Nicky says…

On the strength and depth of the 2016 Blancpain Sprint Series…

“It was the first weekend of the 2016 Blancpain Sprint Series and I have to say it was really cool! The 38-strong field was not only big in numbers, but also quality – I know the championship organisers were delighted with the turnout – and I’d say the Sprint is now stronger than the Endurance Series in some ways.”

On his works BMW M6 GT3…

“The Blancpain Sprint Series is a nice championship to compete in, but it was tough, especially as BMW was fielding the brand new M6 GT3. We struggled a little at the beginning and I qualified my car in P26, ahead of the sister car in P30. However, the team improved as the weekend progressed and that showed in the races.

“Of course, the Balance of Performance (BoP) is always really tough to get right for the first weekend of the season, as you simply don’t know what each team has done over the winter. The BMW M6 GT3 was definitely a bit off the pace, but we found speed as the weekend went on. The results my teammates achieved masked the car’s actual pace.”
 
On the challenge of racing through the spray and negotiating the puddles at Misano…

“Tyre-choice was a lottery as we lined-up on the grid for the Qualifying Race, which I started. Conditions were mixed and approximately 70 per cent, including me, elected for wet weather tyres, with 30 per cent taking a punt on slicks. The wets were superior during the first half of the race, but the dry rubber came into its own during the latter stages and there was a bit of an overlap where the slicks were very strong.

“I drove from 26th to 12th position during my stint before changing to slicks and handing over to my teammate, who improved again to 11th. The sister BMW, meanwhile, climbed to second position! Their tyre-change was timed perfectly, as it fell during a full-course yellow and they subsequently gained chunks of time while the entire field was speed limited. The second race saw us finish 30th after we were involved in an incident with an Audi and had to make an unscheduled stop to remove grass from the radiator. I couldn’t do anything from there.”

On the Blancpain Sprint Series curtain-raiser…

“I have mixed feelings about the weekend at Misano. I’m disappointed that it wasn’t me on the podium, but it was nice to see BMW progress and my teammates finish so well. Ultimately, it comes down to the fact that they had the balls to opt for slicks at the start of the first race, so you have to respect them for that!”

On his and LADA SPORT’s prospects for the FIA WTCC Race of Slovakia…  

“Last year’s WTCC Race of Slovakia was the first time I broke into Q3 – the third part of qualifying. The pace was quite strong and I also enjoyed the Slovakia Ring, but we were unfortunate to suffer some issues during the races. Based on what LADA SPORT could have achieved in 2015 and how far the team has come since then, I believe we can continue building and improve on the performances at Circuit Paul Ricard, so I’m really looking forward to it.

“I don’t want to set expectations too high, as we need to see where we are once to arrive in Slovakia. However, the Slovakia Ring’s flowing, high-speed nature places less emphasis on traction and plays to the LADA Vesta’s strengths. I’ve been liaising with my engineer, looking over last year’s data and thinking about what could be done better since the opening round in France and we should take a step forward.”