Stefano Comini celebrates second career pole in Russia

Stefano Comini put his championship challenge back on course, celebrating his first pole since Singapore last September, and the first for the WRT-run Leopard Racing squad at Sochi, with team-mate and fellow title competitor Jean-Karl Vernay putting his Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR third, sandwiching the SEAT of Pepe Oriola.

“It is very nice to take the first pole of the year for both Volkswagen and Leopard Racing,” said Comini. “This is probably the first time this year that I am really happy with our qualifying performance and that I can say that we could bring the car to its limit. For once, we did not struggle with oversteer and I could give everything and have three flat out laps in Q2.

“I could benefit a little from some slipstreaming by Gianni (Morbidelli) and that was helpful as our cars are not as fast as the others on the straight. It will be more difficult to keep the advantage tomorrow, especially at the start, and we can predict some action at the first corner.”

Team-mate Vernay is also optimistic heading into tomorrow’s races, starting ahead of Morbidelli’s Honda on the second row.

“It was an excellent result for the team and a good start of the weekend for me,” he said.

“While discovering the track, I must say I really like it. It’s a technical and interesting track that requires a good flowing and a good rhythm to be competitive. My only concern is about the start and the first corner. I think that with a lot of faster cars around Stefano and myself, it is going to be a crowded place.”