Romeo Ferraris embark into the second half of the 2022 season of the FIA ETCR eTouring Car World Cup with the fourth weekend on the calendar seeing the Opera-based manufacturer busy on the historic circuit of Zolder, where their driver, Maxime Martin will be the local hero.
The Belgian is currently the best-placed Romeo Ferraris driver in the overall standings, fourth with 200 points and thanks to his third-place finish in Budapest is the only non-CUPRA driver to stand on an event podium in 2022.
Read Maxime’s view heading home for ETCR action here.
The Belgian’s home aspirations are high.
“The targets for Zolder are quite clear,” he said. “It’s like every week, we go there to try to win and try to be the King of the Weekend and score maximum points.
“The advantage of Zolder for me, compared to Pau or Jarama for example, is that I go there without having to learn the track as I know it well already. That is a great positive which means we can focus more on improving the car.
“Certainly, I’m looking to get more points and to be on the podium would definitely be awesome. My family are coming and my kids have asked me to be on the podium so they can join me there, so I know what I have to do!”
Romeo Ferraris currently occupies the second position in the constructors’ ranking with 382 points.
Whilst Martin is the top scorer, team-mate Bruno Spengler is just 18 points adrift and is equally confident heading there.
“Zolder is a track that I like,” he said. “I was there in 2019 with DTM. It’s a track I really enjoyed driving and I was performing very well there. I think it’s a layout that suits our cars and there could also be some interesting overtaking spots. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing the Belgium fans who are very, very enthusiastic about motorsport and about racing. I’m really looking forward to going back to this track.”
Third in the Romeo Ferraris driver standings with 110 points, Giovanni Venturini can also look back on previous success at the circuit.
“Zolder is a circuit where I have good memories from racing GT cars,” explained the Italian. “I hope that we will repeat this kind of strong performance this weekend. It will be great to have a strong performance with our Giulia ETCR… Let’s see.”
Finally, Luca Filippi is hoping to bounce back from a nightmare of a Jarama event and currently has 58 points.
“I’m ready for Zolder,” he said. “It was the very first race for me with Romeo Ferraris with current WTCR so it’s where it all started so I’m really happy to go back there. It’s I think a crucial race of the championship to try and keep improving and try to fight for the win.”
Team Pincipal Michela Cerruti is ready for a boost in Belgium.
“Our season in the FIA ETCR has passed the halfway point and now we want to take a further step in terms of results,” she said. “This weekend we will be on stage at Zolder, the home track for Maxime, which will undoubtedly have an extra boost.
“We are heading to Zolder now with the mixed feelings, let’s say, because in Jarama we had a bit of a problem and we lost some points, however but we could recover quite well in the end so we have to be positive and be aware that we have a good car, good drivers, so I’m sure that means that I Zolder we can do very well.
“Not just Maxime, but also Bruno, Giovanni and Luca aspire to a place on the podium, to reap the fruits of the work done so far by the whole team and redeem themselves from some unfavorable episodes in the previous races.”
