WestCoast Racing Team Manager James Nixon says his team are “simply out to win” in the season finale of the TCR International Series in Macau, with regular drivers Gianni Morbidelli and Kevin Gleason out of title contention.
Morbidelli slipped out of overall championship contention last time out in Thailand, leaving the Swedish team with nothing but victory to battle for on the streets of Macau.
With the addition of former World Touring Car Champion Rob Huff, the team have a genuine chance of scooping up the victories in the former Portuguese colony, with Huff having won the Guia race an impressive seven times previously in his outings in the WTCC.
Also joining the team in a fourth TCR Honda Civic is Hong Kong racer Sunny Wong Yat Shing.
“I’m expecting the Suncity Group 62nd Macau Grand Prix to be fantastic and, with no title to fight for, we’re simply out to win,” said Nixon. “Gianni showed fantastic pace last time out in Thailand and is undoubtedly only interested in winning, while Kevin showed everybody the way home on the last street circuit the TCR International Series visited in Singapore and will be a contender for glory.
“Of course, we welcome two new names to the WestCoast Racing fold in Macau. Sunny wants to show us what he can do in one of the team’s Hondas with a fantastic team and strong teammates around him.
“Then you have our fourth driver, Rob Huff. I’ve heard he’s quite quick, especially in Macau, so there’s only one target in his mind! We can expect a big inter-team battle and we may even inadvertently play a role in determining the outcome of the Drivers’ title. I just hope the quickest driver takes the gold!”
Gleason is the team’s only driver to be completely new to the Guia circuit, and the American is looking forward to his first taste of the famous circuit.
“I am absolutely thrilled to be racing in this year’s Macau Grand Prix,” said Gleason. “The track has a steep history and is one of the toughest races on the planet, so it¹s going to be a huge challenge, one of the biggest I have ever faced in racing. However, it is a challenge that I am really looking forward to tackling.
“The Singapore F1 track is a fast street circuit and I notched up a win there, so I am ready to rebound from a tough weekend in Thailand, with the only positive from that being I have no success ballast. It¹s been a phenomenal year working with WestCoast Racing and I am going to work really hard to deliver a result for them to end the season.”
American racer Gleason can also pass team-mate Morbidelli for fourth in the drivers’ championship, with just seven points separating him from the Italian in the inter-team battle.