Andreas Bäckmann (pole position): “It was a very tricky Qualifying as I had never driven here in the wet and it was also my first time driving in the wet in the Hyundai. I started to get more and more confidence during Q1 and then in Q2 I managed to put a lap together and so it was really good. The conditions were really tricky; it wasn’t really slicks and not really wet tyres either, so it was in between. There was so much rubber on the racing line that it was like driving on ice in places. I think we had really good pace yesterday on the long runs so I think we should be good in the race today as long as we get a good start and the weather stays okay.”

Josh Files (2^nd): “I’m happy, but my teammate is a *******! He always comes out of nowhere and pops in a great lap. I thought I had done all I could and there was nothing left to give, so for Andreas to find another three-tenths was amazing. We’ve never driven the car in the rain on these tyres, so we guessed the setup from previous knowledge and it worked. As the track was drying, we made exactly the right decisions. Originally I opted for slicks for Q2 and then at the last minute I chose to go back onto wets, which in hindsight was the right decision. I’m not thinking about the title, because I could get taken out in Turn 1!  We’re still here to win races, though, and it’s also good to have Julien alongside me as it spices things up nicely.”

Julien Briché (3^rd): “P3 is quite satisfying, because for us it was a very complicated Qualifying as we had never driven with the Peugeot 308 TCR in the wet. We are very happy and now we work to see if we can optimize the setup for this afternoon’s race. If we manage to do so, the race will be very interesting. For the championship, it is very difficult, as Files has already built a huge advantage. The Hyundai cars are also faster than us, so I think that finishing among the top three in the championship will be very difficult for us.”