The second round of the FIA WTCR was completed on Sunday at the Hungaroring circuit with exciting and controversial races. For Augusto Farfus, the round was a big step forward as he finished all three races in the top-ten, achieving the goal of scoring points and improving in the overall standings.
Sunday’s lap times set the starting grid for races 2 and 3. With 8th place in Q2, Farfus secured 3rd place for the start of the second race – with the top-10 reverse grid rule. Rain messed up the tyre strategies for the race and caused a lot of confusion. After a very rough start with several hits Farfus dropped to 6th and was almost taken out of the race. With the car very damaged, Augusto managed to stay in the top-five and hold back his opponents for much of the race. However, with three laps remaining, the Brazilian was hit again and finished in 9th.
In the third and longest race of the weekend, the BRC Hyundai N Lukoil Racing Team driver was also in the top ten and crossed the finish line in 8th place after 18 laps.
The day before, Augusto performed consistently. The Brazilian dropped to 9th place, lost some ground in the first few laps, but recovered to complete the 12 laps in 9th place, being the best of the Hyundai drivers in the race.
With the results of his second weekend, scoring in all three races of the round, Augusto Farfus climbed to 11th place in the championship. The next round of the FIA WTCR, the 3rd of ten, is scheduled for May 10-12 in Slovakia.
Before that, the Brazilian contests another stage of the World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC) in the BMW M8 GTE. The 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, that take place from 2nd to 4th May, will be the last challenge on the calendar before the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans, which closes the 2018-2019 “Super Season” in June.
“The summary of the weekend was positive, we had three top-tens and the pace was very competitive”, said Farfus. “Unfortunately in race two, when I got out more, with the weather changing and the drizzle at the beginning, I took a lot of touches on the first lap, and I drove the whole race with a broken rear suspension, so it was great to get to the finish and score, but that compromised a better result. Overall, we gave a stronger performance than the first round, which was really important for the season. We know that the championship is over and we are looking to recover points. Now, I focus on the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps with BMW, which will be a fundamental preparation for Le Mans.”
