Sweden’s WestCoast Racing team will endeavour to keep its bid for the TCR International Series title alive in the penultimate round of the season at Thailand’s ultra-modern Chang International Circuit (24-25 October).
With only two rounds remaining in Thailand and Macau, the fight to become the first TCR International Series Drivers’ and Teams’ Champions continues to intensify.
Five drivers are in contention for the coveted prize, with WestCoast Racing’s Gianni Morbidelli lying fourth, some 47 points adrift of the championship leader, and Kevin Gleason a further 16 points back in fifth and with 110 points there for the taking in the next four races.
In the Teams’ classification, WestCoast Racing ranks third with a gap of 71 points to the leading Craft-Bamboo squad, after American driver Gleason achieved a sensational victory under the gaze of the Formula 1 paddock on the floodlit streets of Singapore last month.
However, Morbidelli’s Honda Civic TCR will boast a host of technical developments this weekend and these should help the Halmstad, Sweden-based WestCoast Racing team push for the TCR title against an expanded 25-car entry, boosted by the arrival of Asia Racing Team from China and Niza Racing from Malaysia.
The ‘Step 2’ version of WestCoast’s Honda racercars will be powered by a production turbocharged unit from the new Civic Type-R, but, having meticulously gathered and assessed reams of data and learned many invaluable lessons over the course of the previous nine rounds, other more minor upgrades will also be introduced at the Thai event.
WestCoast Racing Team Manager, James Nixon, said: “After much work at the track by the team the new car is ready to make its debut in the TCR International Series, and, as much as these are exciting times, we can only hope we have the speed and the same level of reliability as the old car, as now our development begins again.”
Gleason, who will carry 20kg of success ballast to Thailand, said: “I definitely feel I have momentum on my side from winning in Singapore. Everything I’ve learnt over the years has helped me get comfortable with this style of racing and, with that and my recent race win, my confidence is up going into the Thai leg of the TCR International Series.
“I have walked the Chang International Circuit and I like what I see. There’s a nice mix of long straightaways and big braking zones, fast turns and a few technical corners too, so it should make for good racing. It’s going to take a lot of luck for me to win the title, but I’ll do my best to try and achieve pole position and win every race, just like every other race weekend.”
For more information on WestCoast Racing, please visit the officialwww.westcoastracing.se website, ‘like’ the team’s Facebook page and follow@WestCoast Racing on Twitter.