Moran wins, as Oriola and Engstler make contact
Diego Moran, driving a Team Oettinger Volkswagen Golf GTI, won the second TCR Asia race at Sepang International Circuit and took the points lead.
It was an exciting race that saw the Ecuadorian winning the fight for the lead with Philippines’ Daniel Miranda in the Eurasia Motorsport Hyundai i30 N.
Behind the leading pair, two other Hyundai drivers, Pepe Oriola of Indigo Racing and Luca Engstler of Team Engstler, were involved in a ruthless fight that ended with the young German stranded onto the gravel at T1.
Roland Hertner, who sat on pole of the top-ten reverse grid in his Team Oettinger Golf GTI, took a poor start. Miranda was first into T1, followed by Moran, Hertner, Alex Hui’s Teamwork Motorsport Audi RS 3 LMS, Oriola and Engstler. There were dramas at T1, as Kim Jin Soo and Hertner were punted into spins by Théo Coicaud and Hui respectively.
Jakraphan Davee (Alphafactory Racing CUPRA) passed Adam Khalid (Team Oettinger Golf GTI) for sixth during the first lap; at the end that lap Oriola and Engstler overtook Hui for third and fourth.
The pair then started fighting and made contact twice at T1, at the beginning of laps 4 and 5. Coicaud who had dropped to 12th after clashing with Kim, recovered to 7th by the end of lap 5.
On lap 6, Moran took the lead from Miranda, then Coicaud and Hui made contact at the last turn while they were fighting for fifth; Hui retired into the pits and Coicaud dropped to 7th.
On lap 7, Engstler tried to overtake Oriola on the outside line at T1, they clashed and the German’s Hyundai spun off and stopped onto the gravel.
During the final part of the race Coicaud overtook Khalid for fifth and then Davee for fourth after they swapped positions a few times. Eventually, Davee managed to retain fifth place as he kept Khalid at bay.
Moran won from Miranda, Oriola and Coicaud.
TCR Asia’s second event will take place at Zhuhai International Circuit, China on May 4/5.
Race 2
1. Diego Moran (Team Oettinger, Volkswagen Golf GTI), 11 laps
2. Daniel Miranda (Eurasia Motorsport, Hyundai i30 N), 3.516
3. Pepe Oriola (Indigo Racing, Hyundai i30 N), 12.167
4. Théo Coicaud (Team Engstler, Hyundai i30 N), 17.410
5. Jakrphan Davee (Alphafactory Racing, CUPRA), 22.130
Championship points
1. Moran 42 pts; 2. Coicaud 34; 3. Engstler 30
