On second race , Data took 5th place. On next races we hope that he will participate with full fledged car.
For information, telemetry analysis by Volkswagen specialists showed that on long straight sections Volkswagen is 14 km/h slower than SEAT.
The reason is that when pilot takes leg from brake pedal, brake plate and pads are still in action and this negatively affects on car’s acceleration on straight road.
Specialist of German company found this problem before start on Bahrain , but it couldn’t be solved at that moment. One more problem with Data’s Golf – start on low revs and because he lost several positions from start.
First race was a good lesson for Data. On second race he showed better race and finished on 5 th place, during whole race he battled with his opponents.
Pepe Oriola performed an encore at the Bahrain International Circuit. After victory in yesterday’s night Race 1, the Spanish driver and his SEAT León won the second race in a sunny and hot day. Oriola managed to recover from the sixth position on the grid and took the lead from Kevin Gleason’s Honda Civic on lap 8 of 10. He eventually crossed the line ahead of James Nash in a 1-2 finish for Team Craft-Bamboo Lukoil.
Behind them, Gleason and his WestCoast Racing teammates Aku Pellinen and Gianni Morbidelli challenged each other for the last spot on the podium. Gleason and Morbidelli made contact; the American was forced to stop, while the Italian suffered from a flat tyre, which handed third to Pellinen.
The reigning champion Stefano Comini and Mikhail Grachev retired after making a contact, while Jean-Karl Vernay was also eliminated for the consequences of a racing incident.
The TCR International Series will resume on April 23 and 24 at Estoril, Portugal, for rounds 3 and 4.
Key facts
Start – The Honda cars of Gleason and Pellinen jump ahead of the Volkswagen cars of Kajaia and Vernay that start from the front row; Belicchi’s Opel stalls
Lap 1 – Vernay’s rear bumper is hanging loose after a contact
Lap 2 – Vernay loses three places to P. Oriola, Nash and Pellinen; Homola and Morbidelli fight for sixth; Comini and Grachev fight hard for 9th and clash, the former retires with a broken suspension
Lap 3 – P. Oriola attacks Pellinen and passes him moving up to second
Lap 4 – With a brilliant move Nash passes Pellinen and P. Oriola at the braking for first corner to take second; Morbidelli passes the Finn for fourth; Grachev pit and retires
Lap 5 – P. Oriola retakes second from Nash, Gleason extends his lead to 1.4 seconds
Lap 6 – P. Oriola closes the gap from Gleason to 0.8; Al-Khalifa passes Cerruti for 13th
Lap 7 – Borković passes Kajaia and takes 7th; Vernay retires with brakes problems
Lap 8 – P. Oriola takes the lead muscling his way past Gleason who has to concede also second to Nash; Cerruti retires with a broken drive shaft
Lap 9 – Morbidelli manages to keep Pellinen at bay and to pass Gleason for third; they make contact and the American stops at the pit exit
Lap 10 – Pellinen takes third from Morbidelli, who has a flat tyre and drops to ninth; P. Oriola wins from Nash and Pellinen
