Münnich Motorsport’s Gianni Morbidelli confesses that he is ‘mad’ with himself after qualifying 12th for the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) finale in Macau, where the Italian ended up 12th on the grid.
Italian Morbidelli had earlier looked to be a strong candidate for entry into Q3, having posted the fourth fastest time in Q1 just 0.623 seconds off the pace. However he failed to put in a good lap in Q2, leaving the 46-year-old to rue a number of mistakes made on his lap around the long street circuit.
“Today I can be happy with my Q1: posting a fourth place and the best lap among the six Chevy drivers was the right way to start,” said Morbidelli. “However, I was mad at myself about the outcome of Q2. I pushed as hard as I could, and my 233kph speed at the Mandarin corner trap proves it, however things just didn’t add up.
“I have to mull over eight tenths of a second lost in my lap on new rubber: I’ve made a minor mistake just before the hairpin which cost me possibly a couple of tenths, but then a near miss at the very last corner easily cost me over half a second. Too bad, without those mistakes a top ten spot was within reach, maybe a front row spot on the reversed grid, something that in Macau can be a boon.”
Morbidelli admits to being uncertain as to what the possible outcome of Sunday’s two races could be, especially as he starts the race in the middle of the pack where incidents are notorious for occurring in Macau.
“Having to start both Sunday races from row six — with the Lisboa bottleneck lurking on the opening lap — just adds more unpredictability to a meeting that may well be the toughest to forecast in the FIA WTCC schedule,” concluded Morbidelli.
The final two races of the season take place at 11:15 and 12:30 local time on Sunday (04:15 and 05:30 CET; 03:15 and 04:30 GMT).