Jean-Karl Vernay moved up three places to take sixth position in the second World Touring Car Cup (WTCR) race at the Nürburgring earlier today, and feels as though there’s more to come from the Alfa Romeo package.
A refugee of the former Leopard-Lukoil WRT Audi team, Vernay made a late switch to Team Mulsanne before the start of the year in order to return to the WTCR grid behind the wheel of an Alfa Romeo Giulietta.
Already, the Frenchman has put in some respectable performances for the small Italian outfit. Despite a comparative lack of testing mileage and budget, Vernay has often been hot on the heels of the more established teams this year.
That trend continued at the Nordschleife this weekend, having finished in the top ten in both races despite an engine change penalty which forced him to start race one from dead last.
However, Vernay believes that there’s still more to come from the Alfa Romeo package as the year progresses, insisting that an outright race win in 2020 isn’t yet beyond reach.
“I’m happy about the result of the [second] race,” he said. “We definitely improved the car a lot compared to yesterday. For sure we have a lot of work to do still, but I’m very happy.
“I was defending throughout the race from Yvan Muller and that wasn’t easy because obviously they [Cyan Racing] are much quicker than everyone else.
“It’s good points for the championship and I can’t wait for Slovakia, so thanks to Romeo Ferraris. Every day we make a step forward and that’s very much important.”
Vernay’s excitement for the upcoming Slovakian rounds isn’t unfounded either. The Giulietta already has a race victory to its name at the Slovakiaring, following Ma Qing Hua’s win with the team there last year.
With that in mind, Vernay will be eager to make a long-awaited return to the top step of the WTCR podium, something which he hasn’t been able to achieve since the opening Macau Grand Prix round in 2018 – a drought that has lasted nearly two years.