The promising Lantos Szabolcs from Hungary will make his Clio Cup debut this year. The go-kart driver confirmed his quality in last year during his debut in the Twingo Cup and very soon he achieved first victory – all under the supervision of former ETCC and WTCC driver Norber Nagy, with whom you can read the following interview.
You have a go-kart team Nagy Norbi Racing Team and you look after young Hungarian drivers. One of your youngster is Lantos Szabolcs. What potential do you think he has?
I think Lantos Szabolcs is the greatest example, how good the go-kart racing is to build a racing experience, and use it in a racing car as well.
How the co-operation came into being with you and Lantos?
They started go-kart racing in my team, we are with Szabolcs since his first racing meters.
How successful is Lantos in go-karts?
He improved very fast season by season, he won lot of racing weekends, and had great fights with the best go-kart drivers in Europe.
Lantos have been racing in Twingo Cup last year and have won at Slovakia Ring. He definitely get used to Twingo very fast, don´t you think?
Yes, we know that he is a great talent, and he have really good basic knowledge from the kart racing, but the podiums really surprised me. The twingo cup is really hard championship, requires big experience, not just with the driving, but with tactics too.
But for this year, you are planning to do Clio Cup with him, aren´t you?
Yes, and he will go with our own team. The Clio Cup car is the best way to learn if your goal is the TCR. Of course, it´s a bigger challenge to drive fast than in Twingo, but I´m sure, he can adapt to this car, as fast as with the Twingo.
Are you going to be his mentor for the whole season?
Yes, I´m sure I can give him good advices, we can do telemetry analysing, and mental preparation is really important for a young driver like Szabolcs as well.
Had he already tested Clio? And how do you think it will suit him?
He had some test on smaller tracks, he really liked it, but the first big circuit test will happen this month, I= m really looking forward to see him on a big track.
And what are yours goals for the season?
For first, to learn, to get as much experience as possible, and I think for the end of the season, as we seen he in Twingo cup, some podiums are a real goal.