Milovan Vesnić claimed his first victory of the year

Milovan Vesnić took a lights-to-flag victory in the first race of TCR Eastern Europe at Automotodrom Grobnik in Croatia. After proving the fastest in Qualifying, the Serbian driver converted his pole position to his first win in the current season. 
Vesnić got off to a great start, and his Audi RS 3 LMS led the field from the moment the red lights went out and didn’t give up the first position for the whole race. Carol Wittke, second on the grid, was pipped by Bartos Groszek who had started from the third spot. Łukasz Stolarczyk, fourth on the grid, nearly stalled his engine and dropped at the back.
There was a thrilling fight for the lead throughout the race between Vesnić and Groszek, with Wittke following them closely. Behind them the current championship leader Michal Makeš overtook his main rival Tomáš Pekař in lap 3, advancing to P4.
In lap 5, Stolarczyk and Sanel Ćehić collided; Ćehić’s Audi got stranded on the track and the safety car was deployed, circulating for a couple of laps to allow the recovery of the damaged car.
Racing resumed in lap 10, Vesnić maintained the lead, but he was under huge pressure from Groszek, while Wittke tried to benefit from the situation to move into P2.
The three cars crossed the finishing line nearly abreast, with Vesnić winning by four tenths over Groszek who beat Wittke by another tenth. 
Makeš was classified fourth, three tenths ahead of Pekař and so extended his leadership in the standings to 11 points over his fellow Czech countryman.
Race 2 will start tomorrow at 11:50 local time (CEST); live streaming at www.tcr-series.com. Following the draw for determining the grid, the first seven drivers in the Qualifying will be reversed, which means that Petr Čížek will start from pole position. 

Grobnik - Race 1
1. Milovan Vesnić (ASK Vesnić Racing, Audi RS 3 LMS), 14 laps
2. Bartosz Groszek (Horňák-Aditis, Audi RS 3 LMS), 0.391
3. Carol Wittke (Fullinrace Academy, CUPRA Leon Competición), 0.492
4. Michal Makeš (Mičánek Motorsport, CUPRA), 1.232
5. Tomáš Pekař (Carpek Service, CUPRA), 1.572

Championship points
1. M. Makeš 135 pts; 2. T. Pekař 124; 3. S. Steibel 83

Picture: TCR Eastern Europe/Petr Frýba