Greger Petersson: “Don’t count us out for the championship!”

WestCoast Racing team principal Greger Petersson was one of the earliest supporters of the TCR International Series. The Swede entered three cars ever since the opening round of the championship and has since scored a win with Gianni Morbidelli, as well as three pole positions, two with the Italian and one with American Kevin Gleason.

In an interview with TouringCarTimes, the WestCoast team principal touched on several subjects, including Honda’s dominance in Monza, where the race is about to be held: “You also have to consider the driver factor,” said Petersson to TouringCarTimes. “Obviously this track suits our car perfectly, but you also have to take into account Gianni (Morbidelli)’s experience on this track, besides his talent. He has done thousands of laps here, and he is really special in Monza.”

The Swede remembers the difficulties experienced in Spain, where the team were frustrated by the heavy Balance of Performance penalties: “In Valencia we struggled a lot, to be fair we were the slowest car in the field. It’s good for the championship that you can see the strengths and weaknesses of each car, but I think that at the beginning they were a bit overreacting. After Shanghai they feared we were too quick, so they penalized us heavily in Valencia, and we struggled a lot.”

Having said that, Petersson conceded that the job is not easy, and the situation is constantly improving: “I have to be fair, balancing the performances is not an easy job, because the tiniest change can make a huge difference on these racing cars. I think they are getting there, though. It is obvious that we were not happy in Spain, but I think that with more experience, more understanding of the cars and much more data they are now able to make changes in a balanced way.”

While praising his crew, the Swede also talked about his team’s chances to win the championship: “We have to work much harder than SEAT because we have a completely new car. These guys (the WestCoast Racing crew) work so hard, until late at night, I really have to thank them. They are okay, we have a chance definitely. Obviously SEAT are obviously the favourites, but do not count us out. Racing is about being in the right place at the right time.”

WestCoast Racing are going to fight until the last meter, according to Petersson: “We are not beaten, we will try our utmost, but we obviously can’t have any more weekends like Portimao, where we scored no points with Gianni. Let’s see where we are in a couple of rounds. I think Salzburg will be different already, you never know with the balance of performance, and also, hopefully, we will be on maximum success ballast because Morbidelli will win here!”

Gianni Morbidelli will start the first race from pole position, and has been the dominant force so far this weekend at the Temple of Speed. Race 1 in Monza is scheduled for 12.35 local time.