Dušan Borkovič cruises to Slovakiaring Race 1 victory

Dušan Borkovič has taken a truly dominant victory in the third race of the 2020 TCR Eastern Europe series at the Slovakiaring, winning the race in his M1RA Motorsport Hyundai by 24 seconds from Czech driver Dušan Kouřil.
Borkovič started the race from pole position and led the way into Turn 1, while there was trouble in the midfield as the fifth-placed Fullinrace Academy CUPRA Leon Competición of Petr Čížek bogged down at the start, and in turn the Zengő Motorsport CUPRA of Gábor Kismarty-Lechner right behind him then stalled, with both drivers falling to the back of the pack.
Back up front, Jáchym Galáš in his GT2 Motorsport Volkswagen passed Sandro Soubek’s Mair Racing Östtirol Audi for second into Turn 2 on the opening lap, but it was clear neither had the pace to do anything about Borkovič, who was already quickly pulling away.
On lap three, Galáš and Soubek made contact as they continued their fight over second, with Galáš dropping to eighth, while Soubek now had the Hyundai of Kouřil just behind him.
Galáš set about recovering ground, with the Volkswagen driver able to reclaim fifth by the finish.
It looked like only a mechanical failure could stop Borkovič, while Soubek appeared to be on for a safe second, but the Austrian lost pace dramatically during the final lap, allowing Kouřil’s Hyundai to make a dive up the inside into the final corner and snatch second at the line by two-tenths of a second. Soubek had to settle for third, with Szymon Jabłonski’s BM Racing Team Hyundai fourth, and Galáš’ Volkswagen completing the top five.
Borkovič now extends his lead in the championship standings, with his chief rival Milovan Vesnič not able to take part this weekend due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.The second race of the weekend is scheduled for 13:30 CEST on Sunday.

Race 1 result
1. Dušan Borkovič (M1RA Motorsport, Hyundai i30 N), 12 laps
2. Dušan Kouřil (K2 Engineering, Hyundai i30 N), 24.096
3. Sandro Soubek (Mair Racing Östtirol, Audi RS 3 LMS), 24.348
4. Szymon Jabłonski (BM Racing Team, Hyundai i30 N), 26.306
5. Jáchym Galáš (GT2 Motorsport, Volkswagen Golf GTI), 30.437

Championship points
1. Dušan Borkovič 75 pts; 2. Milovan Vesnić 36; 3. Jáchym Galáš 32

Picture: TCR Eastern Europe