For the third round of the FIA ETCR eTouring Car World Cup the team at the top of the Manufacturers’ standings, CUPRA EKS, heads to their manufacturing and racing home of Spain and Madrid’s Jarama-RACE circuit hopeful of continuing their 2022 success so far.
After finishing the first round with three of the CUPRA EKS team drivers on the podium in Pau for Infinite Reality Race FR, the squad emerged from last weekend’s Race HU at Budapest with Adrien Tambay as King of the Weekend and overall points leader and Mattias Ekström second in the weekend and season.
With a healthy 90-point lead in the Manufacturers’ standings, CUPRA hope home advantage pays dividends.
“After a great turn at Hungarorging, where I could share the podium with Mattias Ekström, I can’t wait to hit the Jarama, said Tambay.
“It’s a new circuit for me, but we’ll work hard to finish on the top again and win King of the Weekend. Let’s do it, team!”
Just two points behind Tambay, Ekström notes the improved form of the rival teams seen in Budapest, but is not letting this distract from the job at hand.
“Pressure is building up as the other teams are getting better and better each race,” said Ekström. “We have to keep our focus in our business, it is race week at home and we expect nothing else than good results and hopefully some podium finishes”
For Jordi Gené, it truly is a home race for the Spaniard.
“I’m looking forward for Jarama,” he said. “So far this season, We have really proved that we have a car that is competitive everywhere; we did well in Pau and we did well in Hungary. So the car is good in all kinds of tracks. I had much better pace in Hungary, so I just hope to have a good car – like I’m sure it will be – and that I can keep the same pace as I had at Budapest.
“If I qualify well, that’s going to be key, then I’m going to be able to fight for the front positions. That’s my dream and my main objective for my home race.”
Finally, after out-braking himself into his team-mate Tambay in Budapest, Tom Blomqvist is hoping for better things in Jarama.
“Jarama is a very technical circuit which will make us work even harder than the previous rounds. We will work with the team to deliver to our home fans: The e-Racer is working great on track, we now have to keep our heads down and get it done!
Overlooking the car and drivers, even CUPRA Racing Technical Director Xavi Serra is surprised at how well their season has started.
“We knew we had a great car and the best drivers, but I must admit we didn’t expect this result,” he said.
“This year the FIA ETCR grid is incredible, so it was a surprise to finish with three of our drivers in the top four at Pau Ville. And the result at the Hungaroring with Adrien Tambay as King of the weekend gives us wings to dream. We hope that in Jarama we can continue along this line of success.”