Andrea Belicchi happy with win as Morbidelli leads the championship

Another exciting TCR International Series race entertained the fans earlier today at Shanghai, China.

Andrea Belicchi took the honours for Target Competition, thus becoming the fourth winner from four races: “I am very proud to win such a close race, where we had great fighting, always fair-play,” said the Italian. “It’s a lot of fun to be back to touring car racing. After almost twenty years of absence, it is clear that I still need to adjust and get used to front-wheel drive and a different racing style.”

Despite always fighting for top positions, Belicchi was actually never on the podium before:”It’s coming together, although I still need to improve starts and first laps. The TCR was a last-minute choice for me, but I really rejoice to have made it and I think we will have a great season. I am also very happy to be with a team such as Target competition, who does a wonderful job and has helped me a lot readapting to touring car machinery.”

Team-mate Stefano Comini fought hard for the win, but eventually settled for a very positive second place, which allows him to stay close to new series leader Gianni Morbidelli: “It hasn’t been an easy weekend for the SEAT cars,” admitted the Swiss. “We were clearly disadvantaged in the long straights, so it’s nice to end the weekend with a 1-2 win.”

Comini also carried 30 kilos of extra weight as he led the standings going into Shanghai:”In my case, I had also the extra-handicap of the 30-kg success ballast, which penalized me a lot in qualifying. But today’s race was a lot of fun, with a lot of fights, which is what I enjoy. The car was simply perfect.”

Gianni Morbidelli leaves China leading the championship, despite losing drive on Lap 8: “If yesterday was a perfect day, today proved that nothing is granted in motor racing,” said the former F1 driver. “Shortly after taking the lead, by mid-race, my engine switched off for a brief moment, and I lost three positions. I was lucky to reconquer third and still keep the championship lead. I am sure fans enjoyed today’s show and that the race proves how exciting and closely-fought the season is going to be.”

The three podium scorers are also the top three drivers in the standings, albeit in a different order. Morbidelli leads by a tight 2-points margin over Comini, with Belicchi 13 points off the lead but promoted to third after today’s win.

Craft-Bamboo Lukoil’s Pepe Oriola drops down to fourth, paying the price of yesterday’s DNF with a 23-points gap from Morbidelli. On a positive note, the Spaniard will be ballast-free heading into his home race at Valencia, Spain, which is next for the TCR International Series. WestCoast Racing’s Kevin Gleason is in fifth, 4 points shy of Oriola.

Lorenzo Veglia was elected ‘man of the race’ after some spectacular battles in the second heat. The young Italian managed a very good eighth through some excellent overtaking moves. Amazingly, his SEAT León Racer did not even have a scratch at the end of the race, despite the youngster battling it out with the likes of Kevin Gleason and Sergey Afanasyev, among the others, all through the 10 laps:”We are progressing a lot with the car set-up, as proven by the closing gaps in all sessions,” said Veglia. “In Race 1, I struggled with the with toe-in after a contact on the opening lap, but in Race 2 I was quite competitive and had fun fighting with all these guys from start to finish!”

The TCR International Series resumes in Valencia, Spain, for the third round of the championship in three weeks.