Xavi Serra: "We are very happy, positively surprised about the show we are putting on altogether, and we are happy that we are showing our advances in electric technology. I think we don't have a particular strenght, it is the the well balanced package, and we have shown that with a good performance in all kind of tracks. We are a brand formed in 21st century, and we have to continue breaking new grounds in motorsport. We are still learning how to manage the weight and the power, both the drivers, and us engineers when setting up the car."
 

Matthias Ekstrom: "This season was a lot of fun, I started a bit sceptical of the whole thing, because I didn't know what to expect, but I enjoy it a lot, it's a combination of rallycross and circuit racing. The cars are really challenging to drive, and not taking success into account, it is really something I enjoy. Electic power makes it challenging, it is very instant, rear-wheel drive. The tyres are the biggest challenge here, but the only way to surpass that problem is very clear, go flat out and kill them."

 

Rob Huff: "I think that PURE ETCR is an amazing concept, fantastic for motorsport, with the way everything is going in the world. The fact that Zengo Motorsport competes there is also fantastic, not just for everyone in the team, but also for the championship as well and I would definitely like to have a go at it."

Luca, how do you comment on your PURE ETCR season so far?
- I think it has been positive, generally, we miss the points the points from Aragon, because in Aragon we started in the first row in the Super Final, and there you get most of the points. We couldn't start because of the electrical issue, and that has cost us the potential top 3 or top 2 position in the standings, which is a shame. Beside that, I think it has been good. Out of two Super Finals, once I finished third and once I won, so I think we can be quite happy with what we did.

How different is the PURE ETCR car to drive as opposed to the other cars you have driven so far in your career?
- It is a little bit different in general, because I don't think that there is too much in common with a regular TCR car, especially because of the power, of course, the car is electric, and it is also much heavier, there is no engine breaking at the moment, no regen, and it is rear-wheel drive, which I prefer. Compared to a GT car, it is also different, there is no that much downforce, power is similar, the weight is different. We are running on threaded tyres, that allow us to drive in both wet and dry. It is a unique car, and a unique platform. In terms of setting up and driving it, it is still a racing car, and it is familiar to me.

In what way did you have to change your driving style to adapt to the ETCR car, if at all?
- No, the only thing that you have to learn is how to work with the brakes, because there is no regen, no engine breaking, so the brake-balance and the behaviour when braking is different, also because of the weight and the threaded tyres. The PowerUp makes it quite challenging, because you have to manage it yourself while driving. Those are some things you have to adapt to, and gain experience.

What is the biggest challenge Hungaroring has put between yourself and your car?
- Compared to other racetracks, there is a lot more grip, there is a little bit of thermal degradation on the tyres, so they get a little bit too hot while you push, so you have to make sure that for the last lap you don't get in trouble with the tyres, because with them not being slicks, there is an issue of overheating which causes lack of grip level. There are breaking zones where you have to brake as hard as possible, and if you lock the tyres you can damage them.

How much data do you gather and have to disect with this car as opposed to other racing cars, is it a lot more, or similar?
- From this point of view it is quite similar, our engineers have been working a lot since we started the development of this car, because it is new from many aspects, from the weight itself, weight distribution, the way the battery is installed in the car, and all the systems. It was a brand new project for everyone, but mainly for us. I think we are maximizing our package, but every day we learn or implement something to try and be quicker.

How involved were you in the development of this car?
- I think that between all of us, and the driver that has been involved from the beginning of this project, when they started to build the car I was already out of the WTCR team last year, where I did some wildcard racing. We have a relationship, so I was the first to drive and test this car, so we started this project together, so I have to say that we made some very positive improvement.

What was your motivation to join PURE ETCR?

- As you can see now, Audi, BMW, Mercedes want to do electric cars, and also, Hyundai is doing a good job with the IONIQ 5 car, and is going electric, so to have a chance to be a part of the first purely electric World Champioship, it was a thing I couldn't miss. It is great to be working with a manufacturer like Hyundai, because they are determined at everything.

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What made you change from Romeo Ferraris to Hyundai?

- We did a fantastic season with Romeo Ferraris, finishing third in the championship, one point behind Muller, was quite fantastic. To continue working with Romeo Ferraris was the initial plan, but there are some oportunities that you cannot miss, and Hyundai was it. That happened because I was free to make the move, even if the communication was not easy for the people of understand. An oportunity to race in both Championships and to have a real chance to become an FIA World Champion, which is the title I am still missing, you can't refuse.

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How much is there thinking vs feeling when you are driving a PURE ETCR car?

- People don't believe us when we say that we love it, and in years to come, the championship will grow to 10 or even 12 races with more manufacturers. Both champioships are very excited, but I can imagine me doing only PURE ETCR. They are exciting, pretty different, but I love PURE ETCR because we have more development, the car is pretty new, there are many things you can do, and it is interesting. I was working with LMP1 and always liked to develop.

 

How is the PURE ETCR car different to drive as opposed to the other racing cars you have driven in your career?

- It feels a bit like a GT3 car, you have power, but it is quite a heavy car, around 2000 kilos, the special tyres which give us the opportunity to drive in both dry and wet make the driving more challenging, and it is down to yourself, if you can make no mistakes and learn quickly.

 

After driving your first laps in PURE ETCR here, what do you think will be the the greatest challenge for yourself and the car at this circuit?

-  If we want to be champions, we need to win the whole weekend, as a "King of Budapest". We did won battles, but this is the real target for the weekend. From there, we will see what would happen, with only one event that's left. Hyundai is giving everything to have the title at the end, but we need to put some results on the table.

 

Could this weekend be similar to the one in Copenhagen, with Hungaroring being dubbed "Monaco without the barriers"?

- This is a circuit I love very much. Copenhagen was really bumpy, and completely at the opposite in regards to this circuit. The Power-Ups are going to be super important, and we will have to be smart and clever when using them, with making a good start and being fast. We did a test and I believe we improved the package, so it's just the matter of showing it to everyone.

What was your and your brand's motivation to join PURE ETCR?

- It looks like that the market for e-vehicles is getting bigger. I have no clue if it is the future or not, but when we saw the coming of this Touring Car Electric Category, and believing in the match between the road cars and motorsport, what has been the trademark of Hyundai in motorsport in the last years, we thought that it could be good to have a "sniff" and see what will be possible. For us it was important to have a link between the RM20 prototype and the race car. So far, we are there, and it looks interesting.

 

What made you choose the Veloster as your car for ETCR?

- It is pretty clear, when you consider that we do not have an electric car that is suitable to use in motorsport, this being ETCR, something new and exotic, we thought that if we use the Veloster, which is in itself an exotic car, it would make sense, and so the choice fell on it.

 

What do you see as the greatest strength of your PURE ETCR car this season?

- Still remains to be understood.

 

With this circuit being dubbed "Monaco without the barriers", and last time the cars were racing was in Copenhagen, which is a street circuit, do you expect a similar result here, or something different?

- I hope that it will be different, because worse is not possible. I expect a win in ETCR this weekend.

 

Since the big talk so far surrounding a championship like Formula E, for example, was the development of the electric road car technology, how do you think PURE ETCR can add to that?

- So far it is important to understand what the future for the category itself will be, cause also need not forget the money which is involved. Formula E looks to be falling apart, with the manufacturers leaving, because the cost is greater that a skyscraper, and ETCR should not fall in the same loophole.

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How do you comment on you campaign so far this season in PURE ETCR?

- So far it has been a big delusion.

The Veloster of Augusto Farfus didn't show up on the starting grid of the first Super Final Race, because of a technical issue.

Romeo Ferraris Racer, Philipp Eng, made the best start and went around the outside of Matthias Ekstrom at turn 13. Down the start-finish straight, Luigi Ferrara utilized his PowerUp to get an opportunity to pass Ekstrom for second place, but could not make the move stick. 

On lap two, the other Cupra of Jordi Gene overtook Ferrara's Giulia on the run to turn one and moved up to third, with the only remaining Hyundai of John Filippi down in fifth. Filippi passed Ferrara on lap 4 into turn two. In the end, Eng was the first to go across the line, with Ferrara passing John Filippi on the finish-line for fourth.

Jean-Karl Vernay started really well to get to the back of Mikel Azcona and pass the Spanish driver on the exit of Turn 13, only to lose the lead into the first corner of lap one. Luca Filippi attempted to get in front of both of them in turn 14, but just slotted in third. 

Home racer Daniel Nagy was driving in fourth place. In an attempt to pass the Romeo Ferraris car, Nagy tapped Luca Filippi and spun him around, and the Italian racer fell to the back of the pack.

 
The other Hyundai of Chilton passed Baptista in the other Romeo Ferraris in the lap 2 only to lose the position on the start of lap three, while Luca Filippi experienced a tyre blowout which shredded the bodywork on the left rear of the Giulia.

Azcona controlled the race and won with a hefty gap, to be the first driver who has gathered the most points twice. Vernay crossed the finish line in third, with Daniel Nagy in third.

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In the driver standings, Ekstrom leads with 273 points, ahead of Vernay who has 244, and Azcona with 238. Jordi Gene has 212 points, while Baptista, the best placed Romeo Ferraris racer, has 197 points to his name.

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The final race weekend of the season will see Pure ETCR racers compete at the Pau-Arnos circuit, from October 15th-17th.

Round 3 is a time-trial round where each driver of a pool does a standing start lap, and the times determine the starting order for the Super Final.

Mikel Azcona was the first driver to go into the Time Trial for Pool B, and with a bit of a slow sector three time, he clocked 2:26.309. Next up was another Cupra of Daniel Nagy, who could not exactly follow the pace of Azcona with a laptime of 2:28.095.

Rodrigo Baptista was the first of the two Romeo Ferraris drivers in Round 3 of Pool B drivers to go against the stopwatch. The Brazilian posted a quick time in sector one, but spun in the high speed turn four which has cost him valuable time, and he posted a laptime of only 2:37.026. 

His teammate Luca Filippi also spun, but this time it was in turn one, and then ran wide around turn five, but with his spin being a little less dramatic, the Italian lost less time and posted a 2:32.138.

The two Hyundais were left to complete the Round 3 of Pool B drivers, and it was Jean-Karl Vernay who tackled Hungaroring first in his Veloster, and posted a time of 2:27.942, to go into the second place. Tom Chilton was the last driver to post a time in Round 3 to go third fastest, with the time of 2:28.028.

Starting grid for Pool B Super Final:
1. Mikel Azcona, Cupra
2. Jean-Karl Vernay, Hyundai
3. Tom Chilton, Hyundai
4. Daniel Nagy, Cupra
5. Luca Filippi, Romeo Ferraris
6. Rodrigo Baptista, Romeo Ferraris

Round 3 is a time-trial round where each driver of a pool does a standing start lap, and the times determine the starting order for the Super Final.

Romeo Ferraris driver, Philipp Eng was the first out on the circuit in Round 3, but made a big lock-up going into turn 13, and he completed his lap with the time of 2:26.550. Augusto Farfus was next, and after the fastest first sector, he lost almost a second in the final sector and ended up slower with a lap of 2:27.781.

Matthias Ekstrom was next to take to the circuit, and with the new fastest time in the first sector posted the new fastest time of 2:26.341. John Filippi couldn't go faster than his competitors and only posted the time 2:27.811.

First outing in Round 3 for Luigi Ferrara who drove the second fastest first sector out of everyone and clocked third fastest time 2:27.249, and went ahead of both the Hyundai drivers. 

Jordi Gene was the final driver to go against the stopwatch in Round 3 for the drivers of Pool A, and could not go faster than any of his competitors, and posted a laptime of 2:28.101.

Starting grid for Pool A Super Final:
1. Matthias Ekstrom, Cupra
2. Philipp Eng, Romeo Ferraris
3. Luigi Ferrara, Romeo Ferraris
4. Augusto Farfus, Hyundai
5. John Filippi, Hyundai
6. Jordi Gene, Cupra
 

Round 2 saw two drivers of each Pool do a two lap race going head-to-head with the winner scoring 12 points, while the second-placed driver scored 6 points.

First duel was the one between the Cupra and the Romeo Ferraris car, with Rodrigo Baptista starting on the inside and keeping the lead. Mikel Azcona took his opportunity to pass the Brazilian racer into turn one of lap one, nad from then on, the Spanish racer controlled the pace and crossed the finish line.

Hyundai's Jean-Karl Vernay was the next to duel a Cupra, and he utilized the inside line start to go ahead of the home racer, Daniel Nagy, and Vernay was leading until the chequered flag, and was penalized because of track limits with three seconds added to his race time, and that gave Nagy his first win.

Luca Filippi was the driver that started from the inside line in third race of Round 2 of Pool B, and used that to get to the lead. Tom Chilton did his best to pass the Giulia, but the Italian racer defended until the finish line, and won the final race of the day.

With that, Pure ETCR Pool B standings are as follows:

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Mikel Azcona, Cupra - 27 points
Jean-Karl Vernay, Hyundai - 22 points
Rodrigo Baptista, Romeo Ferraris - 21 point
Luca Filippi, Romeo Ferraris - 16 points
Daniel Nagy, Cupra - 16 points
Tom Chilton, Hyundai - 10 points 
 

Round 2 saw two drivers of each Pool do a two lap race going head-to-head with the winner scoring 12 points, while the second-placed driver scored 6 points.

Ekstrom managed to get a better start and pass Farfus, but the Brazilian got on the grass once again around the inside of turn five, and with a contact, passed the Leon E-Racer. Swedish racer could not get the position back, so Farfus was declared as the winner, but the incident has been put under investigation, and Farfus was penalized with a deduction of six championship points.

Romeo Ferraris duel in Race Two of Round 2 saw Philipp Eng make a better start than his teammate Luigi Ferrara and the two drove around the circuit in formation with both of them spending their whole PowerUps in the first lap. Eng ended up finishing first more than two seconds ahead of his debutant teammate.

Final Race of Round 2 for the Drivers of Pool A saw another Cupra-Hyundai match-up. John Filippi made a better start and got ahead of Jordi Gene, with the Spanish veteran passing the French racer at turn one of lap one. 

Filippi tried to get back at Gene, and they drove side-by-side through turns, two, and three, with Hyundai passing the Cupra on the outside of turn three. From then on, Filippi controlled the race and won with more than one second advantage.
 

With that, Pure ETCR Pool A standings are as follows:
 

Philipp Eng, Romeo Ferraris - 22 points
Augusto Farfus, Hyundai - 21 point
Matthias Ekstrom, Cupra - 21 point
John Filippi, Hyundai - 16 points
Luigi Ferrara, Romeo Ferraris - 16 points
Jordi Gene, Cupra - 10 points

Round 1 consisted of two three lap races per Pool, in which three drivers participated. The winner scores 15 points, second placed driver 10, while the third placed driver scored 4 points.

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Rodrigo Baptista took over the lead after starting from the inside line, with Daniel Nagy going on the outside of Turn 13, and passing the Veloster of Tom Chilton. The Hungarian and the British racer were battling for position for three laps, but the Hyundai driver couldn't pass the Cupra.

Baptista pulled away to complete the race with more than a six second gap to his followers, and got the maximum points for Round 1 and the first win of the day for Romeo Ferraris.

Luca Filippi used the inside line start to get to the lead and then while defending from Jean-Karl Vernay, opened the door for Mikel Azcona to go into the lead, which the Spanish racer took and managed to build a gap. Filippi and Vernay continued their battle, with the Hyundai driver being ahead.

Filippi went for a dive in the last corner of the last lap to pass Vernay for second, and managed to get the position, just for Vernay to go to the inside of the last corner and push the Giulia wide, and cross the line in second, with Azcona winning the race 2 of Pool B Round 1.

According to results of Round 1, Round 2 races of Pool B will be contested by:
 

Race 1
Mikel Azcona, Cupra
Rodrigo Baptista, Romeo Ferraris

Race 2
Daniel Nagy, Cupra
Jean-Karl Vernay, Hyundai

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Race 3

Tom Chilton, Hyundai
Luca Filippi, Romeo Ferraris

Round 1 consisted of two three lap races per Pool, in which three drivers participated. The winner scores 15 points, second placed driver 10, while the third placed driver scored 4 points.

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Augusto Farfus utilized his inside line starting position to go in the lead, with Philipp Eng and Jordi Gene behind. Eng overtook Farfus in the first corner of the circuit. Farfus attempted to get the position back in the hairpin of turn two, but outbroke himself, and Eng was back into first place. 

Farfus then took with two wheels to the grass on the climb to turn 4 and took the lead once again, and kept it till the end of the race, beating Eng with almost one second advantage.

Luigi Ferrara got the best start and passed John Filippi who started on the inside line, while Matthias Ekstrom used the best of his PowerUp to pass both the Giulia and the Veloster to be in the lead after the first corner of the circuit, and from then on he bolted away. 

Ferrara overcooked his tyres on the braking into turn one on the start of the final lap which brought John Filippi back into contention for the second place, but the French racer could not pass the Romeo Ferraris car, while Ekstrom got over the finish line with more than five seconds of advantage.

According to results of Round 1, Round 2 races of Pool A will be contested by:
 

Race 1
Augusto Farfus, Hyundai
Matthias Ekstrom, Cupra

Race 2
Luigi Ferrara, Romeo Ferraris
Phillip Eng, Romeo Ferraris

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Race 3

Jordi Gene, Cupra
John Filippi, Hyundai

As with every other PURE ETCR event, The Draw was the one to start it all, and split the twelve drivers into two pools of six, with every three-car battle of Round 1 decided as well.

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Pool A will consist of Hyundais of John Filippi and Augusto Farfus, two Romeo Ferraris cars od Ferrara and Eng, with Gene and Ekstrom chosen as the two Cupras.

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For Round 1 and Race 1, Farfus was given the inside line (starting place #3), which seems to be the favorable position among the drivers. Jordi Gene will start second, with Philip Eng in the outside lane, which will be on the clean part of the circuit and the racing line. Eng and Gene got mixed up when choosing positions so they "chose" one for the other.

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John Filippi got the Driver's choice of where he wants to start in Race 2 od Round 1, and the French Racer chose the inside lane. The newcomer into the championship, Luigi Ferrara will start from the middle, with Ekstrom lining up on the outside for Race 2.

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Pool B will see Cupras of Mikel Azcona and Daniel Nagy go against the Romeo Ferraris cars of Baptista and Luca Filippi, and the two Hyundai Velosters that are driven by Jean-Karl Vernay and Tom Chilton.

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Best starting position in the first race of Round 1 for this Pool of drivers will go to the way of Rodrigo Baptista, with Tom Chilton starting from the middle, and the home racer, Daniel Nagy, starting from gate number one.

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Race two will see the manufacturers lined up the same, but Luca Filippi will start on the inside line, Jean-Karl Vernay will start from the middle, with Mikel Azcona starting from the outside line, on the racing line.

 

Xavi Serra, team representative of Cupra didn't use the opportunity to change up the grid positions of Gene and Nagy with his Golden Ticket.

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During a half an hour long Free Practice session for the first batch of drivers of PURE ETCR, they took to the track to drive their first laps, and it was Rodrigo Baptista who posted the overall fastest time.
 

With the fastest second sector and personal best times in sectors one and three, the Brazilian racer clocked 1:55.605. His teammate, Luca Filippi, was 1.153 seconds behind in second place, while Daniel Nagy, the Hungarian racer, was third fastest for Cupra, with the time of 1:57.958.

Mikel Azcona was fourth fastest with 1:57.977, in the other Leon E-Racer, with two Hyundais last with Jean-Karl Vernay (1:58.389) ahead of John Filippi, who was the only driver not to post a fast lap under two minutes, 2:00.497.

The second Free Practice session saw the rest of the drivers compete against the stopwatch, and it was another Romeo Ferraris One-Two, with Luigi Ferrara posting the fastest time of 1:56.380, ahead of Philip Eng, who managed to post the time of 1:57.943. Matthias Ekstrom was third, further 0.421 seconds behind the Austrian racer.

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Augusto Farfus clocked the fourth fastest time for Hyundai, his Veloster completing the lap with the time of 1:58.756. Jordi Gene ended the Free Practice session in fifth place, the Spaniard managing 1:59.283. Another Veloster N didn't manage to complete a lap in under two minutes, with Tom Chilton finishing the second Free Practice in sixth place with the time of 2:00.843.

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Last thing left for the PURE ETCR drivers is the draw which will determine the two Pools of six drivers who will compete during the weekend.

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Combined Free Practice Results:

1. Rodrigo Baptista, Romeo Ferraris - 1:55.605, FPA

2. Luigi Ferrara, Romeo Ferraris - 1:56.380, FPB

3. Luca Filippi, Romeo Ferraris - 1:56.758, FPA
4. Philipp Eng, Romeo Ferraris - 1:57.943, FPB
5. Daniel Nagy, Cupra - 1:57.958, FPA

6. Mikel Azcona, Cupra - 1:57.977, FPA

7. Matthias Ekstrom, Cupra - 1:58.364, FPB
8. Jean-Karl Vernay - 1:58.389, FPA

9. Augusto Farfus, Hyundai - 1:58.756, FPB

10. Jordi Gene, Cupra - 1:59.283, FPB

11. John Filippi - 2:00.497, FPA
12. Tom Chilton, Hyundai - 2:00.843, FPB

Competing on the same weekend with the World Touring Car Cup (WTCR), PURE ETCR cars will tackle the 4.4 kilometer long circuit situated next to the country's capital, Budapest. Over three days, the circuit dubbed "Monaco without the barriers" will also be host to the Hungaroring Classic, with a couple of Historic Cars Parades happening.

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Matthias Ekstrom is currently in the lead of the PURE ETCR Standings with 210 points, ahead of Jean-Karl Vernay with 186, and Jordi Gene who has 167 points to his name. As far as the PURE ETCR Timetable goes, drivers will be behind their steering wheels from day one:

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Friday, 20th August
14:00 - Free Practice for Driver A

17:00 - Free Practice for Driver B

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Saturday, 21st August

8:35 - Round 1, Battle 1 (Pool A) - 3 laps

8:50 - Round 1, Battle 2 (Pool A) - 3 laps

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11:35 - Round 1, Battle 1 (Pool B) - 3 laps

11:50 - Round 1, Battle 2 (Pool B) - 3 laps

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14:20 - Round 2, Battle 1 (Pool A) - 2 laps

14:35 - Round 2, Battle 2 (Pool A) - 2 laps

14:50 - Round 3, Battle 2 (Pool A) - 2 laps

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17:20 - Round 2, Battle 1 (Pool B) - 2 laps

17:35 - Round 2, Battle 2 (Pool B) - 2 laps

17:50 - Round 3, Battle 2 (Pool B) - 2 laps

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Sunday, 22nd August

9:00 - Round 3 (Pool A) - Time Trial

10:30 - Round 3 (Pool B) - Time Trial

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14:00 - Round 4 (Pool A) - Super Final

17:00 - Round 4 (Pool B) - Super Final