För knappt två veckor sedan kördes den andra deltävlingen i TCR International och för WestCoast Racing blev det en mycket framgångsrik helg. Teamet tog en trippelseger i det första racet med Gianni Morbidelli före Rene Münnich och Kevin Gleason. I det andra racet tog Gianni Morbidelli en tredjeplats och kunde därmed lämna Kina som ledare i mästerskapet efter två helger.

WestCoast Racing visade redan från början under helgen i Kina att man skulle utmana i toppen efter att varit snabbast på träningarna och i kvalet blev det en trippel.

Snabbast var Gianni Morbidelli som tog pole och sen ledde från start till mål i ett för honom relativt odramatiskt race inför F1-publiken på plats. Rene Münnich däremot hade en tät fight med Seatföraren Pepe Oriola men när den senare tvingades bryta kunde Münnich säkra en andraplats.

Amerikanen Kevin Gleason däremot fick kämpa hela racet med segraren i Malaysia, Stefano Comini. De bytte plats med varandra flera gånger under det 10 varv långa racet i en mycket uppmärksammad fight. Gleason kunde till sist säkra tredjeplats och en historisk trippelseger för WestCoast Racing.

– Det här har varit en perfekt tävlingshelg så här långt, sa Morbidelli efteråt. WestCoast Racing har varit fantastiska och gav mig en suverän bil.

Rene Münnich var mycket nöjd med sin andraplats.
– Jag hade verkligen kul därute och det är trevligt att vara på pallen. Jag var nära Gianni under större delen av racet och kom till och med ikapp honom mot slutet på grund av att mina däck verkade lite bättre. Jag lärde mig mycket av att följa efter honom men nu behöver han lära sig hur man dricker öl!

Kevin Gleason avslutade med att sammanfatta sitt race.
– Jag tror jag och Stefano Comini bjöd på en bra show idag. Teamet gav mig en fantastisk bil och det behövde jag under min långa fight med Comini. Jag fick arbeta hårt efter min dåliga start. Jag gillade verkligen fighten och förväntar mig mer av detsamma från åttondeplats i det omvända startfältet imorgon.

I söndagens andra heat såg det ett tag ut som WestCoast Racing var på väg mot en dubbelseger när Morbidelli körde ett inspirerat race och tog sig upp från tionde plats till första plats under de första sex varven. Men med tre varv kvar tappade Morbidelli motoreffekt och tappade två platser. Han kunde dock kämpa sig tillbaka igen när motorn vaknade till liv och kunde köra ikapp de två ledande Seat-bilarna och till och med kört köra om Comini för andraplats innan han på det sista varvet blev omkörd av Comini igen.

Morbidelli gick i mål som trea och som fortsatt mästerskapsledare. Bakom honom tog Kevin Gleason en sjätteplats efter att ännu en gång gjort en dålig start han tvingades kämpa sig tillbaka från. Münnich var på platsen bakom men i en fight på de sista varven blev det kontakt och Münnich bedömdes vara vållande och fick 30 sekunders tidstillägg efter målgång vilket gjorde att han slutade på en 14:e plats.

WestCoast Racings teamchev James Rogers var nöjd med WestCoast Racings helg i Kina.
– Det var en stark insats, killarna jobbade hårt med att få till snabba bilar och förarna gjorde ett mycket bra jobb. Efter höjdpunkten med en trippelseger är ännu en pallplats och mästerskapsledning ett fantastiskt resultat för oss.

Nästa race i TCR International Series är i Europa när mästerskapet besöker Valenciabanan i Spanien den 3 maj. Innan dess är det dags för STCC:s försäsongstester på hemmaplan på Knutstorp under den här veckan.

Kompletta TCR-resultat finns på http://www.tcr-series.com/

WestCoast Racing have much to feel good about after a pleasing debut in the inaugural TCR International Series at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia.

With only weeks to prepare their all new Honda Civic TCR cars for action halfway around the world in unfamiliar conditions, the team worked tirelessly and drivers performed consistently to deliver a good points haul and exceed expectations with a pole position and a podium finish.

Sunday’s race saw Gianni Morbidelli line up fifth with René Münnich alongside in sixth and Kevin Gleason tenth in a reverse of yesterday’s top ten positions, presenting a good opportunity to be in the mix for the leading two Hondas and a new challenge for Gleason with half the field in front of him to negotiate.

A competitive race saw all three drivers engaged in battles, with Morbidelli leading the WestCoast charge in third and running nose-to-tail with the leading SEATs. Münnich, behind, battled and looked assured in sixth position, whilst Gleason, having initially dropped back, was lapping solidly and quickly to progress through to seventh position.

On the final lap, Morbidelli, who looked to challenge Pepe Oriola ahead for second, fell into the clutches of Andrea Belicchi in his SEAT and dropped to fourth position.

Not to be outdone however, the Italian saw a small gap at the last corner and made an impressive move to retake the place and claim his place on the podium, a solid reward for the team’s efforts.

WestCoast Racing Team Manager, James Nixon, was pleased with the team’s progress, “Of course we are happy to come away with a trophy, the team have worked really long hours and put in an incredible effort to get the cars here and into this position. We have much to work on, but much to be pleased about.”

Morbidelli, returning to the podium at a Formula 1 event once again, told the press of how impressed he had been with the WestCoast team’s work ethic, “Honestly, the team have done an amazing job in just four or five weeks since we first started (with the Honda TCR), and, whilst we have work to do to find some more pace to match the SEATs, I am pleased to have got this result.”

Gleason said, “I have got to be satisfied with my debut in the series. Pole position, no mistakes and a decent chunk of points is pretty good really.”

Münnich, a late entrant to the team, was also upbeat about his weekend, “No mistakes today and a good finish.”

Westcoast Racing and its three drivers now move on to Round 2 of the TCR International Series, again on the Formula 1 support package in Shanghai, China in two weeks time (11-12 April).

WestCoast Racing sat proudly at the front of the debutant TCR International Series grid at the Sepang International Circuit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The opening free practice sessions on Friday (27 March) saw teams and organisers get to grips with the level of performance on offer from the various manufacturer cars. Struggling to keep pace with the rate of development, the Swedish-based outfit implemented several changes on its three new Honda Civic TCR machines in order to speed and slow the cars to balance the performance levels between competitors.

The WestCoast Racing team worked tirelessly in the heat and humidity of Malaysia to prepare its cars for the first of two ten-minute qualifying sessions on Saturday (28 March).

Establishing the 12 quickest drivers, a solid effort by the team saw all three drivers, Gianni Morbidelli, Kevin Gleason and René Münnich, progress to the second shoot-out session.

At the start of the all-important session, American driver Gleason held back in the pit lane, undertaking further set-up changes, whilst Münnich and Morbidelli lapped competitively fifth and sixth respectively.

After some minutes, Gleason joined the fray with enough time for two flying laps, the first banker lap moving into the top ten, before an accomplished lap delivered an unexpected but deserved pole position on his front-wheel drive touring car debut, pipping Andrea Belicchi by two hundredths of a second.

Despite the close result of all the main manufacturers being in close proximity, the organisers saw first to impose a weight penalty of 30kg 40 minutes prior to the start of the race, a decision WestCoast Racing felt unwarranted and unduly late to the effectively set-up cars.

The anticipation of the first TCR race now had an added impetus, as the cars took to the grid just ahead of the Formula 1 Qualifying session to the onlooking crowd, who were interested to see how the new touring car series would unfold.

As the lights went green, Gleason battled to keep Bellichi behind, but it was team-mate Münnich that surprised everybody with an electric start that saw him jump to the lead, as the field headed into the tight and off camber opening corner, only to run wide and slot back into position.

Gleason was able to retain the lead until the final hairpin on the opening tour, as fourth placed Morbidelli remained in contention. However, the effects of added weight were obvious, as the SEAT Cupras bridged a gap to the field on the long straights of the Sepang circuit.

For several laps, Gleason and Morbidelli held close quarter in fourth and fifth position trying to keep pace with the SEATs, and on lap seven of the nine lap race Gleason was back on terms with the Russia’s Sergey Afanasyev, as a typical touring car battle raged. Gleason bravely took a plunge to dispose Afanasyev, before losing grip off-line, allowing team-mate Morbidelli and Andrea Belicchi to pass.

While the action on track was as hot as the air temperatures, Münnich was forced to retire after a promising TCR debut for the German, as the flag fell with Morbidelli and Gleason crossing the line fourth and sixth respectively within touching distance of a podium finish.

After the race, the mood in the WestCoast camp was mixed. Ruing the opportunity to record a better result and feeling slightly hampered by the late weight penalty that drew back the advantage gained in qualifying.

Greger Petersson, WestCoast Sport Promotions Team owner, was vocal in his disappointment in the timing of the change in weight for the Honda TCR, “It’s very frustrating to impose this ruling with just 40 minutes to go before the start of the race. Our crew worked tirelessly in the preparation of the cars and did an exceptional job, so be left without proper time to set up the cars again in the manner that we are accustomed, wasn’t the best for us. I hope that the rules can be reviewed to allow a timeframe for decisions to be properly implemented as the series develops.”

Team Manager, James Nixon, was satisfied with the performance of his crew and drivers, “All in the series are learning and for a first race we did a solid job and the drivers were able to perform well under the circumstances. It has been a very hard environment to work in for the team and one of our mechanics is in the medical centre after suffering from the effects of the heat during the race. So on the whole, with the way we have learnt and developed the Honda over the course of two days, I am very pleased. Finding better and better set-ups and drawing more performance from the car the more time we have with it.”

Morbidelli, the first WestCoast Racing driver over the line in fourth position, reflected using his significant experience as a touring car champion driver, “I was not able to push as hard as I wanted as my balance wasn’t quite as I liked, and with the added weight it didn’t help, but we need more time with the car too make it more balanced and competitive.”

Disappointed not to convert his pole into victory, Gleason said, “I had great fun out there. Sure it was hard gaining the extra weight and I couldn’t really hold back the SEATs on the early laps, but I haven’t had such close racing for years and really enjoyed the battles. I need to work on my touring car racecraft and stop being so nice to the other guys, but that will come with races.”

Münnich said, “I had a great start and was in the lead but ran wide and got pushed out more by the Audi, but it was ok. I had a warning alarm in the car as the race went on, so had to retire, but I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s race.”

I helgen debuterar WestCoast Racing i det nya touringcarmästerskapet TCR International. Mästerskapet inleds på Sepangbanan i Malaysia där man tävlar tillsammans med Formel 1 i helgen.

WestCoast Racing ser fram emot premiären som man är väl förberedda för efter att WestCoast Racing och Sportpromotion för första gången tillsammans gör en officiell satsning och fullföljer en ambition om en återkomst på den internationella arenan.

Greger Petersson och Sportpromotion började arbeta tillsammans med WestCoast Racings grundare Dick Jönsson Wigroth redan 1980 i ett samarbete som har stärkts sedan dess.

Till 2015 har samarbetet utvecklats ytterligare till en gemensam satsning på det nystartade TCR International Series där man som ett gemensamt team kommer att delta med tre stycken Honda Civic, byggda och utvecklade av JAS Motorsport för det nya TCR reglementet. Italienska storstjärnan Gianni Morbidelli, amerikanska talangen Kevin Gleason och tyske Rene Munnich är teamets tre förare.

TCR International är ett nytt touringcar koncept som startats till 2015 med målet att vara en attraktiv, kostnadsmedveten men samtidigt spektakulär plattform för standardbilsracing. TCR International körs både i Europa och Asien och är bland annat del av Formel 1-paketet i Malaysia, Kina och stadsracet i Singapore.

Med premiären i Malaysia i helgen blir WestCoast Racing det första svenska teamet sedan 1985 som tävlar tillsammans med F1.
– Det här är första gången på 30 år som ett svenskt team deltar under en Formel 1-helg på en internationell nivå, säger Greger Petersson. Senast var det 1985 när DTM var supportrace till F1 och ett svenskt team tävlade med en Volvo 240 Grupp A. Nu exakt 30 år senare är det faktiskt samma team som återvänder under WestCoast Racings namn, nu som deltagare i det nya TCR International Series. Det är ett ögonblick fyllt av stolthet eftersom vi efter att ha uppnått så mycket sedan 80-talet aldrig förväntades oss att någonsin återvända till den här scenen igen. Men när Marcello Lotti presenterade TCR-konceptet som ett kostnadseffektivt och rättvist koncept så kunde inte vi inte låta bli att ta chansen. Det är ett rättvist koncept som tar tillbaka standardvagnsracingen till som det var för 30 år sen. Vi har gjort allt vi kan för att försäkra oss om att vi är konkurrenskraftiga och alla involverade i WestCoast Racings program är övertygade om att vi kommer att vara mycket väl förberedda. Vi har bra förare och ett bra team bakom oss så vi siktar på toppen, det är det enda målet vi kan ha.

History will be made this weekend (28-29 March), as WestCoast Racing will become the first Swedish team in precisely three decades to compete at a Formula 1 World Championship event.

The Halmstad-based operation has an entry in the inaugural TCR International Series and believes it’s “very well prepared” for the season-opening round, which will be held as part of the Malaysian Grand Prix support bill at the spectacular Sepang International Circuit near the majestic city of Kuala Lumpur (28-29 March).

Two heavyweights of Scandinavian motorsport, WestCoast Racing and Sportpromotion, have combined forces for the first time ever, formalising a long-held and shared desire to go racing on the international stage.

Greger Petersson and his company, Sportpromotion, first formed a relationship with WestCoast Racing founder, Dick Jönsson-Wigroth, in 1980 and the bond between the two parties has only strengthened over the decades.

The continued cooperation between the companies has resulted in an attack on the newly-launched TCR International Series as one combined force and the amalgamated outfit will field a trio of Honda Civics, built and developed by JAS Motorsport to the new TCR technical regulations, for Italian ace Gianni Morbidelli, American ‘tin-top’ star Kevin Gleason and Germany’s Rene Munnich.

Hailed as the future of touring car racing, the TCR International Series is a brand new global concept that is designed to be a marketable, profitable and spectacular, yet cost-effective competition platform and boasts a coveted spot on the F1 support package in Malaysia, China and on the floodlit streets of Singapore.

While the opening round of the 2015 TCR season in Malaysia heralds the beginning of an exciting new chapter, WestCoast Racing will also make history as the first Swedish team to appear on the F1 roster since 1985.

“This is the first time in exactly 30 years that a Swedish team competes at a Formula 1 event, at an international level,” said Petersson. “It was in 1985 when the DTM ran in support of F1 that a Swedish outfit made an appearance with a Volvo 240 Group A and, 30 years later, the same guys make a return under the WestCoast Racing banner, this time as a competitor in the new-for-2015 TCR International Series.

“This is a very proud moment because, having achieved so much since the Eighties, we never really expected to get back into this circus again. But, when Marciello Lotti presented the TCR concept as cost-effective and a level playing-field, it was something we couldn’t pass up. Ultimately, it’s a fair concept that will hopefully bring touring cars back to where it used to be 30 years ago. We have applied all available resources to ensure we’re competitive and everybody involved with WestCoast’s programme believe we will be very well prepared compared to many others. We have good drivers and a good team behind us, so we’re going for the top – that’s the only aim.”