverse-grid contest, with the race scheduled to start at 12:30 CEST.