Preview | TCR season finale in its Macau debut

Stefano Comini

Jordi Gené

After a decade marked by the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC), this year’s race marks the debut of the TCR series on the Guia Circuit.
With the introduction of these cars, Macau will assist this year with an all-new generation of touring car racing, with the implementation of cost controls.
The result is a competition in which cars look similar to the ones found on the roads and races, and are highly competitive, leveling the competition and focusing on the drivers’ skills more than in the cars’ technical ability.
This year looks promising with a top lineup of drivers, racing for the best teams in this series.
Rob Huff, one the legends of the WTCC in Macau having won the GP on seven occasions, will be back, this time at the wheel of one of West-Coast Racing’s Hondas. He is determined to win, with the relevant experience and the skills under his belt.
Jordi Gené, the former F3 runner-up back in 1991, will make his return, driving a SEAT León from Team LUKOIL Craft-Bamboo Racing. Gené is currently third in the championship’s standing and has a serious chance of winning in Macau.
Spaniard Pepe Oriola is another of the SEAT León Team LUKOIL Craft-Bamboo Racing drivers and one of the favorites to take out the final. Oriola currently occupies the second position of the championship, 2 points away from the leader, Stefano Comini.
Almost equal with Oriola, Comini has a very slim lead. Winning is the only way to make him reach for the crown.
Representing Macau will be Rodolfo Ávila, who was the first winner of the TCR Asia Series a couple of months ago in Sepang, Malaysia. The local driver has the goal of winning in the Asia series.
Henry Ho, a common presence in WTCC races in Macau is the other Macau representative in the TCR field. After a season racing in China’s CTCC, he will be taking the wheel of a Civic TCR and considers his experience on the circuit as an advantage over the newcomers.