Dušan Borković admits he is “very pleased” after his second weekend in the World Touring Car Championship in which the Serb finished seventh following a close race-long battle with Sébastien Loeb.
Borković finished the first race down in 14th after car problems meant that he couldn’t shift into top gear for the second half of the race.
“The first race went awful,” said Borković. “I had a lot of problems with the set up and oversteering, after which gearshift problems started.”
However in the second race the Serb enjoyed a much more competitive car, battling with nine-time rally champion Loeb. Borković worked his way up to sixth by the half-way stage, despite heavy pressure from Loeb.
Frenchman Loeb eventually found his way past with just two laps to go whilst Borković was attempting to get past the Honda of Mehdi Bennani in front. With little time left in the race, he was forced to settle for seventh.
“The second race was great,” admitted Borković, who explained that he ‘let’ Loeb past as part of a strategy which did not pay off. “I was fighting hard despite the set up not being perfect.
“[For] half the race Loeb was behind me – he was chasing me. It is a great feeling to be in front of the world’s best race car driver and knowing he can’t pass you.
“I decided to let him pass me thinking he would hit the next driver and lose his position so I can take them both. However I was not able to do it. I almost wrecked the front tires. I am very pleased because I fought hard and got into the first ten again,” concluded the Serb.