After the inaugural season of the TCR International Series, Swiss racer Stefano Comini had to wait until the final race of the season in Macau to take a well-deserved drivers’ title this weekend by 30 points from Spain’s Pepe Oriola.
The Target Competition driver would eventually take the title, after a hard fight with Team Craft-Bamboo Lukoil’s Oriola and Jordi Gené, with the latter being eliminated from the title race after the first encounter, which was won by WestCoast Racing’s Rob Huff.
“I have no words, as it’s a very special moment for me: winning at Macau and clinching the first TCR title… What can I say? Unbelievable,” explained the 25-year-old, who made his Macau début this weekend, stating that both races were “very tough.”
“In Race 1, I was caught in a sandwich between the two Bamboo cars, with Gené holding me, and Pepe Oriola putting me under pressure. It wasn’t that easy.”
The Lugano-based driver, who competed in the Seat León Eurocup with Target Competiton last year, was able to keep composed under the attacks from his Argentinian rival in the final race, which forced Oriola out with a punctured radiator with just three laps remaining.
“In Race 2, Pepe kept on with the pressure,” he said, having last won titles back in 2011, securing both the Eurocup Renault Trophy and the Renault Clio Cup Italy championships in the same season.
“I think he got a little bit stressed with the point situation, but I always stayed in front of him,” I knew that second in Race 2 was enough for me to claim the title, but I really wanted to win at Macau and when I saw that Huff was out of the race at the start, I really though I should have a go…”