Rydell: wiper fault cost me victory
Rickard Rydell believes he would have taken his first victory of the season in the second World Touring Car Race at Brands Hatch today if his windscreen wipers hadn't stopped working early in the race
The Swede was catching race leader and eventual winner Alain Menu when his wipers failed, as heavy rain fell throughout the race's 16 laps.
"Once I got past Gabriele [Tarquini] I caught Alain by a second and a half in one lap," Rydell told autosport.com. "But then the wipers just stopped working. And I couldn't understand why.
"I had to settle for second. I just couldn't see anything. I couldn't see the braking points - nothing. I was just trying to stay on the track.
"At the beginning I was easily quicker than him but because of this I had to slow down. I had to decide to stay on the track and not drop down so much.
"When I was so close to him it was very disappointing but I'm quite pleased with the points overall."
Five of the six podium positions were taken by SEAT drivers today, leading Rydell to reiterate his belief that the Spanish manufacturer are favourites for the WTCC titles this season
"This race weekend proved the pace of the SEAT Leon," he added. "I definitely think that one of the SEAT drivers will win the title if we carry on like this."
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