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Pierre-Yves Corthals
by Alfredo Filippone
Pierre-Yves Corthals is not an
unknown face in touring car racing.
The 41-year-old Belgian has under
his belt a long and successful
career, which he started in Renault
mono-brand series, taking five
times the Belgian title and once the
European one before becoming a
regular contender in the
international touring car scene. The
Liège-born has gained for himself
the reputation of a fast and tough
driver, something which seems at
odds with the gentle nickname of
‘Pilou’ by which he is known in the
paddock. Having embraced the TCR
concept since the very beginning,
Corthals has come a close second in
the inaugural edition of the TCR
Benelux, but is also the first winner
of the TCR Trophy Europe.
“I have to admit that the TCR
Trophy Europe was not even a
thought at the beginning of the
season. Together with DG Sport
Compétition, our goal was to find
the budget to run in TCR Benelux,
then to find a car different from the
majority of models available, and we
went for the Opel Astra. We started
thinking about the TCR Trophy
Europe once we saw we were well
placed in the standings and we
planned to go to the Nürburgring
and then Jerez. Eventually things
turned out well. It takes one
champion to start writing the
history of a new series and it’s nice
to be the one!”
Giving the Opel Astra its first TCR
laurels must have been another
reason of satisfaction.
“Of course, and I think it was great
also for Opel to win this first
Trophy, as they did not have an
easy start with the Astra. In our
case, I can say that it was the hard
work starting from scratch that has
paid off. We were able to improve
the car race after race, and I was
very happy with how it worked. I
must thank DG Sport Compétition for
their great work and especially our
engineer Lionel Hansen, who is very
meticulous. We also could rely on
perfect support from Opel Motorsport
engineers.”
How does an experienced touring
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