Nicky Catsburg banished the memories of his Vila Real smash in 2015 to continue his podium run in the FIA World Touring Car Championship.
Works LADA driver Catsburg was eliminated in a spectacular accident at the demanding Portuguese street track last July. But there were no such problems on Sunday when he completed the Opening Race podium in his Rosneft-backed Vesta.
“After last year finished here with a heavy crash I am really pleased to finish both races and score another podium,” said Catsburg, who bagged his maiden WTCC win at the previous event in Russia. “It’s crazy to think how much we struggled here last year compared to this year, but the car has developed a lot. The races were tough with the temperatures being very high inside and outside the car and I was grateful that after some battles at the start with Tom Chilton in Opening Race and Mehdi [Bennani] in Main Race the laps were mostly uneventful and I was able to maintain a rhythm to get the car through to the finish without much trouble.”
Catsburg has claimed five podiums so far in 2016 and sits third in the WTCC standings.