Race 1 : Colciago and Tassi make it a 1-2 finish for Honda
Roberto Colciago was the first driver to take a second win in this year’s TCR International Series. The Italian, who lives a few kilometres from the Autodromo, completed a brilliant performance in a very lively Race 1 at Monza to beat his young teammate Attila Tassi and giving M1RA and the Honda Civic an impressive 1-2 finish.
Pepe Oriola, with the Lukoil Craft-Bamboo SEAT León, finished third ahead of Jean-Karl Vernay (Leopard Racing Team WRT Volkswagen Golf GTI) who had a relatively quiet race and scored useful points that helped him to maintain the championship lead with a 24-point margin ahead of Colciago. Ferenc Ficza (Zele Motorsport SEAT León) was classified fifth, beating pole sitter Frédéric Vervisch (Comtoyou Racing Audi RS3 LMS) by inches.
Once again, Monza provided the ingredients for a spectacular race, with plenty of duels and contacts that jeopardized the hopes of potential contenders such as Valente, Homola, Comini and Borković. They were all able to salvage some points at least, something that Nash, Morbidelli, van Lagen and Kajaia could not.
Race 2 will take place at 10:50 tomorrow, with the two Lukoil Craft-Bamboo SEAT León cars of Hugo Valente and James Nash on the front row of the top-ten reverse grid.
The race will be streamed live at www.tcr-series.com and www.tcr-series.tv .
Key facts
Start – Vervisch starts well from pole, but Colciago and Tassi pass him before the first chicane
Lap 1 – Homola and Oriola make contact at the first chicane, also involving Comini and Morbidelli; Homola spins and rejoins; Altoè goes out in the gravel at the Curvone following a contact with Valente; Colciago leads from Tassi, Vervisch and Kajaia
Lap 2 – Kajaia touches Vervisch at the first chicane; Vernay goes straight on
Lap 3 – Colciago is being chased by Tassi, Oriola, Vernay, Nash, van Lagen, Ficza and Valente; Vervisch has dropped to 10th, ahead of Homola; there is contact between Valente and Ficza at the Parabolica
Lap 4 – Ficza and Nash go straight on at the chicane; Vervisch makes contact with Valente and cuts the Roggia chicane, gaining two positions
Lap 5 – There is a battle for 6th between Vervisch, Valente, Nash, Borković, Homola, and Morbidelli, with plenty of contacts
Lap 6 – At the first chicane, Borković hits Morbidelli; Comini overtakes them both for 9th; Homola passes Vervisch and Nash for 6th
Lap 8 – Vervisch, Valente, Borković and Morbidelli keep fighting; Colciago has a 4-tenths lead over Tassi who is trailed by Oriola, Vernay and Ficza
Lap 9 – Tassi and Oriola get closer to Colciago, but the Hungarian goes wide at Lesmo 2 handing the second place to Oriola; Corthals and Kajaia retire in the pits
Lap 10 – Tassi attacks Oriola and re-takes the second place at the Roggia; there is contact and a fender of Oriola’s SEAT rubs against a rear tyre; Vernay closes the gap from the Spaniard
Lap 11 – Colciago wins ahead of Tassi, Oriola, Vernay, Ficza, Vervisch, Valente, Homola, Comini and Borković
Race 2 : Comini wins after a close but fair fight with Colciago
Stefano Comini won his second race of the year in a breathtaking Race 2 at Monza. The reigning double champion of TCR International clinched the win in his Comtoyou Racing Audi RS3 LMS at the end of a thrilling battle. Comini made a great start, managing to take the lead on the first lap, but could never build a substantial gap. In the final part of the race he had to defend himself from the attacks of Roberto Colciago. The winner of yesterday’s Race 1, at the wheel of the M1RA Honda Civic, made a stunning charge through the field, climbing from ninth on the grid up to P2. He even managed to pass Comini on the penultimate lap, but the Swiss responded immediately afterwards and then was able to defend P1 until the chequered flag. With the first 11 cars finishing within 4 seconds, it was a typical, exciting and close Touring Car race at Monza, with plenty of action and duels. Frédéric Vervisch took third with the second Audi RS3 LMS, completing the excellent day for Comtoyou Racing, preceding the Lukoil Craft-Bamboo SEAT León of James Nash and the Leopard Racing Team WRT Volkswagen Golf GTI of Jean-Karl Vernay.
The Frenchman still leads the standings with 113 points, but Colciago and Comini are now only 16 and 18 points behind respectively. The title fight is just starting to heat up!
The series will resume in Austria, at the Salzburgring, on June 10 / 11 for rounds 9 and 10.
Key facts
Grid – The engine on Van Lagen’s car was changed after Race 1, which demoted the Dutchman to the back of the grid
Start – Comini makes an excellent start from row 2, overtaking Valente, who comes off the worst in a first chicane incident with Vernay and Oriola; Tassi is also pushed into a spin and collects Borkovi ć, who retires
Lap 1 – Comini leads from Nash, Vernay, Oriola, Homola, Colciago and Vervisch
Lap 2 – Homola and Oriola fight for fourth
Lap 3 – Vervisch and Colciago move up to fifth and sixth overtaking Homola; Colciago overtakes Vervisch for fifth
Lap 4 – Colciago passes Oriola for fourth
Lap 5 – Vervisch passes Oriola for fifth
Lap 6 – Colciago passes Vernay for third at Lesmo 1; Comini manages to build a small margin
Lap 7 – Vervisch and Vernay are fighting for fourth; the Belgian passes at La Roggia, while Homola passes Oriola for sixth at the same spot; Colciago takes second from Nash; Kajaia takes seventh from Oriola
Lap 8 – Tassi passes van Lagen for 11th; there is a contact at the braking point of the first chicane, Morbidelli spins and Altoè cuts straight; Paulsen pits with a steering wheel issue
Lap 9 – Colciago completely cuts Comini’s advantage and sticks to the Audi’s rear bumper
Lap 10 – The first seven cars are covered by 1.5 seconds; Colciago takes the lead by passing Comini from the outside at the first chicane, with Vervisch doing the same with Nash for third; at the braking for La Roggia, Comini retakes the lead
Lap 11 – Vernay cuts the first chicane but retakes his previous position; Colciago makes a last attempt at the braking point before the Parabolica, but Comini keeps the inside line and wins by 0.170 second. Third is Vervisch, ahead of Nash, Vernay, Homola, Kajaia, Oriola, Tassi and Ficza, with Van Lagen 11th; all those within 4 seconds!
Stefano Comini (1st): “Yesterday was really a bad day for me; Valente hit me and accelerated to make me spin, but today was great. It was a funny first lap but I knew with the Success Ballast I had to get into the lead as soon as possible. It was difficult to keep the position, but it was fun. The solution to the brake problem was to get into the lead, so more cool air goes into the brakes. Yesterday was really dangerous, and in the last three laps today I had to use all my strength to brake because the car wasn’t slowing down.”
Press release TCR International Series, pictures Joël Schranz/JCS Motorsport Photography
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