WestCoast Racing cautious following weight increase on SEAT’s home turf
WestCoast Racing head to Valencia with the points lead with driver Gianni Morbidelli, who is just two points ahead of Target Competition’s Stefano Comini after a strong start to the season. However, following the latest Balance of Performance adjustments applied by the TCR organisers, combined with Morbidelli’s 30kg of success ballast at what’s effectively SEAT’s home race of the season, the Swedish team is cautious heading into the weekend.
Gianni Morbidelli and Kevin Gleason, the latter fifth in the standings on 45 points, will be on hand again in the team’s two JAS Motorsport-built Honda Civic TCRs, joined this weekend by Ukrainian Igor Skuz who makes a temporary switch across from Campos Racing, with the Spanish team working on the teething troubles of their Opel Astra OPC.
“Shanghai was a really successful weekend for WestCoast Racing as a whole and it’s really positive to get such strong results at this early stage of the season, as it shows that the team’s hard work really has paid off,” said Gleason. “Expectations were relatively low for Shanghai and yet a one-two-three result was achieved, so that really inspires confidence. I had faith in WestCoast Racing from the moment I started work with the team and, having spent two race weekends with them, my confidence has only grown.
“Of course, all of the circuits on the 2015 TCR International Series calendar are new to me, while other drivers might be familiar with them. It’s difficult to set any targets as a result and I’ll hopefully get some solid testing time to understand how the Honda Civic TCR is going to get on and find the car’s sweet spot. Since shaking down the car at Monza, we’ve taken positive strides with the car in terms of handling and driveability, but it’s still new to the team, Mugen and the drivers. We’re all on a big learning curve together.”
The base weight of the Honda Civic TCR has been increased under the Balance of Performance regulations of the series, which seeks to equalise the performance of the competitors in the series. Morbidelli will also carry 30kg of success ballast courtesy of having scored the most points in Shanghai earlier this month.
“We are carrying more weight for many reasons in Valencia and we go to Circuit Ricardo Tormo in the heart of SEAT country, where the SEAT teams have conducted a great deal of testing, and I’m expecting them to be the favourites for race wins,” said team principal Greger Petersson. “Clearly Shanghai was a fantastic weekend and I hope we can pull off some surprises again – we will do everything in our power to surprise.”
