Stefano Comini would rather test than come back to TCR Benelux in July

Comtoyou Racing’s Stefano Comini left the circuit disappointed on Sunday morning after two tough sprint races at the Circuit Zolder, with the double TCR International Series champion not happy with the way the race’s format and the circuit worked against the team’s Audi RS 3 LMS.

The team ran the car with 45kg of TCR Balance of Performance, plus 30kg of success ballast after Comini’s results during the first round at Spa. The RS 3 would have been even heavier during the qualifying long race, with the car’s minimum weight set to match Comini’s co-driver Frédéric Vervisch, meaning the car was a further 20kg heavier due to Comini’s weight during the last half of the race, which was curtailed when Comini retired due to handling problems.

During the morning’s sprint races, Comini finished a distant sixth in the first race, following that up with fifth in Race 2, holding back the SEAT of Guillaume Mondron, who also struggled with balance and set-up issues.

“It’s frustrating,” said Comini after the race to TouringCarTimes. “You start at 70% of what you and the car’s potential is, and then after you go down to 50% to save the tyres and save the brakes. After half of the first race, I had no possibility to battle with the others. I looked in the mirror and had a large gap so I saved the tyres for the second race.

“It’s not motorsport for me. It’s not a real endurance either. In an endurance race, with a GT3, you’re pushing from the first lap to the last lap; here, you need to save all of the car, the brakes and the tyres just so survive. It’s not racing.”

Although Comtoyou Racing hoped to compete for the remainder of the season and challenge for the title, despite missing the second race of the season at Zandvoort, the Swiss driver hopes he won’t be back for the next race, again at Zolder, next month.

“I will not be here,” he said. “Well, if the team want to continue, I’ll continue. But I’d prefer to do some test days than race here again.”