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Bargwanna: Spa is ‘nothing short of incredible’
BEN BARGWANNA has described his first look at the historic Spa Francorchamps circuit as ‘Nothing short of Incredible’ following practice for the second event in the 2023 Kumho TCR World Tour this weekend.
Bargwanna, who claimed rookie honours in the opening round of the global TCR series in Portimao, Portugal, recently, logged his first laps of the iconic Belgian circuit overnight Australian time.
Driving his Burson Auto Parts / Team Clariet Sport Peugeot 308 TCR, Bargwanna finished practice 1 in 20th and the second session 22nd, but said his first takeout was the circuit itself.
“I am having a really hard time putting today into words. Spa is just purely epic and nothing short of incredible!” He said.
“My eyes are still completely wide open and practice 1 was something of dreams, my first lap through turn 2-3 – or better known as Eau Rouge and Raidillon was the best experience of my life – and I now know what all the hype is about when talking about this track.
“Even the atmosphere, the Forrest surrounding the track, the facilities, it’s just all so damn cool.”
Bargwanna said his opening day on track was all about learning and gaining as much experience as possible ahead of qualifying and the opening race, to be held this evening Australian time.
“Practice 1 was really good to get my eye in and learn as much as I could, we didn’t pit much we just lapped for most of the session to maximise my track time, I learnt an absolute bucket load and after some data and footage debrief I was feeling good for practice 2,” he explained.
“Practice 2 was better. I massively improved on myself and felt a lot better, the car had a massive oversteer issue so it made it hard to put a lap together but the Clairet family are very smart when it comes to this Peugeot and we have some good changes to make overnight to give me the best chance in qualifying.”
Bargwanna said his first experience at Spa Francorchamps gave perspective for international drivers who come to Australia’s own epic Mountain circuit.
“The top 15 is the goal for qualy, and now I understand why the international drivers that arrive at Bathurst at the end of day 1 have eyes are like dinner plates,.
“I can’t wait for day 2 after day 1. This place is amazing, but now we want to go faster.”
The third and fourth races in the Kumho TCR World Tour will be shown live, ad-break free and on-demand on Stan Sport this weekend.
Bargwanna will then return to Australia to tackle the third round of Supercheap Auto TCR Australia at Hi-Tec Oils Race Winton this June 9-11.
Tickets for that event are on sale now via motorsporttickets.com.au.