Nicolas Lapierre, LADA Sport Rosneft
Sébastien Loeb, Citroën Total WTCC
Tiago Monteiro, Castrol Honda World Touring Car Team
Tin Sritrai, Campos Racing
Q:
Welcome to Thailand Sébastien – what are your impressions so far?
SL:
I am happy to be here. It’s my first time here in Thailand and it seems like a nice place, especially for holidays. But we are here for racing and it’s exciting to be here. The track looks really nice and I see that when we arrived people are really excited to see us here. It’s always nice to come to a place like that where the people enjoy what we are doing so I am happy to be here. I have not had the time to discover the place yet but we will see.
Q:
How much pressure are you feeling ahead of the event?
SL:
The championship result is nearly done now. It’s not a big pressure but always there is some pressure before a race, especially the motivation to try to do something nice with two races to go in the season. It’s not a big pressure, just exciting about the race.
Q:
What is your target for this weekend?
SL:
The target is to try to do a good race. We saw in the last race [in Shanghai] it’s really tight between all the drivers so I will try to do my job as well as possible and try to find a good feeling with the set-up in Free Practice. For sure the target is to try to win the race.
Q:
How do you feel about racing here in Thailand?
NL:
It’s a big pleasure for me to be here. I have been a few times for holidays but racing is a different matter. Everybody is looking excited about this race. I have seen some in-board cameras. It’s a nice track, it looks really exciting, really fast and challenging. I am pleased to be here.
Q:
Where did you visit when you came to Thailand before?
NL:
I came to Phuket a couple of times. I saw nice beaches and nice food and really enjoyed it.
Q:
How have you prepared for this race?
NL:
I try to prepare as much as possible as a driver can for a new track. I look at in-board cameras and the data but the main difference is the heat. It’s very hot here and we are not used to this kind of temperature. It’s a big challenge for the drivers but I have trained very hard in order to be ready for this one.
TM:
I have been here a few times with my family on vacation. You have amazing weather, amazing beaches, food and the people are really nice. It’s really a perfect place to come on vacation also with the kids but we are here now for the race. It’s a different situation because we are here for business but it’s nice to come to a place where feel very welcome and people want to see you race and want to see you perform. It makes us proud and makes us want to give you a good show. We are very motivated about that.
Q:
What is your favourite Thai food?
TM:
I love spicy food so here I am really blessed with all the spices around. Green curry is my favourite. Pad Thai is nice but it’s not really spicy enough so green curry is my favourite.
Q:
What does it mean to you to be contesting WTCC Race of Thailand?
TS:
I am so proud that I have the chance to go and do WTCC Race of Thailand because all my idols of touring car racing are gathered here. I am so excited to be here in the WTCC in 2015 in Thailand.
Q:
It’s your WTCC debut here in your home country. How much pressure are you feeling?
TS:
I am not feeling so much pressure. I am doing this race to have fun and I will do my best for the races here in Thailand.
Q:
How have you prepared for this event?
TS:
I have prepared for all the season and last weekend I had a race at Buriram so I feel well prepared now.
Q:
How good will the racing be at the Chang International Circuit?
TS:
I am sure with the cars and drivers so close together and I am sure there will be some good races and good competition in the WTCC.
Q:
Finally, what are some of the good things about Thailand?
TS:
Not only do we have this great circuit in Buriram but Thailand has many tourism attractions such as the beaches and so much more. We welcome all tourists to come to Thailand because there are many things to do on holiday.
