Another extraordinary Twingo Cup season is history. Nik Štefančič defended the title as the first driver in the history and without doubt he deserve this success.
You have done it. You defended the title in the Twingo Cup as first driver in the history. How do you feel?
Yeah, wow. It took a day to really sink in. It feels good, even more special than the first one because I think I had to work harder for this one.
The last race was unbelievable and really close. Can you talk us through the race?
Well, it got boring quite quickly due to safety car. Once we eventually got under way it was right back to regular Twingo Cup racing. Like always I tried to fall backwards in the front group, on like P6 or P7. At the start of the final lap, I found myself in P2 and then controlled the gap behind to keep this position until the last corner, made my move on the inside and won.
The Twingo Cup is very close championship and the field is very tight. However you and Matej Ivanuša have won six from seven races this season. What do you think is behind yours dominance?
It’s a perfect example of how luck effects the outcome of the championship in motorsport. I believe that Matej Ivanuša has been performing on the same level for a while, but last year, after 5 races, he had 45 points due to technical issues, when at the same time this year, he had 93. Of course there’s also skill and experience involved. You need to keep up the pace and concentration until the end of the race and to make the right decisions on the final lap.
What was your worst time behind the wheel and what was your best?
Well, for this season, I’d say my worst time was the first race. I mean like, it should be an easy win, I was leading on the final lap at the end of the first sector and there was no chance for Ivanuša to overtake me. But we cought up to a lapped driver and I had nowhere to go. I braked and bumped into him, lost 3 places and finished 4th. Other than that, there really weren’t any bad moments in my Twingo Cup career. I did roll over a couple of times but it was really slowly and I knew that the car was still driveable and not damaged a lot. The best moment (other than defending the title), were both races at Red Bull Ring in Austria. I had so much more pace than other drivers. I even did my fastest lap in qualifying without slipstream. The fast left handers at the end of 2nd and start of 3rd sector I had so much confidence and I could take them with full throttle.
What about the future? Will you go for the third title or are you planning to move forward to faster cars?
My answer is going to be the same every year, it all depends on the finances. I did gain some sponsors this year and hopefully it will be enough to maybe do a Clio Cup race by the end of this season or in the next one. I believe it will be like that: I either leave Twingo Cup this year and move up the ranks or I stay here for “eternity”.