Mat’o Homola cherishes maiden TCR podium

Mat’o Homola took his first podium in the TCR International Series at Imola, Italy. The B3 Racing driver finished not too far from the race winner, WestCoast Racing’s Mikhail Grachev, but was also chased by Stefano Comini in the Leopard Racing Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR just behind him.

“It is a brilliant result for the team and my supporters,” said the Slovakian. “We came fourth three times, so I wanted to be on the podium as soon as possible. I was sure that I could be on the podium here, although we are struggling with the tyres towards the end of the race due to the Balance of Performance, we can’t compete against the Golfs.”

Despite the Balance of Performance issues, the SEAT driver is still delighted with the outcome of the weekend: “I am really happy with the result, it’s my first podium in TCR and I had a troubled season with several accidents. In Spa-Francorchamps we were also quite competitive, so I want to continue like this and want more podiums.”

Although he was able to catch Grachev midway through the race, Homola knew his tyres were going off the cliff towards the end of the second heat and he was not able to challenge the Russian for the lead: “I knew that I had to get rid of my opponents very quickly, because I realised Mikhail (Grachev) was going to open a big gap. I wanted to chase the guys ahead of me in the second race, and that’s what I did. I managed to do it, but I didn’t have enough pace to pass him, I did close the gap in the middle of the race, but towards the end the tyres faded and I knew he was in control after all.”

Homola’s result lifts him up to fifth in the championship, 39 points behind leader Pepe Oriola.