Andersen takes maiden win as Dominik Fugel gets penalty
2020 TCR Denmark vice-champion Martin Andersen took his maiden victory in the ADAC TCR Germany in the first race of the season finale at the Nürburgring.
Andersen led the race from the lights to the flag, but his life was made easier by a controversial penalty handed to Dominik Fugel who was closing on him; Fugel eventually finished in fourth position and so Andersen moved up to second in the standings, three points clear of his rival. Eric Scalvini is still in contention for the second place, as he lies fourth, 11 points behind Andersen.
At the start, Andersen made good use of the pole to keep a charging Marcel Fugel at bay; Scalvini and Nico Gruber followed in third and fourth, while Dominik Fugel took a great getaway moving up from P8 on the grid to fifth.
In lap 2, Dominik Fugel took to the inside of Scalvini who closed the gap; their cars made contact and Scalvini spun, rejoining in 12th position. As the Italian was trying to recover, he was given a 5-second penalty for track limit infringements.
In lap 4, Marcel Fugel let his brother going through for P2, and Dominik began to eat on Andersen’s lead. However, the Stewards judged him guilty for the incident with Scalvini and imposed a drive through that Fugel served in lap 12, dropping to 8th.
Up front, Andersen built a large gap, as Marcel Fugel was putting in a great defensive drive to keep Gruber behind. The fight culminated in lap 18, when their cars made contact. Gruber’s Hyundai punted Fugel’s Honda into a half spin, but positions did not change and Fugel managed to retain the second position until the end.
Behind them, there was a five-way fight for P4; Szymon Ładniak briefly took the lead of the group but went straight at Turn 1 and dropped to eighth; eventually at the beginning of the last lap Dominik Fugel passed both Jonas Karklys and Robin Jahr to finish fourth ahead of Jahr and Patrick Sing.
The second race will start tomorrow at 10:45 CET, with Marcel Fugel on pole position and Andersen alongside him; live streaming at www.tcr-series.com.
Nürburgring – Race 1
1. Martin Andersen (Team Engstler, Hyundai i30 N), 20 laps
2. Marcel Fugel (Team ADAC Sachsen, Honda Civic Type R Fk7), 13.369
3. Nico Gruber (Team Engstler, Hyundai i30 N), 14.145
4. Dominik Fugel (Team ADAC Sachsen, Honda Civic Type R Fk7), 16.945
5. Robin Jahr (Roja Motorsport, Hyundai i30 N), 19.245
Championship points
1. L. Engstler 337 pts; 2. M. Andersen 275; 3. D. Fugel 272
Picture: ADAC Motorsport/Gruppe C Photography
