Tom Coronel, ROAL Motorsport
Nicolas Lapierre, LADA Sport Rosneft
José María López, Citroën Total WTCC
Tiago Monteiro, Castrol Honda World Touring Car Team
Gabriele Tarquini, Castrol Honda World Touring Car Team

Q:
We start with you José simply because last year you became WTCC champion here in Japan, the first driver from Argentina since Juan Manuel Fangio in 1957 to win a world championship of course. What memories do you have from last year?

JML:
It’s very nice to be here in Japan again, a very beautiful place. Of course it’s different but I have very nice memories from last year. It was amazing for me. Of course it’s a different situation because we arrive with four races to go and we are still fighting hard for the championship but it’s still the same feeling because I love Japan, the place, the people, everything. Everybody is very kind with us and makes us feel very comfortable so I’m very happy to be here.

Q:
Turning to you Gabriele, while José was very happy here last year, you were happy as well because you won the second race for Honda. What did it mean to you to be a Honda driver winning in Japan?

GT:
For me it’s very important, it was very important to win a race. Everybody knows the second race is not as important as the first one but it’s something and I’m happy with it. For us it will be a very important weekend for this season and also for the future. It’s my personal home race because I don’t have the Italian race and for me, personally, it’s my home race so we must make every effort, every force to be on top in the qualifying to try to win the first race this weekend.

Q:
Nobody in this room is more successful than you in the WTCC in Japan – you’ve won the race three times – and you also spent a number of years living in Japan and enjoying a successful career here. Can you share with everyone some of your fondest memories of this country?

TC:
I lived here for five years so it’s a kind of coming back home, which is also why I arrived a little bit earlier. I was the Formula 3 champion, the Formula Nippon champion, in GT I won two times the All-Star race and was the only Honda who won in 2003 in Motegi. I know for Honda it’s a very important feeling at circuit in those days was new. In 1997 I won the Formula 3 championship in Motegi. Honda is a brand famous for their racing heritage and spirit, which we will see in the museum so I am very excited to go there. I told many people about the museum in Holland. For Japan it’s very important that a brand does so much effort in motor racing. When I was racing for Mugen I also went to the plant and you see all the Formula 1 engines from Mr Honda. Me and Japan we have the same passion: motor racing. I always feel power from coming here and it’s easy when you have the same passion.

Q:
You are making your World Touring Car Championship debut here in Japan this weekend so a very warm welcome to the WTCC. But we obviously don’t need to welcome you to Japan because you have a long history and success, particularly in sportscar racing with Toyota. Could you explain why you’ve come to the WTCC, what’s the attraction?

NL:
I’ve always had a look at the WTCC races and I’m very happy to be here. I had this opportunity from LADA to join the championship. I did a test first in Paul Ricard, in the summer, and the test went well. They offer me to do the last four races of the season where there were no clashes so I thought it was a good way to start to learn the championship. I have many things to learn in this championship. The cars are very difficult compared to what I am used to drive but I am really excited to do it and especially to start in Japan is special for me. I have been racing for Toyota for the last few years and I know very well the fan and I know they are very special so I am very happy to be here.

Q:
Turning to you Tiago, you’re another Honda driver here, which is obviously a very important responsibility. But this season hasn’t been as successful as we’ve seen in the past so what are the prospects for this weekend on the back of some testing during the summer?

TM:
Firstly I don’t totally agree with you because it was actually a very good season until two races ago. Performance wise, points wise I was fourth in the championship until the last race and quite close to the third [place] and I was quite happy with the performance overall until the last races when I lost an awful lot of points due to accidents. So far we can be pretty happy with the circumstances even though we always want more and want to be closer to the competitors. Now, here, for me it’s almost a second home race. The last race was a real home race and now this is a second home race driving for Honda. We come here many times a year and do a lot of activities with Honda. It’s known that it’s always one of my favourite countries. I love the culture, I love the people, the food and I am lucky to race for a Japanese company so I am really lucky to come here a lot of the time and I try to come here for as long as possible. Motegi is a new challenge for everybody, of course, and we hope the weight difference and the track layout will give us a small advantage to give a good fight to the opposition. I think we have prepared as well as possible with quite a good testing programme in he summer. Let’s hope the small steps we made can make a big difference on the track. We will see. Obviously the weather at the moment is a bit strange but maybe it’s a good sign because it’s typhoon number 18, which is my lucky number so hopefully it’s a good sign here in Japan for me.

Q:
What overtaking opportunities does the Motegi circuit offer?

TC:
Well I’ve driven here so that’s an easy question. The first corner is an interesting one because you can brake in very deep. Before the hairpin on the back straight is a good one because of the change in direction on the corners before. And the downhill one on the braking point because of the acceleration out of the hairpin. I think the layout of the circuit is one of the best we have in WTCC for overtaking. We have been at some circuits where it’s very difficult but this track layout is very suitable for overtaking. I know because I did in Formula 3, in Formula Nippon and in GT. I remember in Formula Nippon the first corner was a very good one and the braking downhill. In Formula 3 it was the hairpin. I think there will be a good show for overtaking, especially in race two, which normally I don’t like because I make myself quite wide in the second races because of the speed of my complete package. It won’t be a boring race, I am 100 per cent sure. I already this morning talked to Pechito [José María López] and told him I will see you in the second race because I know we will meet!

Q:
You usually race prototypes and now you’re in a front-wheel-drive touring car, which is a very different thing to manage. What are the biggest differences?

NL:
It’s completely different. I did my first test in the WTCC this summer and was very surprised I had to go through the learning process again. The weight distribution is very different and the fact it’s front-wheel drive makes it very different. But in my team I have Rob Huff who is a world champion and has a lot of experience. I can look into his data and try to improve myself. For sure it’s a big challenge for me to jump from one car to the other.

Q:
It’s the second year of TC1, how have the cars and tyres developed and how they better than the old regulations?

TM:
It was a very radical change of course with so many changes to the car, the weight, size, tyres, brakes, the engine power… In almost two years now there have been a lot of evolutions as people start to understand better how to make it better. One of the big radical changes was downforce, which was almost not in existence before. It’s not a prototype car of course but you can feel the downforce and use it. Teams understand better and better how to use it. They evolve a lot of the balance of the car and especially also some updates of parts to make everything work better together. There are a lot of set-up directions and styles that don’t work any more like they used to work with the old touring car so you have to learn and improve. Of course you need testing and the manpower and the finances to do it but that’s how teams have been doing. All in all it’s been a great change. The new tyres give more grip, more performance, they last maybe a bit longer than before even though you have more power on them. The cars are a bit lighter so I don’t see a lot of downsides with this change. People can say the overtaking is a bit more difficult but yes and no, it depends on the track. Overall I am quite happy with this evolution and we will keep on revolving that along with the management of the car.

TC:
I’ve been in this championship end of the season 2001 but as we saw last year in the beginning of last year we thought they were still touring cars and we were touching each other like before. Then we found out the rubbing is different than the years before. If you touch now somebody you break the front splitter so I miss a little bit the rubbing. But that’s because it’s something I have in my style and that’s the downside. The upside is that the cars became six seconds faster per lap. As a race car driver you always want to challenge yourself, the car and the speed so there are two ways: the upside is you have a bigger challenge with the car and a new challenge because it’s mechanical grip and downforce. To find this mixture in a touring car on the front wheels with almost 400bhp –  phew I tell you it’s a big job!

Q:
You tried the old WTCC era just once but has your background in single-seater racing helped you make the most of the new-generation cars, particularly given what Tom has said about the contact side of things?

JML:
I raced only one race with the other spec of car but it was rear traction so it was a bit different. But I come from touring cars in Argentina and drove quite a lot of times a front traction and Gabriele did because we actually raced together in 2009 I think it was. The cars were similar and for me it was a bit of a plus because I was more used to the power and kind of downforce we are using now. Of course I am very lucky to be part of Citroën, which has been the leading team from the beginning. When you have a car like this everything is much easier. But I really enjoyed driving this car. You have some touching, not as much as before but you still have some interesting races. You have quite a performing car so I think the balance is quite nice.