Reigning TCR Italy champion and current Italian series leader Nicolas Taylor says his goal this weekend is to finally make it into Q2 at the fourth time of trying, after three consecutive weekends battling through the midfield and into the points in his PMA Motorsport Audi RS 3 LMS.

After topping two of the four test sessions at Spa-Francorchamps three weeks ago, the Canadian was a favourite for pole, but an issue in qualifying, losing time behind another competitor saw him make this third Q1 exit in a row, and was left to battle back in both races to score points.

Sixth and ninth at Spa-Francorchamps were good recovery drives, which keeps him in the top ten of the standings heading to Hockenheim, another new circuit for him this weekend.

"I got a bit lucky in the start in the first race (at Spa), while I wasn't quite as lucky in the second race so I was stuck in the middle of the group, then went off with contact with (Felipe) Fernández; then with dirty tyres I fell down to 19th," said Taylor.

"My car felt really good in the race, so I was hoping for more time to pick up a few more spots, but to finish P6 and P9 and getting a few points that was good for the championship.

"Hockenheim is new to me, but the goal is just to get into Q2 this time, and I need to break this streak of Q1 exits - starting P14 in both races at Spa was tough, you can get lucky like I did, but if you start in top ten, and with the reversed grid, it helps a lot."