Mikel Azcona was crowned King of the Weekend after an extraordinary fifth round of the FIA ETCR eTouring Car World Cup, Race IT, at Autodromo Vallelunga Piero Taruffi where searing hot temperatures gave all competitors a stern test in the glorious Regione Lazio.
Azcona took his first King of the Weekend win as his Hyundai Motorsport N squad were victorious for their first weekend too as they overtook Romeo Ferraris in the standings after a weekend which promised much for the local squad but ultimately delivered a very different weekend than that expected.
Azcona scored the perfect weekend 100 point tally, but he was put under pressure in his Pool FAST DHL Super Final as Romeo Ferraris driver Bruno Spengler pressured him hard alongside down into T1. Azcona ultmately prevailed on that lap and Spengler would subsequently spin out of the race in spectacular fashion, ending his day with a visit to a local hospital for precautionary checks.
Spengler’s Giulia ETCR needed only a brief evaluation to rule it out of further action for the weekend, meaning Maxime Martin’s hitherto perfect points run in Pool FURIOUS could not continue in that DHL Super Final.
The depleted field meant a sparse final Final of the day, with Nicky Catsburg looking to continue Hyundai Motorsport’s fine run until his tyre gave up its battle with a handful of corners left to go, gifting the win to CUPRA’s Mattias Ekström.
“It was an incredible feeling,” said Azcona of his win.
“I wanted to achieve the result with Hyundai Motorsport for a long time, and we did it in Vallelunga – the place where I took my first King of the Weekend crown.
“It was very positive moment, we had made a good improvement as a team and maximised everything from the car. Thank you to my team for working so hard every single day – what an amazing weekend.”
