The yearly meeting of the European Touring Car Cup was held this weekend at Austria’s Salzburgring track, where Spanish driver Oscar Nogués clinched second place at the wheel of a Seat León. Participating at this event in recognition of winning the Seat León Eurocup, Nogués stepped onto the podium after both races, with a third place in the first race and the victory in the second.
 
However, the weekend started with difficulties saturday, after a driving error in the qualifying session forced Oscar to leave from a dismal seventh place. The start of the first race was spectacular, as Nogués drove away unscathed from a multiple-car incident in the first chicane in fourth position, moving up to the coveted third, which he managed to maintain until the end despite the other drivers’ attempts on this fast track. The first podium was a reward for a very intelligent race.
 
He also demonstrated his driving experience in the second race, dodging another incident and staying in second position after the initial curves. He then moved up to first right up to the finish followed by Denmark’s Michel Nykjaer, who won the European Cup last year with SEAT. Nykjaer’s second place win was enough to proclaim him the champion. Nogués’ results are significant because they reflect his driving skills at the Seat León Eurocup, and also because he was up against other veteran drivers like Sweden’s Engstrom and Nykjaer himself.
 
Oscar Nogués: “I’m very grateful to my team and also to Seat for all the work they’ve done, because if I hadn’t won the Seat León Eurocup I wouldn’t have had this special chance. I’m very satisfied with how the weekend went despite the problems we had in yesterday’s training sessions, and I’m happy with my second place win in the European Touring Car Cup.”
 
Standings
 
First race: 1. Nykjaer (Chevrolet) 2. Goransson (BMW) 3. Nogués (SEAT) 4. Poulsen (BMW) 5. Campanico (BMW) Second race: 1. Nogués (SEAT) 2. Nykjaer (Chevrolet) 3. Goransson (BMW) 4. Engstler (BMW) 5. Engstrom (Honda)
 
European Championship
1. M. Nykjaer (Denmark). 2. O. Nogués (Spain). 3. R. Goransson (Sweden). 4. C. Campanico (Portugal) 5. J. Reno (Denmark)