Karklys wins Race 2 and Andersen takes second in the standings

Jonas Karklys took his maiden victory in a thrilling final race of the ADAC TCR Germany at the Nürburgring, finishing ahead of Szymon Ładniak and Nico Gruber. The battle to finish as runner-up to Luca Engstler in the Drivers’ standings wasn’t decided until the very last lap of the race, with Martin Andersen eventually clinching the position by a single point from Dominik Fugel.
After a delayed start because of fog, it was Race 1 winner Andersen who led the field away from the grid. Despite being first into Turn 1, Andersen’s Hyundai was hit by the Honda Civic of Marcel Fugel and half-spun, dropping to the back of the field, while Robin Jahr also dropped several places after being forced to run wide to avoid Andersen’s car. Marcel Fugel then moved into the race lead ahead of Ładniak and Dominik Fugel in an all-Honda top three, but Marcel Fugel was swiftly handed a drive-through penalty for causing the collision.
On Lap 3, Nico Gruber passed Dominik Fugel for P3, which would effectively become P2 once Marcel Fugel served his penalty. At the start of Lap 5, however, Marcel Fugel ran wide at Turn 1 and made several contacts with Gruber when he rejoined. The Stewards took a dim view of the incidents and Marcel Fugel was black-flagged as a result. Andersen, meanwhile, had started his recovery from the Lap 1 incident and passed both Roland Hertner and Patrick Sing for P7 and P6 respectively on Lap 7.
Albert Legutko had been attempting to pass Dominik Fugel for third place for several laps, but by Lap 8 Karklys was right behind the pair. Karklys passed Legutko for P4 and then Fugel for P3. 
With the second place in the standings still up for grabs; with Eric Scalvini not starting the race, that battle was a two-way affair between Dominik Fugel and Andersen and the pair were on equal points after Karklys passed Fugel for P3.
With less than three minutes of the race remaining, Andersen attacked Legutko for P5 while Karklys had closed in on Ładniak, after passing Gruber. Finally, on the very last lap, Legutko ran slightly wide, and Andersen decisively grabbed fifth place with Karklys also passing Ładniak to take the victory. 
That’s how it stayed until the chequered flag, with Karklys taking his first win of the season and Andersen’s fifth place meant he outscored Dominik Fugel by a single point in the fight for P2 in the Drivers’ standings.

Nürburgring – Race 2
1. Jonas Karklys (Jutaracing, Hyundai i30 N), 14 laps
2. Szymon Ładniak (Halder Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FK7), 2.039
3. Nico Gruber (Team Engstler, Hyundai i30 N), 11.816
4. Dominik Fugel (Team ADAC Sachsen, Honda Civic Type R Fk7), 18.937
5. Martin Andersen (Team Engstler, Hyundai i30 N), 19.665

Championship points
1. L. Engstler 337 pts; 2. M. Andersen 286; 3. D. Fugel 285

Picture: ADAC Motorsport/Gruppe C Photography