TCR finale preview: James Nash leads four-way fight for the ultimate glory

The TCR International Series season finale will take place at the iconic Circuito da Guia in Macau this weekend. Adding to the usual spectacular nature of the track, the show will be even more exciting as up to four drivers are in with a chance of winning the championship title.

The season has been so spectacular, with so many championship lead changes, that James Nash’s 17 point advantage over title rival Stefano Comini would be no reason to relax on any circuit, nevermind Macau.

“The points gap isn’t enough for me to be able to relax,” conceded the Brit. “It’s nice to go into the last round in the lead. I was surprised actually to learn that nobody has secured more podiums this season than me, which is a strategy that has worked so far and hopefully will continue that way for a little longer.”

The Craft-Bamboo Racing driver will also have to carry a 30kg of success ballast, while nobody else will carry any extra weight. “The weight issue has obviously one that has to be considered but put it this way, I’d rather have the 17 point lead I’ve got than an unburdened car and the challenge of a 17 point deficit to make up. The team has the know-how to keep even the heaviest car fully competitive. You can be sure that I’m travelling to the Far East with a clear mindset and determination to win the title.”

Nash’s main rival is reigning champion Stefano Comini. The Leopard Racing driver put on an impressive performance on his debut at the Circuito da Guia last year, winning the second race and securing the title. The Swiss admits his state of mind was not ideal after being penalised for a contact with Tin Sritrai in the second race at Sepang, Malaysia, which left him out of the points.

“I’m going to Macau off the back of a few difficult weeks,” said the Leopard Racing driver to it.motorsport.com. “This short break was ideal to think and try, although with difficulty, to get to the last race in the best possible spirit.”

Comini goes as far as saying he thought about not taking part in the season finale, before making the right choice: “It’s not easy to be me. The mix of feelings coming from that penalty were strong, so much that I wanted to give up on everything and just not go to Macau. After a lot of work in these two years, I thought the stewards’ decision was absurd and unfair. I was demotivated. It took time to understand that not taking part would not have changed things. I’m now determined to go to the last race and give it my best shot, and then come what may. I want to win the championship.”

Pepe Oriola, who went to Macau last year with a serious shot at the title, has said he will now work for the team to help team-mate James Nash clinch the title.

“While it is still mathematically possible for me to win the championship in Macau, I must concede and support my team-mate James who is currently ahead with a strong lead,” said the Spaniard. “He has the greatest chance and I am behind him 100% of the way. Of course I will be racing my hardest as always, but we are a team and we must make sure that we take the drivers’ championship this year.”

Jean-Karl Vernay’s 39-point deficit also makes him an outsider for the championship. It will be interesting to see how he behaves this weekend, also considering he has been to Macau before in Formula 3 with very good results.

On top of all this, there will be strong challenges from the other TCR competitors. The B3 Racing SEATs, with drivers Mat’o Homola and Dusan Borkovic, are both aiming to finish the season on a high. Slovakian driver Homola briefly led the championship in Oschersleben, but bad weekends in Russia, Thailand and Malaysia left him out of the title fight, while the Serbian Borkovic is still looking for that elusive maiden TCR win.

The Hondas are likely to play a big part in the championship fight. Gianni Morbidelli has had some reliability issues and accidents, which left the WestCoast Racing driver out of contention for the crown, despite an encouraging first part of the season. The Italian will still want to do his best to win. WTCC front-runner Tiago Monteiro will also join the party, and with his extensive experience in Macau he may play a role, especially in qualifying, as the Portuguese driver has the advantage of being able to race solely for the win, meaning he can take more risks.

On top of that, the TCR Germany champion Josh Files will be at the wheel of his Target Competition Honda Civic. Having seen his outstanding performances in Germany and having tasted the Macau track last year in a Campos Racing Opel Astra OPC, the Brit may be able to get into the top positions in qualifying and go from there. Mikhail Grachev took part in last year’s event, although he didn’t seem to be too comfortable on the streets of Macau, despite taking a podium in the incident-filled Race 2. His form has been tremendous lately though, so who knows what he is going to be able to do once he drives the Honda Civic TCR in which he won four races this year.

As usual in Macau, the only safe prediction is there will be a great show

The weekend will start on Thursday with the first free practice session at 11:25 local time (CST). Free Practice 2 is scheduled for Friday at 12:30, while qualifying will start at 7:30 on Saturday local time. The races will both be held on Sunday, the first starting at 10:05, and Race 2 scheduled to follow at 11:20.

TCR International Series Macau Timetable

Thursday 17th November
11:25 – Free Practice 1

Friday 18th November
12:30 – Free Practice 2

Saturday 19th November
7:30 – Qualifying

Sunday 20th November
10:05 – Race 1 (10 Laps)
11:20 – Race 2 (10 Laps)

All times CST. GMT-8.