Gianni Morbidelli apologises to the team for ‘silly mistake’

Gianni Morbidelli will start the first race at Macau in sixth. The WestCoast Racing driver hit the wall in the first segment of qualifying, but was able to go back out as the team repaired his Honda Civic TCR.

Despite being able to start from the third row, the Italian is unhappy with himself as he made what he calls a silly mistake.

“I have to apologise to the boys, because once again they deserve more than what we achieved”, said the Italian to TouringCarTimes. “They are always able to solve problems, but I gave them unnecessary work to do today. I know we deserved more.”

Morbidelli had looked strong in his last attempt in Q2, but a mistake at the last corner meant he had to go straight and just enter the pits, which he didn’t mean to do: “In Q2 I hit traffic, I tried to make space between (Tiago) Monteiro and myself but then I got overtaken. I then tried to build some space again to avoid the spray, but I caught them in about half a lap, and that happened several times. I didn’t know what else to do. On the last lap I locked the wheels at the last corner, so I went straight and just found the way into the pits. I know the result is not so bad, but I am so sorry for the team.”

As for tomorrow, the Italian says he will have to weigh the pros and cons of attacking other drivers, as he’s keen on bringing the car home in one piece: “On this track it’s particularly difficult to overtake. You have to take risks, which would normally cost you losing a place or two, but trying too hard here means you put the car into the wall, which I don’t want to do. Every time you take a risk you may end up with a bent car, so in the end you need to decide if it’s worth it or not. That’s why I wanted to start higher up. I don’t think we could have caught the Volkswagens, but maybe I could have been third, and that would have changed things a bit. That mistake in Q1 just cost me too much.”