TCR - Buriram: Oriola and Comini shared the victories

Pepe Oriola (Craft Bamboo Lukoil) and Stefano Comini (Target Competition) shared the victory at the Chang International Circuit Buriram in the penultimate round of TCR International Series.

While Oriola won Race 1, Comini was the winner of Race 2, and both of them remained in the title chase ahead of the season finale to be held in  four weeks at Macau. The two ace racers are separated by only a two-point gap. Oriola’s team-mate Jordi Gene finished the races at the 2nd and 4th place and also still has a chance to clinch the title, with 34 points less than the leader Comini.

The first race was perfect for the Craft Bamboo Lukoil team with all three drivers at the podium. The title contenders Pepe Oriola and Jordi Gene were joined by Sergey Afanasyev. They took the leading positions in Lap 5 after poleman and previous leader Gianni Morbidelli (West Coast Racing) served the drive-through penalty because of a jump start. Morbidelli dropped to P16 and later recovered to P10 for only one point.

With his second win of the season Oriola, retook the championship lead from Stefano Comini, who finished fifth in Race 1, behind the Honda of Kevin Gleason and ahead of team-mate Loris Hezemans.

Lorenzo Veglia (Liqui Moly Team Enstler) took the 7th slot after winning the nicest battle of the race ahead of teammate Tomas Engström and René Münnich (West Coast Racing), while local driver Munkong Sathienthirakul (Craft Bamboo Racing) confirmed himself as the best of the Asian contingent, winning in the TCR Asia and crossing the finishing line in P11.

In Race 2, Stefano Comini was supposed to start from the front row next to Hugo Valente, but Campos Racing’s Opel Astra was pushed of the grid because of some technical failure. Comini started alone from the front row, with team-mate Loris Hezemans following him in another Seat Leon.

The Target Competition duo showed great team work during the 14-lap race and remained at the front, despite Morbidelli’s and Oriola’s efforts to overtake the young Dutch. Morbidelli retired after eight laps and Oriola finished third. He received ten points less than Comini and dropped to second in the championship classification.

Jordi Gene finished fourth and remained in the fight for championship title. Veglia finished fifth, ahead Engstrom and Afanasyev. Two TCR Asia Series drivers stormed to top 10, with Tin Sritrai on eighth and Munkong Sathienthirakul ninth. Rafael Galiana took the last point.

Check all the results at SnapLap result pages.

Photo: tcr-series.com