TCR Europe championship leader Mikel Azcona believes his second place finish was “probably the best result he could have hoped for with such a heavy car.”
Azcona, driving the Volcano Motorsport CUPRA Leon Competición, again extended his championship lead in the TCR Europe standings with another fine performance in the second race of the weekend at Circuit Paul Ricard.
After starting third on the grid, the 2018 TCR Europe champion found himself in second after the opening two corners of the first lap and he’d go on to remain in that position for the remainder of the race behind eventual winner Jimmy Clairet.
“I’m really happy because I was carrying 60 kg on the car and so it’s really difficult,” said Azcona at the end of the race on Sunday afternoon.
“This position is probably the best result I could have hoped for with such a heavy car and the Peugeot (of Jimmy Clairet) was very light.
“I scored some good points this weekend and I will also be much lighter for the next round so that’s really positive and I’m pleased we survived this very difficult weekend.”
Azcona, who couldn’t match the pace of race winner Jimmy Clairet, had dived up the inside of several of his rivals at the first corner, but ran deep into turn one after contact with PSS Racing Team’s Viktor Davidovski.
“After the start, when you are on the inside it’s very difficult to manage the braking point and also the cars are on you,” explained Azcona on his attempted turn move at turn one.
“I had a small contact from Davidovski under braking and I missed the entry point but luckily I only lost one position.
“I tried to put pressure on Jimmy under braking but he was much faster than me. It was difficult but actually it was fun to do.”
The next round of the 2021 TCR Europe championship is at Circuit Zandvoort in three weeks’ time.