Nestor Girolami and Tiago Monteiro ensured a double-points finish in a tough opening WTCR – FIA World Touring Car Cup race on the streets of Macau.
‘Bebu’ finished 14th for ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport with KCMG driver Tiago on his tail, one place behind.
The Argentinian had started 17th, but made a good start to make up a position on the flat-out blast along Macau’s wide shoreline section. He then took advantage of several incidents ahead to gain further positions, scoring two points to keep himself sixth in the Drivers’ Championship.
KCMG driver Tiago started 14th, but lost several positions on the run down to Lisboa on the opening lap. Latching onto Bebu’s tail, he followed his fellow Civic Type R TCR driver throughout the race.
Tiago’s team-mate, Attila Tassi, started 20th and finished there; the young Hungarian’s potential for progress dented by a hard hit up the rear on the first lap that broke his exhaust and affected his acceleration throughout.
Bebu’s Münnich team-mate, Esteban Guerrieri, began the race leading the championship by two points.
But starting from 26th and last – his penalty for having his car’s engine changed on Friday – he drove a careful race to preserve his machinery for Sunday’s double-header.
Rising as high as 20th, he pitted late-on to allow his team to change the set-up of his car with the aim of gaining information that can be used tomorrow.
He is now second in the Drivers’ standings, 18 points away from the lead, while Münnich are now third in the Teams’ rankings.
KC Motorgroup’s Jim Ka To did not start the race; his car being withdrawn from the rest of the weekend due to the severity of the damage sustained in his qualifying incident.
Nestor Girolami #29 – ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport : « I started 16th and I finished 14th, so I’ve gained some positions and scored some points. It’s a small number of points, but they all matter in the race for the Teams’ Championship. I was hit at Lisboa on the first lap and I had to work very hard to avoid hitting the car ahead of me, but I survived. Ultimately, we don’t have the pace this weekend so we just have to do everything we possibly can. »
Esteban Guerrieri #86 – ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport : « Today wasn’t about getting a result. I knew that starting from the back, this would be impossible. So we just took it easy, minimised the risks and made sure we got to the finish without a problem. The aim was to take advantage every time there was an incident ahead, but there weren’t many. We tried a few things with the set-up, which gave us some good information and we go into tomorrow aiming for everything we can get. »
Tiago Monteiro #18 – KCMG : « That was my best chance of some good points this weekend, and I lost out because at the start, on the long run out of Mandarin, there was a train of cars on one side, and I was on the other side, without a slipstream, and I lost four or five places. There were a few incidents ahead of me so I gained a few places, but otherwise, passing was impossible. The pace proves we have a top-10 car, but because of what happened in qualifying, we can’t make use of it. Tomorrow will be about survival. »
Attila Tassi #9 – KCMG : « Today felt like a test session for tomorrow. We made some set-up changes after qualifying and they seemed to work quite well because the balance was good. But at Lisboa on the first lap, I was hit from behind and that pushed me into the car ahead. The car and the exhaust were damaged and that hurt my acceleration. We have a few more changes to the car we can make for tomorrow that will hopefully allow me to score points in both races. »
Dominik Greiner – Team Manager – ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport : « Fortunately it was a clear and safe race for everyone and both cars finished in one piece. The aim tomorrow is to score points in both races and we’ll do everything we can to try and reduce the gap that has now opened up in the championship. »
Dario d’Esposito – Team Principal – ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport : « Tiago scored a point, but we should be thinking about so many more. His race pace was good today; better than the four or five cars ahead of him, but unfortunately that terrible sequence of events in Q1 yesterday afternoon meant he didn’t get a lap in. Attila was hit at the start and broke the exhaust, which cost him power throughout the race. It’s a real shame for him. Tomorrow we just need two clean races. »
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