Kevin Ceccon focussing on victory in Race 1 and 3 at Suzuka for Mulsanne

Team Mulsanne’s Kevin Ceccon says his aim is to bring Team Mulsanne, Romeo Ferraris and Alfa Romeo their first race win this weekend, while he’s likely to be cautious in the reversed grid second race and not get involved in the championship battle around him.

Ceccon qualified the Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR in second place for Race 1, the best result to-date for the car in the championship, before following this up with pole position for Race 3 in the second qualifying session, seven-tenths clear of championship leader Gabriele Tarquini’s Hyundai.

“The car’s handling really well here, even though it’s my first time at Suzuka, even my first time in Japan,” said Ceccon to TouringCarTimes.

“We set some good laps in the first qualifying, and then in the second qualifying we took the pole. I’m really happy for the guys, they started this year from far behind and it’s been growing and growing all year.

“I think I’ve put them where they’ve wanted to be, but tomorrow the other part has to be done as in Race 1 we have a good grid position, but in Race 2 I expect to take no risks as I don’t want any damage, and also the guys in front of me are fighting for the championship.

“In Race 3 where I start P1, if people want to attack me however, I will not let them by. In Race 2, there’s no point fighting and risking a crash and not starting Race 3, but in Race 3 I will be really aggressive and I have to fight for my race, as I want to bring home this victory for the team.”