Dušan Borković emerged as the first race winner of the new TCR Europe series, which delivered an intense and closely-fought inaugural race. The Serbian driver of Target Competition had no problems in keeping the advantage of the pole position at the start and controlled the situation throughout the race at the wheel of his Hyundai i30 N.
He managed to beat the other Hyundai car of M1RA driver Dániel Nagy and the PCR Sport Cupra of Mikel Azcona. While the leading trio had a relatively quiet afternoon, the battle was fierce and superb in a compact group of six cars that really put on a show for P4. Eventually it was Josh Files (Hell Energy Racing Honda) who won that race-within-a-race thanks to a brilliant defensive drive, ahead of Reece Barr (Target Competition Hyundai), Jean-Karl Vernay (Leopard Lukoil Racing Audi), Igor Stefanovski (Hyundai) and Stian Paulsen (Cupra), with Kris Richard (Target Competition Hyundai) being the only member of the group to drop out of contention because of a contact.
Pit Lane Competizioni’s Giovanni Altoè was the only competitor in the DSG Challenge and was able to drive his Audi RS3 LMS safely to the finish in 18th position, as did Stefano Comini, 21st in the Subaru WRX STI of Race Republic. Race 2 will start tomorrow at 15:50, with Jens Reno Møller on pole of the top-ten reverse grid. Live streaming on www.tcr-series.com and www.tcr-series.tv.
Key facts Start – Borković starts well from the pole, while Nagy takes second from Azcona; Mora is pushed and spins at Turn 1 Lap 1 – Borković leads from Nagy, Azcona, Paulsen, Files, Vernay and Barr; Comini is already in P16 after starting 25th; Mora pits for repairs Lap 3 – Tassi and Cencetti make contact; the Hungarian returns to the pits Lap 4 – Comini drops two positions after being hit by Piro; Stefanovski and Richard clash Lap 5 – The fight for P4 heats on with a contact between Vernay and Barr; Paulsen drops from fourth to sixth after being hit by another car Lap 6 – Moura and Kroes retire in the pits after contacts with other cars Lap 7 – The battle for fourth continues, with Files, Richard, Barr, Paulsen, Stefanovski and Vernay fighting each others Lap 8 – Borković has now a lead of over one second on Nagy and four on Azcona Lap 9 – Files and Richard seem able to pull away a little, with the Briton keeping a slim advantage in the battle Lap 11 – Richard spins after making contact with Barr; he drops to 12th; Files is fourth with a small gap ahead of Barr, Vernay, Stefanovski and Paulsen Lap 12 – Borković wins from Nagy and Azcona, while Files, Barr, Vernay, Stefanovski and Paulsen finish in that order; Møller and Baldan take the last two spots in the top-10
Quotes after the first race at Paul Ricard
Dušan Borković (winner): « I was afraid before the start, because I had only made one practice start yesterday and it was not good. But this time it worked well. And then, I did not know how the car would perform over the long distance either, so I had no idea of how much I could push. Just to be safe I did not push to the maximum in the first half, but in the end I was afraid of a tyre failure. The car was understeering in the fast corners, but I managed to keep the advantage over Nagy who is such a quick driver. It’s a great feeling! I was on pole and won the race; the best way to begin the season! »
Dániel Nagy (second): « I’m very happy, with my second podium in a few days after Hungaroring. Here it was more difficult, because I did not know the track, but I was surprised by how quick we could go from the very start, when I was third in Practice 1. We started from there to work on the car and we have done a really good job. In the second part of the race I was trying to put pressure on Dušan, but I outbraked myself and lost contact. So in the last lap I was focused on securing the second place. »
Mikel Azcona (third): « I am very, very happy with this result! I was comfortable with the car from the very beginning and I always managed to be among the fastest drivers from the first practice and with every track conditions. We have worked very well and made a good set up; the car was easy to drive, fast and consistent. It’s a fantastic car! »
Press release TCR
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