Adrien Tambay: “My consistency paid off”

Adrien, you are leading the FIA ​​ETCR after the Vallelunga round, that's the main thing, isn't it? 

It's true that my last weekend of competition in Italy was complicated. I suffered a puncture in my quarter-final. In the end I only lost 7 points on Mattias Ekström (his team boss and teammate at EKS Cupra) and I kept a significant gap on the third in the standings (Tambay is in the lead with 435 points, ahead of Ekström 421 and Azcona 368 points). It's very positive, with Mattias we have our little safety cushion and I have already been leader for two races (it was the first time this season that a leader consolidated his place at the top of the ranking). 

A Frenchman leading a World Cup, that’s great! What is your vision of this very recent championship? 

I didn't really know what to expect before starting the season. I told myself that I would surely have opportunities to fight for good results with podiums. I knew that I would have a pretty good ability to adapt to these cars after driving them the first time. It immediately clicked well, especially with the team and our way of working. The ETCR was a real challenge given the nature of the race weekends. We drive very little and we need to be able to quickly adapt from the 300 kW to 500 kW configuration without having too many references. Fortunately for me, it's one of my qualities to know how to adapt as quickly as possible. My consistency paid off. I managed not to make any mistakes in the first 5 races. I also had some performance, I have everything coming together. I'm good at EKS and Cupra, good with my teammates and my head is good too. There's no secret to having fun, it works. 

The ETCR does not have a very extensive but high quality grid, do you think this championship deserves better? 

What I see whether there are 24 or 12 of us, the 12 of us are all in a position to win races. I've had championships with 30 drivers but in the end 3 were really good. Most of us are all veterans of the DTM, I have teammates who are Mattias Ekström and Tom Blomqvist. Tom wins races in IMSA Right now. To be up to standard, I am focusing on my performance in this FIA-certified championship. It's obvious that it would be better to have even more of them, but it's only the first year. I think it deserves more competitors and more manufacturers. What I notice is that even though we are with 20 cars on the track, the races are spectacular. 

Adrien quickly found his feet in the Cupra e-TCR ©FIA-ETCR

What is the team's strategy for this weekend, you come in first will you be protected? 

We are clearly in money time. There is already good news, with Mattias we share the car so we will not be against each other on the track. But we will have to be good in each of our groups. One thing is now clear in the team and that is that Jordi (Gené) and Tom are there to help us. We have to use the strength and the team and our homogeneity to go to the end. We must work together in our duels and our trios. I have a micro lead over Mattias, 14 points is very little. That said, as they say in other sports, I have my destiny in my hands. It's up to me to make the perfect weekend. For Cupra it's all good, whether it's Mattias or me. Our relationship is so good that no matter who wins, we will both be happy. 

It’s a great year no matter what, isn’t it? 

It's a year that's as great as it was unexpected. I must say that coming back with a builder after 4 years of tinkering a little was almost unexpected. We all know that opportunities are few. In any case, the welcome given to me and the good results prove to me that I have my place here. My career is far from over. At 31, I think I'm at a peak of what I can offer. I have the physical condition, but also the maturity. The challenges I went through also made me mentally stronger. This is a fair outcome and now it must be confirmed. We will see later if this opens up other opportunities. I am very happy with my current situation with Cupra. 

https://twitter.com/FIA_ETCR/status/1573237783808053249