Photo: TCR Media

Stefano Comini invites title rival James Nash to “play the game”

Stefano Comini was third in today’s free practice at Macau. The defending champion was once again vocal over the traffic problems, as once again he had to abort several laps due to slower drivers. The Leopard Racing driver also invited James Nash to play the game with him and Pepe Oriola, as the Swiss and the Spaniard made it all look like they were in qualifying during the session, swapping places and breaking slipstreams.

“We are looking like fools, and we are not fools”, said Comini to TouringCarTimes in respect of the traffic issues. “I’ve had to abort so many laps due to people who, like I said yesterday, drive like they’re parking their car. They even brake in a straight line, it seems like they’re scrubbing their brakes, but in truth that’s their level. We need some professionalism here from everyone, not just the top drivers or the organiser.”

The defending champion believes the situation is not safe, and called for the drivers to get together in an association of some form to strengthen their voice concerning matters such as this.

“We are not in Sepang or another wide track, this is Macau. We are putting everything on the line, our championship, our careers, even our lives. I hope we will be able to form some kind of association between the drivers, so our voice can be heard and we can fix a few things which are not okay at the moment. This is a great championship, so it’s a shame that it can potentially be spoiled by such drivers. There are so many little things to be fixed. I’ve seen no blue flags all over the session, for instance.”

TCR International Series Macau, 17 - 20 November 2016

Comini went on to say that Nash should start “playing games” like fellow title rival Pepe Oriola and himself for the purposes of the show.

“Pepe and I were obviously doing our own thing in free practice, we were playing our game. James (Nash) is welcome to come and play; he doesn’t need to feel like the kid left alone in the park. We are passing him the ball, it’s now up to him to kick it and play with us. It is really fun, but you need to be mentally strong to play. To be honest I like to have benchmarks and be spectacular even during free practice, so he should probably consider joining the game, as it feels good.”

The Swiss says he wasn’t fully on the limit with his Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR, as the track was still very green: “I wasn’t feeling 100% confident in the car, the track was very slippery and as soon as you got out of the ideal line it was a complete mess. Honestly, I think I have some margin to exploit in qualifying. Here in Macau you need to be confident in your car, otherwise it’s better to back off, especially during free practice, and then go flat out when you’re sure you can trust your machine.”