WestCoast Racing happy with Shanghai weekend

WestCoast Racing had a clear edge over the competition all weekend long at Shanghai, China, as the Honda Civic TCR seemed to fit the track very well.

After a precious 1-2-3 scored yesterday, it looked like Gianni Morbidelli was set for a perfect weekend. The Italian had claimed pole position, won yesterday and stormed into the lead of Race 2 starting from tenth due to the reversed grid, but with just three laps to go the Italian dropped down to fourth after his engine briefly went off:“After the small problem, I made a good move on Stefano [Comini],” commented the former F1 driver. “[When] I saw him coming back and decided that it was best not to defend too hard and preserve good points. It was the right thing to do, as I have the championship lead and I’m very happy about this.”

Team-mate Kevin Gleason once again paid the price of a poor start, but the American fought back to a good sixth, which keeps him in the top five in the championship:“Overall, it was a solid weekend, not only for me, but for WestCoast Racing as a team,” said Gleason. “We achieved a one-two-three in qualifying and the opening race and it was a great feeling to have all three drivers on the podium.”

Gleason was the protagonist of several fights, particularly with Comini’s SEAT León Racer. However, the Pennsylvania-based driver conceded that he would have done better had he managed to get off the line better:“In both races I was involved in some intense battles, which was partially self-inflicted due to my poor starts – this is something that I really need to work on. In all, we collected some good points this weekend and put on a great show for everyone watching the series, which certainly has a bright future.”

WestCoast Racing Team Manager James Rogers commented: “It was a great effort, the guys worked hard to make a fast car and the drivers did a good job with the equipment. After the highs of yesterday’s one-two-three, achieving another podium to lead in the Drivers’ standings is a great result for us.”

The team had jumped into the lead of the standings after yesterday’s 1-2-3, but Target Competition claimed it back by scoring a 1-2 and now are 8 points ahead of the Swedish team, with Craft-Bamboo Lukoil a further 20 points adrift.