Pepe Oriola suffered a “black Friday” in Macau, as he crashed twice, in both the Free Practice 2 and Qualifying Q1 sessions.
As a consequence of the second incident, his Campos Racing Chevrolet Cruze cannot be repaired and team manager Joan Orús confirmed today it will be withdrawn from the event.
The two incidents brought to a premature end the WTCC comeback of the young Spaniard. Oriola, the youngest driver ever to take part in a WTCC event and win an FIA World Championship race (Marrakech 2012), campaigned the series for three full seasons, from 2011 to 2013, conquering one win and five other podium finishes, including a 2nd in Macau last year in his last appearance.
The 20-year-old from Barcelona had great hopes for this one-off in the Guia Circuit, despite not having raced this year. Seventh in the testing session and fifth in Free Practice 1, he proved his speed was intact but he maybe felt too confident on Friday.
A small mistake in the early stages of Free Practice 2 caused contacts with the wall at Paiol, resulting in front and rear suspension damage; the car could be repaired for the afternoon’s qualifying, thanks also to the solidarity of other Chevrolet teams who lent parts.
Unfortunately, in his first lap in Q1, he let him get surprised by cold tyres, hitting again the wall, at the Maternity bend. Having reported severe chassis damage in the front, the Cruze had to be declared non-repairable on site, and Pepe’s comeback abruptly ended…