The TCR International Series produced some of its best racing yet at the Autodromo International do Algarve in Portugal and WestCoast Racing’s Kevin Gleason concluded the weekend on the second step of the podium (9-10 May).
Sweden’s Westcoast Racing team fielded its trio of Honda Civic TCR cars for Gianni Morbidelli, Kevin Gleason and Igor Skuz, with each contributing to the racing and American Gleason rewarded for a faultless weekend with a second place finish in Round 8 – his best result to date in what is his first TCR season.
It was clear from the outset of the meeting that the rival Audi squad was going all out for results, replacing its regular drivers with frontline racers from its pool of international professionals, Niki Thiim and Kelvin Van der Linde. This, coupled with favourable Balance of Performance (BoP) adjustments made the TT almost untouchable for the majority of the weekend.
Undeterred by the performance differential, WestCoast Racing went about its business in a typically professional way and Morbidelli and Gleason qualified sixth and tenth respectively, with Skuz still getting to grips with his Honda in 16th.
Race one – Round 7 – saw great battles in the pack with Morbidelli in the thick of it and challenging to be the best of the rest as the Audis disappeared into the distance, only to be unceremoniously tipped out of the race.
Gleason again suffered from a poor start but looked assured in his recovery to seventh spot, whie Skuz brought his car home in 13th after a spin.
An enormous effort by the Swedish WestCoast Racing team to get Morbidelli’s damaged car repaired in time for race two earned a round of applause from onlookers.
In the ten-minute repair window the WestCoast crew managed to completely replace the front suspension on Morbidelli’s Honda Civic TCR, Team Manager James Rogers confident that his “rally experienced mechanics” would easily do the job.
The second of two TCR International Series encounters saw Gleason take up the reversed grid pole position and a podium finish was a realistic result if the Pennsylvanian could keep the potent Audis in his rear-view mirrors.
At the start, Gleason lost a place to the SEAT of Michel Nykjaer but stood firm in second place until the inevitable Audi TT onslaught came.
By lap ten Gleason was driving consistently and quickly in fourth, while Italian teammate Morbidelli walked dejectedly back to the pits after yet another attack from an errant SEAT.
Nevertheless, results came from endeavour and an assured Gleason kept it clean as the high-flying Audis ahead fell by the wayside after mistakes for Thiim and a mechanical failure for Van Der Linde.
Gleason’s second place was just reward for a faultless weekend of driving and unrelenting hard work from WestCoast Racing, but Skuz also scored his first points for the team with a solid ninth-place finish
In the post-race press conference, Gleason said: “I had the best start of the year and only lost one place. I knew the Audis would come and I just let them by, knowing I would only lose time if I fought them. I wanted to run my race and I was pretty pleased when I passed them as they pulled to the side of the track.”
WestCoast Racing Team Manager, James Rogers, added: “The WestCoast Racing team put in a great effort in Portugal and it’s nice to have some champagne and silverware to show for everybody’s hard work. We learn more about the Honda Civic TCR at every meeting and they’re running well and reliably. Gianni (Morbidelli) got roughed up so I’m disappointed for him, but I’m delighted for Kevin (Gleason) and also Igor (Skuz), who scored good points this weekend.”
The TCR International Series continues its European tour at the history-rich Autodromo Nazionale di Monza in two weeks’ time (23-24 May).
For more information on WestCoast Racing, please visit the official www.westcoastracing.se website, ‘like’ the team’s Facebook page and follow @WestCoast Racing on Twitter.