Gabriele Tarquini does not expect Hyundai to be able to replicate their early-season form in the FIA World Touring Car Cup (WTCR) races at Zandvoort, with the BoP having hit the Korean cars the hardest.
Tarquini was just 19th and 16th fastest in both of Saturday’s practice sessions respectively, with the Italian ending up over a second off the pace on both occasions.
He believes that changes to the BoP, which see the Hyundai raised to a ride height of 100 mm and reduced to 97.5% of engine power, mean that the early season reign of the car, which has taken six out of nine race wins, has ended.
The 2009 WTCC champion also has to contend with recovering from his two shunts on the Nürburgring Nordschleife just one week ago.
“I am not 100 per cent because my neck is a little bit stiff, but it was better than I expected,” said Tarquini. “I know after a big accident it’s always very tough to re-join the track but I tried to take my pace and it was quite good.
“The car now is not like before, but we have four wheels and a steering wheel, and we must push as much as possible to do our best on this track.
“But for sure the performance will not be like it was on the previous weekends.”