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Stefano Comini “happy and totally disappointed” after Thailand qualifying

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Two-time TCR International Series champion Stefano Comini has said he has mixed feelings after qualifying in ninth at Buriram, which will put him on the front row for Race 2 behind Boutsen Ginion Honda driver Aurélien Panis.

The Swiss driver is now 11 points behind Team WRT’s Jean-Karl Vernay in the championship, after Vernay picked up two points for qualifying fourth, but Comini could recover well in Race 2 with a front row start in his Audi RS 3, but feels that with more support, he and the team could be further up the order.

“It’s becoming critical, because to be happy to be P9 is really a problem,” said Comini to TouringCarTimes. “I’m happy because we’re on the reversed grid, but I’m not happy because we’re only there because both Alfas stopped, as if they hadn’t, we wouldn’t be there.

“So, I’m both happy, and totally disappointed. We can only get one lap out of the tyres, and on that lap you can’t make any mistakes, as if you make one mistake on one corner, you destroy the tyres, and I’m not happy to be driving like this.”

Earlier this year, the team’s main frustration was with the Balance of Performance, with the Audi RS 3 once running with an additional 45kg on top of its base weight, making the car uncompetitive at some circuits, but as this has been revised with all of the cars’ weights reduced before Germany, Comini believes their main issue now is getting a handle on how to race and set up the car.

“The car is too hard to drive, and for me this ninth place is like a pole position,” he said. “I’m really happy with myself as my lap was perfect at maximum attack.

“To be honest, I’m not happy with Audi. We asked for a test in the summer break, and we didn’t get a reply. Here, JAS have six people with M1RA, Volkswagen have three people, SEAT have ten people – every brand has people here as they want to be at the front, and with us, we have only one person, and that makes me think about the situation.

“We are the only team in the International Series with the Audi, and I thought they would help us a little more. I’m happy with the team and my engineer – we found the right set-up in qualifying, and without any help, what we’ve done is not so bad, but we’re here to win this championship, and I don’t feel the support of Audi. It’s not the team’s view, it’s my personal point of view, but I’m always direct, and this is my honest feeling.”