Sing and Vuković share wins in TCR Eastern Europe
Patrick Sing and Milenko Vuković claimed their first TCR victories in the TCR Eastern Europe weekend at the Red Bull Ring in Austria.
Vuković had claimed pole position in his Renault Mégane RS, outpacing Petr Semerád’s Hyundai i30 N by two-tenths of a second. In the first race, Semerád had a slow getaway and Sing threaded through both Semerád’s Hyundai and Petr Čížek’s CUPRA to move into second, while Vuković got away in the lead. This only lasted until lap three, when the Renault retired with a mechanical issue, with Sing moving into the lead ahead of Čížek and Semerád.
Semerád’s race ended on lap seven, when his suspension broke, which promoted his teammate Václav Janík up to the final podium spot. Janík closed on Čížek, who in turn caught up to race leader Sing, but the German driver managed to hold on to win just half a second clear of Čížek and Janík.
The top nine were reversed for Race 2, which put the Audi RS 3 LMS of Radim Adámek on pole. Adámek led the way at the start, while Sing and Vuković made lightning getaways. Sing was up to third from ninth on the grid by Turn 3, while Vuković was right on his tail despite starting 16th and last. Adámek soon lost the lead to Tomas Rzepecki’s Volkswagen Golf, while Vuković then picked off both Sing and Adámek to be up to second by the end of the first lap. Vuković took the lead from Rzepecki on the second lap; Rzepecki then dropped down the order as he was passed by the chasing Hyundai cars of Sing, Janík, and Semerád, and then the Audi of Bartosz Groszek.
On lap 5, the Janík Motorsport Hyundai cars of Janík and Semerád swapped positions, with Semerád now up to third, while a lap later the race was suspended behind the safety car when the CUPRA of Carol Wittke and the Audi of Adámek crashed out at Turn 3, involving the CUPRA of Žarko Knego in the incident. The recovery of the two CUPRA cars lasted for four laps and the race restarted with just time left for three more laps. Vuković pulled away from the chasing group, while Semerád was able to get past Sing for second on the penultimate lap. Sing held off Janík to claim the final podium position but was later dropped to fifth by a 5-second penalty.
Groszek continues to lead the championship but is now only six points clear of Vuković in the standings, with Semerád 12 points back.
The championship will next visit Poland on 24/26 June to race at Poznán.
Red Bull Ring – Race 1
1. Patrick Sing (RaceSing Team, Hyundai i30 N), 15 laps
2. Petr Čížek (Fullinrace Academy, CUPRA Leon Competición), 0.496
3. Václav Janík (Janík Motorsport, Hyundai i30 N), 1.379
Red Bull Ring – Race 2
1. Milenko Vuković (Besagroup Vuković Motorsport, Renault Mégane RS), 13 laps
2. Petr Semerád (Janík Motorsport, Hyundai i30 N), 1.399
3. Václav Janík (Janík Motorsport, Hyundai i30 N), 3.020
Championship points
1. B. Groszek, 64 pts; 2. M. Vuković 58; 3. P. Semerád 52
Picture: TCR Eastern Europe
