Kevin Gleason made history after securing pole position under the suffocating heat of Malaysia behind the wheel of a WestCoast Racing-run Honda Civic ahead of the inaugural round of the TCR International Series at Sepang International Circuit (28 March).
Running as part of the Formula 1 Petronas Malaysia Grand Prix support bill, American driver Gleason first took to the 3.44mile circuit behind the wheel of a WestCoast Racing-run Honda Civic for the first-ever TCR International Series free practice sessions on Friday (27 March).
Throughout the two 20-minute sessions, Gleason and WestCoast Racing shook down the newly-acquired Civic before chasing times. With only a short session and laps exceeding two minutes, laps were short in need, as Gleason set a best time of 2m22.677s in the evening’s session.
All cars took to the track for the first of two qualifying sessions in the mid-day sun on Saturday (28 March), as temperatures both on track and in the cockpit continued to soar.
Gleason, who’s career was founded on touring cars in the US, struggled with understeer to set the tenth fastest time, before the session was red-flagged nine minutes from the end due to an engine failure of the Campos Racing Opel of Jordi Oriola.
WestCoast Racing implemented several set-up changes for the second session, where Gleason impressed the TCR paddock with his impeccable and aggressive style to secure pole and five championship points for the opening race with a best time of 2m19.717s, as the top 11 were covered by eight tenths of a second.
Despite the close result of all the main manufacturers being in close proximity, the organisers saw first to impose a weight penalty of 30kg 40 minutes prior to the start of the race, a decision WestCoast Racing felt unwarranted and unduly late to the effectively set-up cars.
As tensions rose and spectators flocked to the stands to witness the start of the inaugural race of the highly-anticipated TCR International Series, Gleason took his rightful spot at the head of the 17-car grid.
As the lights went out, the season was officially underway, as Gleason led the field through the off camber opening turns before heading up the hill to the tight right hander Turn 4.
Gleason kept the lead until the final hairpin of the opening tour, before being passed by Target Competition’s Stefano Comini and becoming entangled in an enthralling battle with the SEATs of Sergey Afanasyev and Jordi Oriola and team-mate Gianni Morbidelli.
Towards the dying laps of the race, Craft-Bamboo Lukoil driver Afanasyev made a mistake at the hairpin, which allowed Gleason close in and start to attack, but the subsequent fight saw the pole sitter struggle with tyre degradation and relinquish his position to Morbidelli to cross the line sixth in an exciting opening race of the TCR International Series.
“I had great fun out there,” said Gleason. “Sure it was hard gaining the extra weight and I couldn’t really hold back the SEATs on the early laps, but I haven’t had such close racing for years and really enjoyed the battles. I need to work on my touring car racecraft and stop being so nice to the other guys, but that will come with races.”
Round 2 of the TCR International Series will get underway at 12.35 local time on Sunday (29 March) on the spectacular Sepang International Circuit and will be streamed live via www.tcr-series.com.
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