The TCR Europe series resumes at Le Castellet

Three weeks after the TCR Europe season got underway at Portimão, the action resumes at Le Castellet’s Circuit Paul Ricard this weekend. Unlike the ‘rollercoaster’ twists and turns and elevation changes of the Portuguese circuit, the French track is virtually flat and is best-known for its 1.8km long Mistral Straight and the colourful striped asphalt runoff areas.

In 2021, the French event was dominated by the Peugeot 308 cars of Team Clairet Sport, with Teddy Clairet fastest in Qualifying and then winning Race 1 while his brother Jimmy won Race 2.

The Portuguese event has confirmed that the series is extremely competitive. Mike Halder (Halder Motorsport Honda Civic Type R) was beaten in Race 1 by his teammate Jack Young, but Halder won at Le Castellet in 2020 and so is out to prove a point. Pepe Oriola (Brutal Fish Racing, Honda Civic Type R) was denied victory in Race 2 in Portimão by Franco Girolami (Comtoyou Racing, Audi RS 3 LMS II) and so the Spaniard is hungry for his first win of the year.

After the first two races, Girolami holds a nine-point lead over Young in the Drivers’ standings with Halder one point behind Young in third place.

Others to watch include the 2019 champion Josh Files (Target Competition, Hyundai Elantra N), Isidro Callejas (Volcano Motorsport, CUPRA Leon Competición) and Mat’o Homola (Janík Motorsport, Hyundai Elantra N), all of whom set session-topping times during the early build-up to the Portuguese races. While Klim Gavrilov (Volcano Motorsport, CUPRA Leon Competición), John Filippi (Sébastien Loeb Racing – Bardahl Team, CUPRA Leon Competición), Nicola Baldan and his teammate Felice Jelmini (Target Competition, Hyundai Elantra N), and Tom Coronel (Comtoyou Racing, Audi RS 3 LMS II) have already proved to be equally competitive.

Picture: TCR Europe