Portugal Preview: Pepe Oriola fearful of Comini come-back in Estoril
This weekend the TCR International Series returns to Europe for the first time since Austria last July, and also for its first visit to Estoril after last year’s Portuguese round took place at the Algarve circuit.
Pepe Oriola leads the championship after a near perfect weekend in Bahrain, where the Spaniard collected 51 points out of the 55 up for grabs. The Craft-Bamboo Lukoil driver leads team-mate James Nash by 15 points, while B3 Racing’s Dusan Borokovic lies third a further nine points adrift. As a result, the three will have to carry 30, 20 and 10kg of ballast respectively, as per TCR International Series sporting regulations.
The championship leader will have to work his way around the ballast, which might give a chance to his opponents after a stunning performance in the Middle East. Oriola is aware of the challenge ahead of him, as well as with the Volkswagen’s having been given a performance break after Bahrain: “I am happy to be racing in Europe and I am really motivated after Bahrain,” said the Craft-Bamboo Lukoil driver. “I know that it will be hard with the 30kg of ballast, especially against the Volkswagens. (Leopard Racing’s) Stefano (Comini), for example, will be 60 kg lighter than me and Estoril is a very twisty circuit, but I will be fighting to score points to keep leading the series.”
The Spaniard will face competition from team-mates Nash and Sergey Afanasyev, as the Brit promises to fight for podiums in Portugal despite 20kg of ballast: “I was very happy with the performance of the Craft-Bamboo Racing cars and I am going into this round with more confidence,” said Nash. “We now know more or less what to expect. I do anticipate this weekend to be hard for us as we now have success weight. Estoril will be harder on tyres and made worse with the extra weight but we will be fighting for more podiums.”
Dusan Borkovic put on a spectacular performance in Bahrain in his B3 Racing SEAT León TCR, and is sure to challenge for the top positions in Portugal. Team-mate Mat’o Homola also praised the precious track-time he had during testing earlier this week at Estoril, which he believes was useful to develop the car: “I spent a lot of time on the track and I can say that I know the Estoril circuit quite well,” said the Slovakian. “We had a chance to test various set-ups, with the differential, suspension, brakes. I believe that we will be able to use this experience during the race.”
Gianni Morbidelli, Aku Pellinen and Kevin Gleason will also be up there in the mix, as the WestCoast Racing trio will try to take advantage of a twistier layout such as Estoril’s to make full use of the Honda Civic TCR’s strengths: “Although it didn’t exactly go to plan last time out in Bahrain, this, as we all know, can be Motorsport,” commented WCR team principal Greger Petersson. “We’ve now learnt our lessons and will be back stronger and quicker in Portugal. The TCR International Series is now more competitive, with more cars and more teams involved in the championship this year. All the ingredients we need to deliver some solid championship points, narrow the gap to the outright leaders and truly get our title challenge underway.”
A disappointed Kevin Gleason after a double DNF in the Bahrain curtain raiser will try to bag points at Estoril: “I’m really looking forward to getting started at Estoril and moving on from the disappointing weekend in Bahrain,” said the American. “When I was racing in the season-opener, it felt good and the car felt quick, so I have every reason to be optimistic that I can be challenging for race victories and podiums going into this weekend.”
The Balance of Performance measures, which gave the Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR a 30kg weight break, should also play in favour of Liqui Moly Team Engstler and Leopard Racing, with Jean-Karl Vernay showing huge potential in the Bahrain weekend and defending champion Stefano Comini, who collected six points in the season opener, eager to get back to the front after a troubled weekend.
The Subaru WRX STi will be on track again this weekend, although this time with Luca Rangoni behind the wheel, replacing fellow Italian Luigi Ferrara. The new Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR will be driven again by Michela Cerruti, who scored no points in Bahrain and suffered from a driveshaft failure in the second race.
The weekend will start with Free Practice 1 on Friday at 17.10 local time, with an identical 30-minutes session scheduled for 10.15 on Saturday. Qualifying will take place at 16.40 with the usual format including Q1 and Q2. The first race will start at 11.25 on Sunday, with the reversed-grid second heat scheduled for 17.05.
2016 TCR International Series Portugal Entry List
No – Driver – Nat – Team – Car
1 – Stefano Comini – SUI – Leopard Racing (WRT) – Volkswagen Golf TCR
2 – Jean-Karl Vernay – FRA – Leopard Racing (WRT) – Volkswagen Golf TCR
7 – Davit Kajaia – GEO – Engstler Motorsport – Volkswagen Golf TCR
8 – Mikhail Grachev – RUS – Engstler Motorsport – Volkswagen Golf TCR
9 – Attila Tassi – HUN – B3 Racing – SEAT León TCR
10 – Gianni Morbidelli – ITA – WestCoast Racing – Honda Civic TCR
14 – Aku Pellinen – FIN – WestCoast Racing – Honda Civic TCR
24 – Kevin Gleason – USA – WestCoast Racing – Honda Civic TCR
26 – Francisco Mora – POR – Baporo Motorsport – SEAT León Cup Racer
31 – Luca Rangoni – ITA – Top Run Motorsport – Subaru WRX STi
50 – Loris Hezemans – NED – Baporo Motorsport – SEAT León TCR
54 – James Nash – GBR – Craft-Bamboo Racing – SEAT León TCR
62 – Dusan Borkovic – SER – B3 Racing – SEAT León TCR
70 – Mat’o Homola – SLK – B3 Racing – SEAT León TCR
74 – Pepe Oriola – SPN – Craft-Bamboo Racing – SEAT León TCR
77 – Sergey Afanasyev – RUS – Craft-Bamboo Racing – SEAT León TCR
88 – Michela Cerruti – ITA – Mulsanne Racing – Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR
TCR International Series Portugal Timetable
Friday 22nd April
17:10 – Free Practice 1
Saturday 23rd April
10:15 – Free Practice 2
16:40 – Qualifying
Sunday 24th April
11:25 – Race 1 (15 Laps)
17:05 – Race 2 (15 Laps)
