Race 1 : Gleason wins night race as Comini hits troubles
Stefano Comini was set to claim another victory as he had led for most of the distance and built a gap ahead of his competitors, when suddenly Kevin Gleason arrived on his heels and overtook him on lap 8. The American driver defended the lead in the last two laps and claimed his second victory of the season, while Comini salvaged a valuable second place. Another close fight took place between Gianni Morbidelli and Pepe Oriola; eventually the Italian crossed the line in third place, inches ahead of his rivals.
Oriola’s teammates Sergey Afanasyev and Jordi Gené came home in fifth and sixth, while Mikhail Grachev kept at bay Lorenzo Veglia and Loris Hezemans to score a brilliant seventh. Fermando Monje claimed the last point position in tenth. Michael Choi of Prince Racing Team provided the icing of the cake for Honda as he won the race of the TCR Asia Series. Luca Rangoni managed to complete the race at the wheel of the Top Run Subaru, despite he only hit the track on the formation lap for the race.
Key moments
Grid – Rangoni’s Subaru makes its first appearance and lines up at the back of the grid, while Ma’s Ford is missing Warm up lap – Mak loses control of his Opel Astra and hits the wall Start – Comini sprints to the lead from Gleason and Morbidelli Lap 1 – Oriola overtakes Morbidelli for third; Chou sends de Souza into a spin Lap 2 – Oriola, Gleason and Morbidelli swap positions while fighting for second Lap 3 – Gené overtakes Veglia for seventh Lap 4 – Morbidelli chases Gleason who is second Lap 5 – Veglia defends eighth place from Hezemans Lap 6 – Gené overtakes Grachev for sixth Lap 7 – Veglia knocks on Grachev’s rear bumper Lap 8 – Gleason overtakes Comini and jumps into the lead Lap 9 – Morbidelli and Oriola have a close fight for third Lap 10 – Gleason beats Comini on the line, while Morbidelli saves third with a short gap on Oriola; Rangoni’s Subaru makes to the end in 15th position, Choi wins the TCR Asia race
Stefano Comini : “I am a little bit disappointed for sure, but happy with my performance and the valuable championship points. Everything was going perfectly and I was feeling very comfortable with the car until some electronic problem with the gearbox arose. I lost the lead to Kevin and had to reset everything. The car eventually worked well again but it was impossible to overtake on this track.”
Race 2 : Gené claims victory in the second race after a solo flight
Jordi Gené dominated the second race at Singapore’s Marina Bay Street Circuit.
The Spaniard pipped Tomas Engström at the start, resisted the Swede’s attempt to regain the lead during the first lap and then bid farewell to the rest of the field on his way to claim his third race win of the season.
Behind him, Mikhail Grachev seemed capable of achieving a podium position for the Volkswagen Golf, but in the latest stages the Russian’s pace faded and he dropped down.
Stefano Comini and Pepe Oriola delivered a great show in a fight for the third place that lasted for most of the race; eventually they found themselves promoted to second and third respectively when Grachev slowed down with technical issues.
Gianni Morbidelli managed to score a precious fourth place that keeps him in contention in the fight for the Drivers’ title.
The Singapore event propelled Comini on top of the standings, 11 points ahead of Oriola and 30 of Gené; Morbidelli lies fourth with a gap of 47 points.
Michael Choi of Prince Racing encored his yesterday’s victory in the TCR Asia Series, beating George Chou and Frank Yu; Kenneth Lau crossed the line in third, but was eventually penalized for jump start.
The championship will resume on October 19 and 20 at Buriram, Thailand, for rounds 19 and 20.
Key moments
Grid – Only Mak’s Opel is missing, following its crash in the warm up lap for yesterday’s Race 1 Start – Gené takes the lead, chased by team Engstler trio of Engström, Grachev and Veglia Lap 1 – Oriola overtakes Hezemans for sixth; Grachev overtakes Engström for second Lap 2 – Oriola and Comini overtake Veglia who slips to sixth Lap 3 – Engström loses a few places and drops to seventh Lap 4 – Oriola and Comini fight for third; Veglia defends fifth place from Morbidelli Lap 5 – Gené stretches his leading gap ahead of Grachev; Rangoni pits and retires Lap 6 – Afanasyev overtakes Hezemans for ninth; Hezemans spins, hits the wall and rejoins Lap 7 – Comini overtakes Oriola for second Lap 8 – Morbidelli overtakes Veglia for fifth; Comini overtakes Grachev for second; the Russian loses also third place to Oriola and then drops further back Lap 9 – Gleason and Veglia run abreast fighting for fifth; Gleason jumps ahead; Afanasyev and Engström make contact Lap 10 – Gené wins from Comini and Oriola, with Morbidelli in fourth; Choi repeats his victory in the TCR Asia race
Press release TCR]]>
Stefano Comini : “I apologize for not putting the show today! I just tried to preserve the car, the tyres and my energy. It was a good race and I had a good fight with Pepe. For the rest, I slightly scrapped a wall and my brakes got very weak in the closing laps, but nothing serious. I am very happy of the results of this weekend, which are excellent with regard to the championship.”
