Stefano Comini hits back at Pepe Oriola’s call for BoP changes

Stefano Comini has hit back at rivals claims that his Leopard Racing Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR has been benefiting from an inequality in Balance of Performance following his first win of the season yesterday in Imola, Italy.

After the race, Craft-Bamboo Lukoil’s Pepe Oriola called for a revision of the Balance of Performance measures in respect of the Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR, which is currently 40kg lighter than the SEAT León TCR and the Honda Civic TCR. The defending TCR International Series champion, however, does not agree with his friend and championship rival’s call.

“With a 20kg success ballast he was second in qualifying and he was very close to (Gianni) Morbidelli,” said the Swiss to TouringCarTimes. “I am left wondering if he genuinely thinks he would be one second quicker than anyone. Last year, with the same car, things went quite differently. Also, in Salzburg I will have to carry full success ballast.”

Comini says the massive breakthrough in performance from Leopard Racing, from the struggles of Bahrain in March to taking two wins from the last four races is not down to the Balance of Performance changes.

“Target Competition (Comini’s 2015 team) was a great team, with a big heart, but since I’ve joined Leopard Racing I have changed my mentality, they really know how to work. I changed the way I work, and now I am able to be competitive in the final parts of the races as well. Our strength is consistency during the races, which I didn’t have last year. With Leopard Racing we have found something that allows us to get to the end of the race with the brakes still in a good shape. It’s not about Balance of Performance, it is about finding details which will allow you to finish the race with a competitive car.”

The Swiss thinks the straight-line speed difference compared to the other cars is enough to justify different weights: “Imola is a track in which I’ve done six races and won four of them. I didn’t know Bahrain and Estoril, but I know Spa-Francorchamps and Imola. Pepe keeps talking about BoP, but the difference was evident on the straights, SEAT have the fastest car in the field and the Golf GTI TCR has a huge disadvantage on that side.”

After his move at Rivazza on Oriola in Race 2, which also earned him a nomination for the fan award, the defending champion is keen on pointing out that the move was down to his skills, and not down to a dominant car: “I would like to point out that my overtakes were not easy, nor caused by a superior car, they were done in the corners, rather than obtained through power. My overtakes are allowed by my own “Oppacomini style” and my balls, nothing more than that. That’s what the championship needs, clean and spectacular moves.”

Despite the criticism, Comini believes his rival is a great driver, and takes pride in fighting with the Craft-Bamboo Lukoil driver: “I am really happy to be able to fight against Oriola, I genuinely think he is a great driver, but he should stop moaning about BoP, because that’s simply wrong.”

Comini scored 42 points in Italy, and is now up to second in the championship, 15 points behind Oriola and 16 ahead of WestCoast Racing’s Gianni Morbidelli.