Photo: TCR Media

Bahrain preview: can Davit Kajaia hold on to the championship lead?

The TCR International Series returns to Bahrain for the second time as part of the Formula One World Championship support package. The first race of the 2017 TCR International Series at Rustavi Motopark, Georgia, saw the first win for the Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR in the hands of home hero Davit Kajaia.

After scoring pole position, the Georgian policeman went on to win the first race, and collect another eight points in the second, emerging from his home event as the championship leader. Can the Alfa Romeo be a protagonist this weekend in Bahrain as well? Kajaia will have to carry 30kg of ballast due to his results at Rustavi. His fellow GE-Force driver Dusan Borkovic had a power steering issue in qualifying which prevented him from having a decent starting position. The Serbian surely needs to bounce back, although the layout of the track is not likely to suit the three white Giuliettas, with Michela Cerruti back on driving duties after having been on-site as a team manager in Georgia.

tassi

M1RA’s Attila Tassi also emerged a surprising second after the Georgia curtain raiser. Despite a switch from SEAT to Honda, the Hungarian teenager showed enough speed and maturity to score a remarkable 32 points, which puts him in second in the championship. Despite accumulation 20kg of ballast this weekend, the Honda driver needs to live up to the expectations he set with his performance in Georgia, especially compared to his talented and experienced team-mate Roberto Colciago, the 2016 TCR Italy champion.

Pepe Oriola, who will carry 10kg of ballast, is more of an expected name up there in the standings. The Craft-Bamboo driver scored a win with a perfect drive in Race 2 in Georgia, which lifted him up to third in the championship on 31 points. Despite not showing much speed compared to other models, the SEAT León TCR is very competitive. The Lukoil-backed team dominated in Bahrain last year, as Sergey Afanasyev scored his maiden pole position before Pepe Oriola took a clean sweep of wins in Middle East.

oriola

“I got to knowing the Bahrain International Circuit last year and it was good, as I won both races”, said the Spaniard. “I come to Bahrain without pressures, I will try to do well on track and hopefully repeat a win to stay in the top three in the championship. It will not be an easy weekend, but I will try to give the supporters a reason to smile.”

2016 title contender James Nash will want to put the curtain raiser behind him, a fifth place in the second race not being enough to satisfy his appetite for wins. Team-mate Hugo Valente, who had finished second on track, will want to make up for the points lost due to a penalty for overtaking under yellow flags.

vernay

After winning the drivers’ title last year and losing their star driver Stefano Comini, Leopard-backed WRT Team’s hopes rely on Jean-Karl Vernay, whose spat with his former team-mate was a major talking point in the aftermath of the first race wekend. Unlike the defending champion, though, the Frenchman finished both races in the points, ending up fourth in the championship after the first event of the year. Vernay will need to build on a good points haul to continue his title assault.

Zele Racing’s Ferenc Ficza is fifth in the championship after qualifying third in Georgia. The young Hungarian, who is to switch back to Zengõ Motorsport at the start of the European leg of the season at Spa-Francorchamps, is therefore in his last race with the Austrian team’s SEAT León. After a strong showing in Georgia, the Hungarian will need to get up to speed quite quickly and try to bag as many points as he can, as he faces the unknowns of having a new car with the Kia Cee’d TCR from the next race.

comini

Stefano Comini is eager to get back to winning ways, as the start of his new adventure with Comtoyou Racing ended up being bittersweet, as an accident with former team-mate Jean-Karl Vernay after the chequered flag left him with a broken radiator, which prevented him from starting in the second race. The defending champion is eager to score and, in his style, show off what he is capable of doing. The young Audi RS 3 LMS has received a heavy Balance Of Performance penalty in Georgia, and is set to continue to carry 45kg of ballast this weekend.

DG Sport Compétition’s Opel Astra TCRs were also plagued by issues relating to the Balance of Performance, and 2016 European Trophy Pierre-Yves Corthals has already called for a change to the penalties imposed on cars. While the Belgian scored four points, team-mate Mat’o Homola scored none, after an incident in the second race with local driver Shota Abhkazava.

morbidelli

Gianni Morbidelli and Giacomo Altoé will also be targeting points after a tough first weekend, where WestCoast Racing expected more out of their new Volkswagen Golf GTI TCRs: “The first race of the year was a bit of a learning curve for us all to be honest,” said team manager James Nixon. “We showed good pace in some of the sessions, but the wet races were completely new for us in the Golf. Whilst we can’t test between the races, the team has been busy analysing the data and that should help us move up through the field. We’ve got 13 points on the board already and I’ll be very disappointed if we don’t add significantly to that tally this weekend.”

The weekend will start on Friday at 10:45 local time for the first 20-minute practice session. Free practice will continue in the afternoon at 15:55 for another session, whereas qualifying will be held at 11:00 with the usual format. The first race is scheduled for 16:30 local time on Saturday, with the second heat starting on Sunday at 13:00.

TCR International Series – Race of Bahrain Entry List

No – Driver – Nat – Team – Car
1 – Stefano Comini – SUI – Comtoyou Racing -Audi RS 3 LMS
2 – Jean-Karl Vernay – FRA – Team WRT -Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR
5 – Roberto Colciago – ITA – M1RA -Roberto Colciago
7 – Hugo Valente – FRA – Craft-Bamboo Racing -SEAT León TCR
9 – Attila Tassi – HUN – M1RA -Honda Civic TCR
10 – Gianni Morbidelli – ITA – WestCoast Racing -Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR
16 – Davit Kajaia – GEO – GE-Force -Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR
18 – Duncan Ende – USA – Icarus Motorsports -SEAT León TCR
21 – Giacome Altoe – ITA – WestCoast Racing -Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR
23 – Pierre-Yves Corthals – BEL – DG Sport Compétition -Opel Astra TCR
54 – James Nash – GBR – Craft-Bamboo Racing -SEAT León TCR
62 – Dusan Borkovic – SRB – GE-Force -Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR
70 – Mat’o Homola – SVK – DG Sport Compétition -Opel Astra TCR
74 – Pepe Oriola – SPN – Craft-Bamboo Racing -SEAT León TCR
99 – Ferenc Ficza – HUN – Zele Racing – SEAT León TCR
88 – Michela Cerruti – ITA – GE-Force -Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR

TCR International Series – Race of Bahrain Timetable

Friday 14th April
10:45 – Free Practice 1
15:55 – Free Practice 2

Saturday 15th April
11:00 – Qualifying
16:30 – Race 1 (10 Laps)

Sunday 16th April
13:00 – Race 2 (10 Laps)