Team Craft-Bamboo Lukoil drivers Pepe Oriola and Jordi Gené say they are pleased to remain in championship contention for the TCR International Series, despite only scoring one podium finish between them at the Salzburgring.
Oriola only lost one point to points leader Gianni Morbidelli at the high-speed Salzburgring, remaining in second in the standings after scoring a podium in race two to add to his sixth-placed finish in race one.
As a result the Spaniard is pleased to still be close to Morbidelli, with the team expecting upcoming tracks on the calendar to suit the SEAT León more.
“Race one was messy again, with some contact in turn one,” said Oriola. “On lap nine I had contact with Morbidelli so there was some damage to my car but I was still able to finish the race.
“Race two was a really good race, we had the pace and we just had to wait for people to make mistake and profit from that situation. I am happy because the championship is still close and we are only half way through the season.”
Gené did not score as many points as his team-mate, losing ground by 15 points to Morbidelli but remaining fourth overall in the standings, 41 points adrift of the leader.
In particular, Gené suffered as a result of contact in the second race when Liqui Moly Team Engstler’s Lorenzo Veglia tried to pass at the first chicane. As the Italian out-braked himself, Gené was baulked and lost out to several drivers, before being forced to pit for a replacement tyre as a result of contact with the re-joining Veglia.
“Well, it was not the weekend I expected,” admitted Gené. “The first race was good with P4, so I scored some points to keep me in close contention with Pepe.
“The second race looked good in the beginning but [there were] two incidents, one with [Stefano] Comini when he had a problem on the brakes, and one with Veglia when two cars stopped on the chicane. I couldn’t avoid them and this ruined my chances in the second race.
“The good thing is that no-one scored a lot of points this weekend, and I scored a few of them, so we are still in contention for the championship.”
Craft-Bamboo Racing CEO Richard Coleman praised his team for preventing the WestCoast Racing Honda drivers from scoring too highly on a circuit which they were widely tipped to dominate on.
“It was another high speed circuit where we expected another strong challenge from the Hondas,” said Coleman. “The team did a great job this weekend and it was good to see Pepe Oriola on the podium with his teammates right behind him scoring a good amount of championship points.
“It was a shame that Jordi Gené had some bad luck with contact which forced him out of the points in race two but it is now time for the team to have a well-deserved break before we head to Sochi in Russia.”