Team Clairet Sport’s Jimmy Clairet admitted it was a “hard race” after holding off championship leader Mikel Azcona to claim his maiden TCR Europe win at Circuit Paul Ricard.
Clairet, as like his brother Teddy yesterday, claimed his first TCR Europe win at the French circuit, and the Peugeot 308 driver admitted afterwards he was delighted to take the win.
“I’m so happy for me, for the team and for my family,” said Clairet.
“It was a hard race because Azcona came after me with full pressure for all the race. I’m very happy with my performance because I didn’t make any mistakes and I didn’t miss any apex or braking zone.
“I know that it is on the first lap that you can really make a difference; I made a good start and I saw Mikel was a little bit too aggressive and I could pass.”
Clairet went on to explain how he managed the race lead and how he ensured that despite the Spainard’s best efforts, Azcona couldn’t get past him.
“After that I could focus on my race and making no mistakes,” added the Frenchman.
“I was faster than him (Azcona) in Sector 2 but he was really fast in the third sector so I never gave him the opportunity to overtake.
“I think the key to this weekend was the BoP; compared to the others, Azcona had 60 kg and we were much lighter than him.”
The two victories taken by brothers Jimmy and Teddy Clairet were the duo’s first wins in TCR Europe, while Jimmy also claimed a third place finish in yesterday’s opening race of the weekend.