TCR drivers delivered an exciting first race at the Red Bull Ring. Gianni Morbidelli kept his head cool and defeated his main rival in the championship fight at the end of a tough fight.
Comini led for most of the race but could not keep Morbidelli at bay in the final laps; eventually the Swiss went wide and opened the door to the former F1 racer.
Close behind the two duellists, Andrea Belicchi and Pepe Oriola had their own fight for third; Belicchi crossed the finishing line ahead by inches. The first four drivers classified were covered by only 1.2 seconds.
The Volkswagen Golf cars of Mikhail Grachev and Pol Rosell were classified eighth and tenth respectively after an unremarkable race. The two drivers hope to make up for the disappointment starting from the front row of the top-ten reversed grid at 11.40 local time.
Key moments
Grid – Skuz (grid penalty) and Romanini (technical issue in qualifying) line up at the back
Start – Gleason takes the best start, Morbidelli is slow to leave the pole and is passed by Comini
Lap 1 – Comini and Morbidelli overtake Gleason; Nagy and Grachev make contact and the Hungarian crashes into the wall at the last corner
Lap 2 – Oriola overtakes Gleason for third; Belicchi overtakes Afanasyev for fifth
Lap 3 – Morbidelli chases Comini
Lap 4 – Morbidelli ‘kisses’ Comini’s rear bumper, Oriola uses the contact to overtake Morbidelli
Lap 5 – Gené overtakes Afanasyev for sixth; the top seven are all very close
Lap 6 – Morbidelli retakes second from Oriola; Belicchi overtakes Oriola for third
Lap 7 – Afanasyev and Gené nove up to fifth and sixth overtaking Gleason
Lap 8 – Romanini spins off at Turn 5
Lap 9 – Morbidelli and Comini swap places twice
Lap 10 – Belicchi overtakes Morbidelli for second; Morbidelli retakes second from Belicchi
Lap 11 – Morbidelli, Belicchi and Oriola fight for second
Lap 12 – Morbidelli is on Comini’s heels once again; Ananasyev loses two placed to Gené and Gleason
Lap 13 – Comini and Morbidelli run door-to-door and make contact; Comini runs wide at the last turn and Morbidelli takes the lead
Lap 14 – Morbidelli wins from Comini; Belicchi beats Oriola by inches for third
