Galaš and Vesnič share wins under the rain in Grobnik
Bad weather conditions affected the third event of the TCR Eastern Europe powered by ESET at Automotodrom Grobnik in Croatia. As a result, the first race started and ended behind the safety car, while the second was stopped by the red-flag.
Victories went to Jáchym Galáš and Milovan Vesnič who are now second and first in the standings, split by 15 points.
In Race 1, when the safety car left the track, pole sitter Galáš took the lead and, as the rain eased off, he managed to build a 2.5-second advantage ahead of Vesnič; Petr Cižek cruised in third position until lap 9, when he was passed by Dušan Kouřil who was recovering after starting from the back of the grid; he had been fourth fastest in Qualifying but was the penalised for underweight. Kouřil overtook Zarko Knego and Radim Adámek on lap 4 and then Maciej Łaskiewicz and Carol Wittke on lap 5 before chasing Cižek for third. Two laps before the end the bursting of a tyre stopped Vesnič’s attempt to chase Galáš and his teammate Jakub Wyszomirski also retired from eight after running over debris of the blown tyre. Nearly at the same time a downpour flooded the track and the race finished behind the safety car with Kouřil and Cižek completing the podium behind Galáš who claimed his maiden victory in the series.
Vesnič took the lead at the start of Race 2, from Galáš who made a mistake in lap 2 and dropped to fourth behind Wittke, Łaskiewicz and Knego. However, in a couple of laps Galáš retook the second position, while Kouřil – who had started from the back once again – moved into third. On lap 8, Cižek overtook Knego for fifth. In the late stages, Galáš and Kouřil began fighting for the second place, but on lap 14 the race was red-flagged because of the pouring rain.
The next event of the series will be at the Slovakia Ring on August 24th and 25th.
Race 1
1. Jáchym Galáš (GT2 Motorsport, Volkswagen Golf GTI), 13 laps
2. Dušan Kouřil (K2 Engineering, Hyundai i30 N), 1.099
3. Petr Čižek (Fullinrace Academy, CUPRA), 3.165
Race 2
1. Milovan Vesnič (ASK Vesnić, CUPRA), 13 laps
2. Jáchym Galáš (GT2 Motorsport, Volkswagen Golf GTI), 7.729
3. Dušan Kouřil (K2 Engine ACCR, Hyundai i30 N), 7.889
Championship points
1. Vesnič 78 pts; 2. Galász 63; 3. Čížek 54
