Engstler wins a wet second race at Yeongam

On a very wet Korea International Circuit, Luca Engstler claimed a crucial victory in the eighth round of the TCR Asia series that helped him to stretch his leading margin in the standings to 11 points over his fellow Liqui Moly Team Engstler colleague Mitchell Cheah.
The young Malaysian finished the race in third position overall, behind Race 1 winner Kantadhee Kusiri who was not eligible to score points.
Kang Byung Hui of Indigo Racing made up for a disappointing Race 1 and gave Hyundai its first victory in TCR Korea by finishing fifth overall.
The pole position of the top-ten reverse grid remained empty, as Kang Dong Woo’s KMSA Motorsport Hyundai was forced to start from the pit lane, while Lo Sze Ho’s Maximum Racing Honda Civic failed to make the grid after suffering from a technical issue in Race 1.
Alex Liu took the lead in the Elegant Racing Cupra but spun at T1 and dropped to third behind Cheah’s Volkswagen Golf GTI and Chariya Nuya’s Honda Civic.
Engstler elbowed his way from fifth and stole the lead from Cheah on lap 4; however, he was forced to hand the position back as his overtaking manoeuvre happened after the safety car had been deployed following a collision between Liu and Cho Hoon Hyun.
When the race resumed, on lap 6, Cheah, Engstler and Kusiri delivered a close fight for the lead. Engstler overtook Cheah in lap 7 and pulled away, but Kusiri moved up to second and closed the gap. Despite his efforts the Niza Viper Racing’s Thai driver couldn’t find a way to pass Engstler and finished second, three tenths behind. Engstler’s teammates Cheah and Diego Moran were classified third and fourth overall, but second and third in TCR Asia.
Kang Byung Hui, fifth overall, took a comfortable victory in TCR Korea as he led home Kang Dong Woo and Kim Byoung Hyun by 24 and 33 seconds respectively; he also walked out of Yeongam as the first leader in the standings, with 42 points, one more than Andrew Kim and eight of Kim Byoung Hyun.
TCR Korea’s second event will take place on 29/30 September at the Inje Speedium, while TCR Asia will come to an end with rounds 9 and 10 at the Shanghai International Circuit on October 6 and 7.