Girolami denied podium after determined drive in Hungary
HungaroringNestor Girolami was denied a second podium of the WTCR - FIA World Touring Car Cup season after finishing second on the road in Race Two at the Hungaroring.
The Argentinian, who a day earlier qualified his ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport Honda Civic Type R TCR a superb fourth, was promoted to third before the start as the polesitter was unable to take up their grid slot. He then raced into second, despite slight contact with another car at Turn 1, with a strong launch from row two.
‘Bebu’ faced pressure thereafter from faster cars behind, but an inch-perfect drive meant he was able to keep them at bay for the duration of the 15-lap race.
Unfortunately, he received a five-second post-race penalty for that contact at the first corner, which demoted him to fifth in the final classification.
That result, coupled with a ninth-place finish in Race One, nevertheless elevated him back into the top 10 in the WTCR Drivers’ championship at the conclusion of the first half of the season.
Nestor sits one place behind his team-mate Esteban Guerrieri in the points, with the second ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport Civic Type R TCR enjoying a productive raceday by twice advancing from 12th on the grid to finish eighth.
Esteban battled some balance issues in Race One, with he and the team improving that feeling in time for Race Two, but on both occasions felt able to maintain position without issue after two racey starts.
On the ALL-INKL.DE Münnich Motorsport side of the garage, Tiago Monteiro and home hero Attila Tassi both achieved best finishes of 10th.
Despite being hamstrung by his qualifying position of 13th, having missed the cut for Q2 by three-hundredths of a second, Tiago was again happy with the performance of his Civic Type R TCR and made the top 10 in Race One despite a hit from a competitor at Turn 3 that cost him positions.
Attila, who finished Race One in 13th, positioned his car well at the start of the finale to advance to 10th and held the position from there to the finish as he headed Tiago over the line.
Having reached the halfway point of the season, there is now another break of seven weeks before the next round of the revised 2021 schedule, with a maiden visit to Most in Czechia on the 9/10 October weekend.
I'm really disappointed to lose this podium position, particularly after such a hard-fought drive in Race Two. I had a really good launch and managed to get into second; I actually started better than the leader but I decided to stay behind and changed the line minimally under braking, as I was following the leader and was close to him, but I also knew that the outside line rarely works because you get a lot of wheelspin on the exit. There was unfortunately this small contact with another car but for me it was just an unlucky touch. Despite this frustration, I'm really proud of the job myself and ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport did this weekend, especially the qualifying performance and how we managed the 60kg of compensation weight today, which was a much harder task than in qualifying.
I'm really disappointed to lose this podium position, particularly after such a hard-fought drive in Race Two. I had a really good launch and managed to get into second; I actually started better than the leader but I decided to stay behind and changed the line minimally under braking, as I was following the leader and was close to him, but I also knew that the outside line rarely works because you get a lot of wheelspin on the exit. There was unfortunately this small contact with another car but for me it was just an unlucky touch. Despite this frustration, I'm really proud of the job myself and ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport did this weekend, especially the qualifying performance and how we managed the 60kg of compensation weight today, which was a much harder task than in qualifying.
It wasn't the best weekend in terms of pace, but I would say considering the compromised starting position we had for both races we managed quite a positive Sunday to go from 12th on the grid twice and secure two eighth-place finishes. Getting there at the start was important and then being able to maintain position was OK both times, even though in Race One we were quite far from having a balance in the car that was good to drive with. In Race Two we improved it a bit and managed to maintain a good pace until the finish to score some good points, which was our target this weekend.
It wasn't the best weekend in terms of pace, but I would say considering the compromised starting position we had for both races we managed quite a positive Sunday to go from 12th on the grid twice and secure two eighth-place finishes. Getting there at the start was important and then being able to maintain position was OK both times, even though in Race One we were quite far from having a balance in the car that was good to drive with. In Race Two we improved it a bit and managed to maintain a good pace until the finish to score some good points, which was our target this weekend.
We anticipated that it was going to be a hard weekend, so performance-wise I think we actually exceeded expectations a bit even though we had such a heavy car. Qualifying was very tight and unfortunately that result affected the weekend a little bit. In Race One I was pushed out by a competitor and lost a few positions, then I spent the whole race with my team-mates. And in Race Two I had another good start, but I was on the outside of the first corner - I didn't have a lot of choice with positioning - and contact meant I lost positions again. There's still a long way to go in the championship and we're not giving up, so we'll try to use the long break to prepare for a strong last part of the season.
We anticipated that it was going to be a hard weekend, so performance-wise I think we actually exceeded expectations a bit even though we had such a heavy car. Qualifying was very tight and unfortunately that result affected the weekend a little bit. In Race One I was pushed out by a competitor and lost a few positions, then I spent the whole race with my team-mates. And in Race Two I had another good start, but I was on the outside of the first corner - I didn't have a lot of choice with positioning - and contact meant I lost positions again. There's still a long way to go in the championship and we're not giving up, so we'll try to use the long break to prepare for a strong last part of the season.
It was a tough weekend, made more difficult by qualifying, but today the goal was to collect as many points as possible. I think I maximised what we were capable of from my starting positions. Race One was difficult and I didn't position the car too well into the first corner, and spent a lot of the race fighting, but it was good to bring some points home. I had a better start in Race Two and a good position at Turn 1, which meant I gained a few places, before settling into 10th. Even though there wasn't much going on it was really tricky with the compensation weight we were carrying; this situation should be a little different at the next race.
It was a tough weekend, made more difficult by qualifying, but today the goal was to collect as many points as possible. I think I maximised what we were capable of from my starting positions. Race One was difficult and I didn't position the car too well into the first corner, and spent a lot of the race fighting, but it was good to bring some points home. I had a better start in Race Two and a good position at Turn 1, which meant I gained a few places, before settling into 10th. Even though there wasn't much going on it was really tricky with the compensation weight we were carrying; this situation should be a little different at the next race.
It's tough to see this penalty for Nestor after the race, as a podium is the reward he and the crew deserved after the work they have done to fine-tune the package this weekend. Despite this, it was still positive to see that performance extracted from the car, and for all four drivers to score points in both races - especially getting three cars into the top 10 twice. Now we have a long break once again, but there is a lot for us to prepare for with so many unknowns going into the second half of the calendar, where every track will be new.
It's tough to see this penalty for Nestor after the race, as a podium is the reward he and the crew deserved after the work they have done to fine-tune the package this weekend. Despite this, it was still positive to see that performance extracted from the car, and for all four drivers to score points in both races - especially getting three cars into the top 10 twice. Now we have a long break once again, but there is a lot for us to prepare for with so many unknowns going into the second half of the calendar, where every track will be new.
