Mat’o Homola settles for reversed grid front row at Sochi

Third in the championship Mat’o Homola will start from ninth for Race 1 tomorrow at Sochi, which equates to second on the grid behind his B3 Racing SEAT team-mate Attila Tassi at the Russian circuit, and the Slovakian is hoping to make the most of the weekend at a circuit he’s struggling to come to grips with.

Homola briefly rocketed to the lead of the TCR International Series drivers’ standings after the first race two weeks’ ago at Oschersleben, and now placed third behind the leading Craft-Bamboo Racing pair of Pepe Oriola and James Nash heading into the final round of the European leg of the calendar.

“We are not really happy with the car and the times we achieved in the free practice sessions,” said Homola. “The track is new to us and compared to the competition we have never been here. The track temperature is really high and this is a big difference compared to other races this year.

“To be honest, I do not really like this track,” he added after qualfying. “Many 90 degrees right corners and it’s a little boring. We need to work on the car set-up, as I tried really hard and it didn’t work out. We will focus mainly on the Race 2, where I will start from second place.”