A characteristic never-say-die attitude for WestCoast Racing and its drivers yielded another TCR International Series victory at the picturesque Salzburgring in Austria on Sunday (5 June).
Repeating WestCoast Racing’s success on the TCR International Series’ 2015 visit to the Austrian venue, Russian racer Mikhail Grachev took the glory and his second career victory in as many weekends with the Swedish team.
A hard-fought race one victory was as surprising as it was welcome, because it was Grachev’s Austrian teammate Harald Proczyk who led the WestCoast Racing charge in qualifying, delivering pole position in changing wet-to-dry conditions.
Sadly, stewards later demoted Proczyk to third for a minor pit lane infringement – a fate also bestowed on teammate Gianni Morbidelli, who was pushed back from a well-earned fourth to sixth for the same misdemeanor – but grid positions would count for nothing after a typically fraught opening lap.
A first-corner skirmish caused a chain reaction that saw Proczyk shunted into retirement and Morbidelli half-spin down the order, but Grachev was a big beneficiary of the fracas and ran in P4 at the end of lap one.
Faultless drives by both Grachev and Morbidelli saw them pile on the pressure when it mattered and, as those around them made mistakes or retired, the teammates continued ascending the leaderboard to take an unlikely victory and a fourth place result respectively.
The day’s second race was a chance for Grachev to return to the podium, as the Russian race winner was due to start from second on the reversed grid.
However, the heavens opened just prior to the start and a visit to the pits to switch slicks for wets was unavoidable for half the field, including Grachev and Morbidelli.
WestCoast had split its strategies and Proczyk had anticipated the change in weather by opting for wets, initially reversing his race one fortunes with a strong getaway, before pulling aside with mechanical problems while challenging for the podium at around half-distance.
Morbidelli and Grachev, meanwhile, were part of the second train of cars that pitted for new tyres and a mid-race Safety Car intervention bunched up the field and both took the opportunity to move forwards to sixth and ninth respectively.
WestCoast Racing/Sportpromotion Team Principal, Greger Petersson, said: “Mikhail Grachev is a very good driver and WestCoast Racing has brought the best out of him. He told us that he needed to prove to himself that he is capable and, since the team has done its job, I believe two wins from two race meetings answers his questions.”
Grachev reflected on his second TCR International victory by saying: “If you had told me a couple of weeks ago that I would have two wins to my name, I would not have believed it, but it has happened and my decision to move teams has been justified. It was a shame we had slick tyres fitted for the start of race two, because I spent the first race making sure I brought the car home in one piece so I had a chance from the front row. Who knows what would have happened if I had wets on, but I am obviously very happy with the results for me and WestCoast Racing.”
At the end of another battling TCR outing, Morbidelli said: “We didn’t really get as much from this weekend as we should have for one reason or another, damage from race one compromising my top speed and then tyre choice in race two putting me on the back foot. Overall, though, I scored some points and, while I have dropped positions in the championship, I am closer to the leader. When you look at the long game, we haven’t lost out too much.”
The TCR International Series moves on to Oschersleben in Germany in two weeks’ time (18-19 June).