Craft-Bamboo Racing experienced a ‘challenging’ weekend in the TCR International Series in Estoril which resulted in early leader Pepe Oriola losing the points lead, although James Nash managed to score his first win in the championship.
The Anglo-Hong Kong team headed to the Portuguese circuit in a cautious mood, with Oriola and Nash forced to carry an additional 30 kg and 20 kg of success ballast respectively.
Coupled with their rivals in Volkswagen machinery being handed a 30 kg weight break, it left two of the team’s SEAT León TCR cars as the heaviest on the grid.
The first race saw Russian Afanasyev finish as the team’s top car in fifth after a quiet race, whilst Nash moved up the order to sixth. Oriola struggled with his car and could only manage eighth, losing out to the Honda of Aku Pellinen.
“I knew it was going to be really hard with 30 kg of extra weight and it was but I managed to score some points that keeps me close in the championship,” said a struggling Oriola after the race.
Race two was where it came good for the team, with Nash immediately moving in to the lead and being unchallenged for his first TCR win.
“It was probably the best start of the season for me and that helped so much,” explained Nash. “I skipped free practice to save tyres and that allowed me to push quite hard in the first part of the race and build some advantage. It was a stressful gap though, because at the end of the race I struggled with the tyres.
“Still, everything went well and now I am enjoying a good position in the championship, only one point behind Gianni Morbidelli. It’s too early to say anything, the championship is still very long and it will be about consistency.”
Oriola limped across the line in tenth in the second race after early contact in the race compromised his car. The Spaniard is now hoping that heading to the next round in Belgium the lack of success ballast will enable him to return to the top of the championship standings.
“I had a really good start and was almost leading when I got hit by [Loris] Hezemans on my rear tyre and damaged the suspension,” explained Oriola. “I couldn’t find my pace because the car was always moving around, even on the straight.
“I managed to finish in P10 and score one point and let’s hope that in Spa without any ballast I can take the championship lead back because that’s why I am here, to win the championship.”
Craft-Bamboo Racing CEO Richard Coleman lamented the circumstances with weight and the BoP [Balance of Performance] which prevented his team from being consistently near the front.
“It was obviously a very challenging weekend for the team given the BoP and success ballast were not in our favour,” added Coleman. “They were very difficult circumstances for the team to get a result but we scored good points in race one and I am delighted for James Nash to win race two.
“It was very unlucky for Pepe, who struggled with maximum success weight and contact on the opening lap of race two, meaning all he could manage was 10th, but a point that could come in handy at the end of the season.
“Sergey did a solid job for the team, scoring strong points in both races and we now look forward to Spa where the BoP and success weight should be more in our favour.”