Tarquini: nothing lasts forever, not even my racing career!

In an exclusive interview, a relaxed Tarquini told us about his feelings after announcing his retirement.

“A couple of days ago I shook down Michelisz’s car and mine for this weekend, which is something I have regularly done over the last few years. And yet, it was a strange feeling. I savoured those drives in a different way, because I knew that was the one of the last shakedowns of my career. These are the things I will miss, but sooner or later I had to stop. Nothing lasts forever, not even my career! 
And I can’t regret anything. I have to say: I stopped too early, maybe I could do one more year. You can always do one more year, but I was lucky enough because I had a very long career that was very rewarding, even in the later years. The two world titles in 2009 and 2018 arrived at a time when most of the drivers of my generation had already retired. Which is why I savoured them so much. More than when I was younger and still focusing on the future and the next goals.
I thought my 2009 WTCC title would have been the last one, instead I won WTCR nine years later and I’m still able to win races now… I have really enjoyed those last few years, as I was more relaxed and had no ambitions to build a career, like the younger people have.”

What are the expectations for these few last races?
“Obviously, I will try to finish on a high, with a victory at Adria or Sochi, but I’m aware that the priority is to support Jean-Karl Vernay in his effort to fight for the championship. And I will put this before the personal ambitions during these last four races, just like I have done in the past.”   

Would this be the end of Tarquini’s involvement in motorsport?
“For the time being I have no plans, and I will take some time to wait and see what happens around me. I took this decision after my victory at Aragón in July and immediately informed Hyundai to give them the possibility to plan the future. We are currently talking to see if there is an opportunity to keep on working together in some ways. I would like to stay in motorsport, and I am confident that I won’t be short of opportunities. In all those years I have made a lot of friends and built a solid reputation, as a driver, but also as a person. I can see that there are many people who trust me, and this makes a big difference.”

Picture: WTCR/DPPI