The oldest competitor on the FIA ETCR eTouring Car World Cup grid, Jordi Gené was able to tap into his extensive experience and still raise eyebrows over the course of the 2022 season, running for the CUPRA EKS squad.
After finishing fourth in the standings in the predecessor PURE ETCR in 2021, Gené continued with the well-sorted CUPRA E-Racer under him, though the consistency that proved the bedrock of his 2021 campaign fared him less favourably under the new race weekend format.
Though unable to capitalise on the CUPRA’s evident front-running pace at Pau season opener, finishing in ninth overall – some way adrift of the 1-2-3 result enjoyed by his trio of team-mates – and having his Sunday spoiled by a double deflation at the following round in Hungary, Gené bounced back in style with a run to third on familiar soil in Jarama – where he first raced in 1986! – for the third round, Race SP.
Setting up his weekend with a first victory of the year in the Quarter-Finals – via some staunch defending of the lead from team-mate Adrien Tambay – it spurred Gené through to an eventual second place finish in his Pool FAST DHL Super Final.
A wily performance when it mattered, Gené – who joined team-mates Mattias Ekström and Tambay on the podium – achieved the result in front of CUPRA CEO President and CEO, Wayne Griffiths and guests at the company’s home event.
“I am extremely happy because Spain is the best place to score such a fantastic result like this!” said Gené. “Everything worked very well since the beginning of the race weekend in Jarama. I managed to get pole position in Qualifying with the fastest lap of the weekend.
“The only small mistake I made all weekend was leaving the door open in my Semi Final race, but then the Super Final was another very good race for me. At the start I was fighting for the win with my team-mate Mattias, which was very close and very clean.”
While results during the second-half of the season failed to match the heights of his performance in Jarama, Gené would once more prove a stellar ambassador for the CUPRA brand’s pursuit of touring car innovation and the Spaniard would end his season ninth in the standings.
Jordi Gene
CUPRA EKS
CUPRA Leon e-Racer
9th – 218 points