Newcomer privateer Fokin scores maiden TCR Russia win

TCR Russia rookie Egor Fokin created a surprise in the Smolensk Ring’s Race 2, as he claimed his maiden victory on his first appearance in the championship at the wheel of an independently-run LADA Vesta Sport car. The 18-year-old champion of last year’s RCRS S1600 Junior title, started from the pole of the reversed grid and led from lights-to-flag, playing as a veteran in keeping at bay LADA Sport Rosneft’s factory driver and reigning champion Kirill Ladygin who wanted to encore his Race 1 victory.
Fokin had already impressed in the first race, fighting for the fifth position before going off when a sudden rain shower hit the track. He was repaid by the draw for the grid positions for Race 2, that reversed the top seven qualifiers. He used the opportunity and led from the start, while Ladygin moved up from fifth on the grid into second as he was able to pass Egor Orudzhev during the opening lap. Moments later Orudzhev lost third to Ivan Lukashevich. Further down the order, Dmitry Bragin went wide on the grass and rejoined at the back.
Fokin was closely chased by Ladygin, Lukaschevich, Orudzhev and Zakhar Slutzkyi who had recovered from P9 on the grid, while in the fight for P6, Andrej Maslennikov and Grigory Burlutskyi overtook Pavel Kalmanovich in lap 7.
Despite all their efforts, Ladygin and Lukashevich couldn’t close the gap to Fokin enough to try an overtaking manoeuvre and so the young A.M.G. Motorsport driver crossed the finish line with a margin of six tenths over Ladygin, while Slutzkyi came third one further tenth behind. However, the Carville Racing driver who had passed Lukashevich at Turn 1 at the beginning of the final lap was given a 30-second penalty for repeated track-limit infringements and dropped to tenth.
This meant that Lukaschevich advanced to third, ahead of Maslennikov and Burlutskyi who had passed Kalmanovich in the last lap. 
In the standings, Ladygin leads by 14 points over his teammate Mikhail Mityaev, while Maslennikov lies in third place, two further points adrift.
The second event of TCR Russia will be hosted by the N-Ring at Nizhniy Novgorod on 19/20 June.

Smolensk Ring – Race 2
1. Egor Fokin (A.M.G. Motorsport, LADA Vesta Sport), 18 laps
2. Kirill Ladygin (LADA Sport Rosneft, LADA Vesta Sport), 0.616
3. Ivan Lukashevich (Lukoil Racing Team, Hyundai i30 N), 1.091
4. Andrej Maslennikov (Lukoil Racing Team, Hyundai i30 N), 1.537
5. Grigory Burlutskyi (Carville Racing, Hyundai i30 N), 2.238

Championship points
1. K. Ladygin 45 pts; 2. M. Mityaev 31; 3. A. Maslennikov 29

Picture: Grigory Golyshev