With the 2022 FIA ETCR eTouring Car World Cup season now underway, it’s time to have a deeper look at the 13 drivers contesting the season.
First driver in the spotlight will be ETCR rookie Adrien Tambay, the Frenchman who got his season off to a great start with a DHL Super Final win in Pau earlier this month.
An Auto GP and GP3 Series race winner and DTM podium finisher, Paris-born Adrien Tambay is son of two-time Formula 1 Grand Prix winner for Ferrari, Patrick Tambay. Adrien has raced in single seaters and touring cars with a five-year spell in DTM with Audi taking podium finishes in Valencia, Hockenheim and Budapest.
Born in 1991, Adrien has been racing in karts and cars for 25 years and lists his favourite ETCR circuit as Pau – and he made that statement before taking a win there.
For 2022, Adrien is one of the four drivers at the CUPRA EKS squad and he was right in the mix at Infinite Reality Race FR, ending the weekend second in the standings to team-mate Mattias Ekström and with a DHL Super Final win to his name.
ADRIEN TAMBAY #27
DOB: 25/02/1991
Nat: French
From: Paris, France
Height: 181cm
Weight: 73kg
Favourite track on calendar: Pau
Number of years racing: 25
Career Highlights
2010 GP3 Series Spa Sprint race winner
2011 Auto GP – fourth in championship
2012-16 DTM driver, 3 podiums
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adrientambay/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tambayracingl
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tambayracing
Looking at the season:
It’s very nice for me to be part of this electrifying championship. It’s new challenge and the first time I’m driving in a fully electric series. I’m also very happy to be back with a manufacturer, especially with CUPRA which has a spirit very close to mine, so basically the fit could not be better.
It’s a great driver line-up at CUPRA EKS; How do you get on with your team-mates?
I get on very well with each of them. I have known Tom and Mattias for a long, long time, Mattias as a team-mate back in the days in in the Audis in DTM. And I get on very well with Jordi as well, he’s so experienced and great at sharing his experience. So it’s a really, really good team with a really good bunch of people in a nice atmosphere and from my part when the atmosphere is nice, it always means that the result will be there.
What do you think about the car?
Basically it was a very good surprise for me and I did not expect to have that much fun when I first sampled it in testing. The fact that it has very low centre of gravity balances the fact that it’s a bit heavier than other racing cars. There is a lot of power, especially with 500 kilowatts for qualifying. It’s a big challenge that we will face as with 500 kilowatts it is tricky because it’s very, very easy to overdrive it or under drive it so the window is very, very narrow.
What are your thoughts on the race format?
Racing is special and it’s an original format going into battles fight against each other three by three. The Super Final with six cars is great too. The whole concept is attractive for people watching and for me as well behind the wheel.