Following the double success last time out at Oschersleben, WestCoast Racing were full of confidence this weekend (1-3 September) as the TCR International Series headed to Chang International Circuit, Thailand. Ultimately however the weekend proved to be a frustrating one with a pair of tenth place finishes being the highlight.
Racing alongside TCR Thailand, the 24-car grid lined up for rounds 15 and 16 of the championship. New signing Kantadhee Kusiri lined up eighth for the first race of the weekend in his #19 Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR, with Gianni Morbidelli close behind in tenth is the sister #10 Golf.
With temperatures hovering in the mid-30s, the 14-lap race got underway with Morbidelli making a great getaway to gain ground. In contrast, Kusiri lost out and slotted in behind his new teammate initially before losing out further to Rob Huff and Stefano Comini.
Morbidelli meanwhile made further gains as Frederic Vervisch ran wide and James Nash retired, but an error on lap 11 saw him run off track before resuming once gain to take the chequered flag in tenth position, two places ahead of Kusiri.
The second race saw Kusiri line up a fine third on the reverse grid with Morbidelli 11th. The former lost ground at the start to run in sixth while Morbidelli also lost out on the first lap and dropped to 16th. The key to the race however was Nash making right rear contact with Kusiri’s Golf, dropping him to 11th position. This compromised the race and resulted in Kusiri taking the chequered flag in tenth with Morbidelli 13th.
WestCoast racing now prepare for the penultimate round of the championship at Zhejiang Circuit, China on 6-8 October.