TCR International Series: Gene and Comini winners at Sochi

Jordi Gene (Team Craft-Bamboo Lukoil) and Stefano Comini (Target Competition) are the winners of two TCR races today at Sochi Autodrom. In Race 1 Gene has won ahead team-mate Pepe Orila and Andrea Belicchi (Target Competition). In Race 2 Comini has won in front of Oriola and Mikhail Grachev (Liqui Moly Team Engstler).

Previous leader of the TCR International Series Gianni Morbidelli didn’t start Race 2 so Comini and Oriola jumped over him in the championship standings. Comini has 194 points, Oriola 192 and Morbidelli 181 points.

TCR-Sochi-Race1

Experienced driver Jordi Gene has won Race 1 after leading from pole to chequered flag. His team-mate Pepe Oriola, in Lukoil red-white Seat Leon, started from third and immediately overtook second place from Andrea Belicchi. In the opening laps Belicchi was attacked by Mikhail Grachev, who later lost ground and dropped to sixth.

Fourth was Stefano Comini and fifth Sergey Afanasyev (Craft-Bamboo Lukoil). The Honda Civic cars of WestCoast Racing were not in a position to show great pace, with Gianni Morbidelli and Kevin Gleason unable to do better than 7th and 8th.

TCR-Sochi-Race2

Due to reversed grid, Kevin Gleason started from pole in Race 2. He had a bad start and dropped to fourth. Mikhail Grachev was surprising initial leader after a superb start from fifth place and Stefano Comini was behind him. Comini took then the lead in Lap 5. Shortly after that Belicchi attacked Grachev but he crashed in the wall. Grachev felt to third behind Pepe Oriola.

Sergey Afanasyev and Jordi Gene finished fourth and fifth, ahead of the first Honda driven by Kevin Gleason. It was a black day for Gianni Morbidelli who arrived in Russia as the point leader and leaves Sochi third in the Championship. Morbidelli didn’t start Race 2 as the turbo of his Civic broke in the last lap of Race 1 and couldn’t be replaced in time.

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