Argentine Néstor Girolami returns to the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) for his second event of the season in Vila Real, with the Nika Racing driver calling it a “spectacular street circuit”.
Girolami made his WTCC début in Slovakia in mid-June, before handing the team’s Honda Civic back to regular driver Rickard Rydell for the event in France. The Argentine STC2000 champion returns in Portugal for his final event of the current season.
Whilst Girolami was the only driver new to the Slovakiaring circuit last time out, this weekend he is in the same position as the rest of the field, with no driver having previously raced on the 4.7 km street venue.
“Vila Real is a new circuit for everyone, but I’ve checked it out on YouTube and I have to say it looks quite spectacular,” said Girolami. “It’s wide, it’s fast, and it will require a lot of concentration.
“Learning the track quickly will be key going into qualifying, and the only way of doing that is to rack up as many laps as possible in practice. Even the slightest mistake is likely to mean a visit to the wall this weekend, so it will be a real challenge.”
Despite the 2-year-old having previous experience of racing on street circuits in South America, Girolami is cautious about making any predictions on his performance this weekend, having taken a best finish of tenth in Slovakia.
“I have driven at some street circuits before – I won a night race in Santa Fe back home in Argentina last year, for example – but I’m still very new to the WTCC and I can’t expect too much at this stage,” added Girolami. “The fact the track is new to everyone is helping to equalise things a little, but I will continue to take things step by step and we’ll see where we end up.”
Nika Racing are taking part in their first street race of the season, having earlier missed the Morocco races due to Rydell’s sudden illness. Team Principal Nicklas Karlsson is optimistic of their chances, despite having less information about how the Civic handles on bumpy street circuits.
”I think Portugal is one of the most interesting events of the season,” said Karlsson. “The track is new to everyone, and nobody really knows what to expect. Unfortunately, we had to sit out the races in Marrakech earlier this year, which means this will be the first time we run the car on a street circuit. However, we do believe we have quite a clear understanding of what the requirements are, and we’re all eager to find out how we fare.
“We completed a very good day of testing with Néstor in Guadix last Sunday, and we will be working as hard as ever to end the European leg of the season on a positive and take that with us into the summer break.”