Erik Bertilsson is preparing for his debut season in the Clio Cup category. The Swedish driver will be racing for the championship-winning Carpek Service team. What are his ambitions? All about that and much more you can read in our interview.
Erik, you will be racing in the Clio Cup category for the Carpek Service team this year. They won the championship last year thanks to the team owner Tomáš Pekař. Why have you decided to join our series?
Because I think that it’s a good championship with many interesting tracks. I’ve also decided to come here, because I want to test my skills on more well-known circuits across Europe.
In the past few seasons, you were behind the wheel of a Citroën DS3 car. How different is the Clio? In 2015 and 2016, you had a chance to race with the Clio in the Renault Junior Cup Sweden. Do you think that experience is something that could help you this season?
Those cars are fairly similar. However, there’s one big difference as the Clio has a paddle shifter on the steering wheel. But the experience from 2015 and 2016 is definitely going to help.
Erik Bertilsson raced with Citroën DS3 cars in last seasons. Photo: Erik Bertilsson/Facebook
What are your ambitions for this season? Do you believe that you can follow up on Tomáš Pekař’s performances and fight for the championship title as well?
It’s always your goal to be on the top. The competition is big, so let’s wait and see. It’s going to be my first year in this championship, so let’s wait and see what my experience is going to be worth here.
How do you like working with Tomáš Pekař so far? Do you think that his experience will be useful?
He’s very experienced. He has plenty of advice and he knows a trick or two. I think that he can help me a lot with his experience.
Have you already had an opportunity to get to know your new teammates Filip Sandström, Yuuso Panttila and Richard Meixner? Are you looking forward to working with them?
I can’t wait to have a great season with them. I haven’t had a chance to get to know Meixner and Panttila a bit more, but Sandström used to be my teammate in the past.
Tomáš Pekař became the Clio Cup champion last year. Photo: Carpek Service
This year you’ll be racing in the Clio Cup category. Would you like to stay in our championship for the future? If so, would you be interested also in other categories like GT3, GT4 or even the TCR Eastern Europe championship?
Let’s wait and see how it goes this year. But I’m open to everything for the future. Mostly I’m interested in the TCR Eastern Europe series.
Why do you think that the fans should follow this year’s Clio Cup season?
There will be lots of tight battles in the Clio Cup series because all the cars are identical. It’s going to be very interesting to watch.
Opening photo: Erik Bertilsson/Facebook