Andreas Bäckman did not expect to secure pole position for the second consecutive TCR Europe meeting at Barcelona in slippery conditions the Target Competition racer described as “very tricky”.
After just making the cut for Q2 but 0.050 seconds, the Swede found another gear in the fight for pole position, a 2:12.123, enough to best points leader and team mate Josh Files by 0.325 seconds around the 2.89-mile Catalan circuit.
Speaking to TouringCars.net post-session, Bäckman says a second straight pole on his first wet run in the Hyundai i30 N TCR was unexpected, especially given how tough the track conditions were.
“It was very tricky; I’d never driven this car in the wet before,” explained Bäckman.
“I learnt more and more throughout qualifying and then for my last run, I managed to put it all together in one lap.”
“I wasn’t expecting to be this high up because I was very far down in Q1, I just got through [to Q2] in the smallest margin possible.
“It was very tricky but I’m very happy now and obviously for the race it might be wet or dry, but I think I’m fast in both conditions.”
Some drivers made the decision in Q2 to experiment with slick tyres, but all returned after a single flying lap to revert to wet tyres.
Bäckman was asked by Target Competition if he wanted to follow suit, but the former TCR UK racer elected to stick with what he had.
Though the conditions did start to improve, the greasy nature of the racing line proved a challenge.
Bäckman expects a tough time from the competition behind on lower compensation weight in the opening race, but underlined the Hyundai’s recent track record in race trim as a redeeming factor.
“It was drying a little bit but it was still very slippery, especially on the racing line, so we had to find different lines. It was much worse than I thought it would be,” he added.
“For sure, it will be hard, because we have many fast cars behind us and me and Josh are in Hyundai’s and we have quite a lot of weight, so it will be hard with the cars behind us a bit lighter.
“I think we’ve shown in the last couple of races that even when we have weight, we can be good in race pace.”
Bäckman could have the weather on his side in this afternoon’s contest, believing the rain reduces the impact of the compensation weight.
“I think in the rain, it doesn’t make the same kind of difference. In the rain, it’s more about getting the right kind of lines and everything. For us, it was a bit easier [that] it was wet, for sure, but it’s still hard to know.
“We just try to maximise everything we have and the others do their thing. We just put it on ourselves to do the best we can with what we have at the moment.”
The race is scheduled to get underway at 17:20 CEST.