WestCoast Racing has relatively modest ambitions for Rounds 13 and 14 of the 2015 TCR International Series at Russia’s Sochi Autodrom (20-21 June), as the Swedish outfit expects success ballast to limit Gianni Morbidelli and Kevin Gleason to points finishes at best.
Morbidelli of Pesaro, Italy pocketed maximum points for pole position and two race wins during a remarkable weekend on home soil at Autodromo Nazionale Monza last month, only for Gleason to earn a lights-to-flag victory – his first in the TCR International Series and any other form of touring car racing – the following weekend at the Salzburgring.
Predictably, WestCoast Racing is buoyed by its recent run of success and the fact ex-Formula 1 racer Morbidelli now holds the initiative in the Drivers’ standings, but the Swedish team won’t rest on its laurels in the concluding part of the TCR International Series’ European leg in Russia.
Sochi – ‘the summer capital of Russia – has long been the most popular resort on the Black Sea coast, but its sporting credentials have skyrocketed since hosting the 2014 Winter Olympic Games and the Winter Paralympics.
The 5.85km Sochi Autodrom, which navigates its way through the dazzling Olympic Park, was designed by world-renowned German architect, Hermann Tilke, and hosted the inaugural F1 Russian Grand Prix following its official opening in 2014.
It’s a unique and unknown proposition for the TCR International Series’ competitors, as the circuit’s high-speed corners and technical sections are lined by walls that give it the feel of a street track and very few will arrive in Sochi with prior experience of the venue.
WestCoast Racing and its drivers are consequently playing down their hopes and expectations for the TCR International Series’ Russian round, particularly as the team’s Honda Civics will be heavily laden with success ballast, Gleason carrying the maximum 30kg and Morbidelli 20kg.
“The Sochi Autodrom is completely unknown territory for us and it’s hard to judge the circuit based on what we’ve studied,” said WestCoast Racing Team Principal, Greger Petersson. “In addition to that, we have to consider the fact that we will be carrying the most ballast of any TCR team having performed the best at the Salzburgring, so we will go for good points finishes in Russia. I think it’s a very even game and there are as many as eight drivers who are consistently quick and are capable of winning. We will need some luck and good fortune to reach the podium on this occasion, but we will obviously try our best.”
WestCoast Racing Team Manager, James Nixon, added: “I don’t think Sochi Autodrom is going to play to our advantage. As much as everybody likes to push the fact that we’re quicker than the competition along the straights, we’re not. We’re quickest through the high-speed corners and we expect Sochi’s technical sections to suit the SEATs, but we will be working to find a suitable balance in the high and low-speed sections. Having said that, we have no information or driver feedback to go on and we start from zero.”
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.