Mikel Azcona (fastest): “I am really happy to take the pole position without doing the Free Practice, but I have to say that my two teammates and Volcano Motorsport did an amazing job to get a lot of information so we could analyse this information and the data to prepare. It’s my home track and I have been driving here for many years, but it was really tricky because I was really on the limit on the last flying lap. Congratulations to Taoufik because he was only forty four-thousandths behind me and it was very tight. I know all the kerbs, the braking points because I know the track so well, so for me it was not a big problem because from the out lap I was checking the changes – I had never driven here with the new corner so I was looking for a reference to see where I could put the car – but from the first flying lap, I did a really fast lap and from that point I was just trying to improve. It wasn’t so difficult, I have to say.”

Sami Taoufik (2nd): “After yesterday we knew we had the pace so that was good. Azcona is my friend, so I don’t feel bad when my friends beat me! I felt good with the car and with everyone around me. I’m not really a morning person but this morning I woke up with a smile on my face because I knew that I could show some potential here today. I’m just going to try to keep my head down and stay consistent; I remember from this event here last year that tyres go out really quickly and so I’m just going to keep my tyres clean until the end and hopefully we can have a good battle towards the end of the race.”

Teddy Clairet (3rd): “I think my position is only thanks to the compensation weight. Once we take weight in the car, more than 30kgs, it’s very difficult for us, so this time we have a good weight and we are happy with that. It’s also a place we know quite well because we raced here before coming to TCR Europe. Last year we had some difficulties here and so for the moment it seems pretty good. As long as you get a good start, you should be able to fight with the guys around you and I am here to fight for the victory. It seems tight between everyone in Qualifying, there isn’t so much of a gap, so we will see. Twelve laps here will be quite long; it will be hard to manage the tyres, so I think that will be key. I will respect Mikel because I know what it is to fight for a championship – I mean, I respect every driver, but I will do my best for myself. I don’t have a championship to win.”