With just over a month to go until the PURE ETCR Grand Finale, drivers are starting to gear up to determine who will be the inaugural season champion of the electric touring car series.
Mattias Ekström, the current series leader, gave a very curious answer on how he was going about fine-tuning details ahead of the race in France, which replaced South Korea as the venue for the decisive stage.
Jokingly, the Swede told the category’s official portal that he will use Google and Youtube to learn about the Gallic track. “I don’t even know where the track is,” he joked. “I got to know not long ago, just before Hungaroring, that we were going there.
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“I’ll use those tools on the web and try to learn a little bit. I’m going there with an open mind and open eyes,” the CUPRA representative added.
Regarding his vehicle, he pointed out that they will try in advance to get the best set-up to win the race and clinch the title in the tournament’s debut.
Ekström’s main rival for the crown is Hyundai Motorsport N’s Jean-Karl Vernay, for whom the venue will be a home event. Mikel Azcona and Jordi Gene, plus Romeo Ferraris-M1RA driver Rodrigo Baptista are the other contenders for glory.
The final day of the PURE ETCR will take place from October 15-17.
The Track
The circuit near the city of Pau, southwest France, is hosting international touring car races for the first time and is one of the most advanced tracks in Europe when it comes to electric technology.
A series of improvements to the circuit in 2018 provided pit boxes with permanent electric charging stations, as part of its electric vehicle-ready infrastructure, as it aims to become a zero-emissions facility in the near future.
France was designated by the PURE ETCR organizers for the final day, due to the heavy travel restrictions imposed by COVID-19 countries, a situation that jeopardized the on-time arrival of all the machinery, which was to be transferred by sea to Korea.
Written by I Jhonattan González
