Victory for Hesse moves him into the championship lead
Max Hesse took a commanding victory in Race 2 at Hockenheim and so moved into the lead of TCR Germany. Guest driver Jessica Bäckman finished second and defending champion Harald Proczyk was third, delivering the second all-Hyundai podium of the weekend.
At the start, the pole-sitter Michelle Halder was first into Turn 1, but Dominik Fugel passed her to take the lead at the hairpin at Turn 6 with Jessica Bäckman then also passing Michelle for second position. A superb start saw Hesse leap from sixth on the grid to lie in third place at the end of a frantic opening lap.
On Lap 2, the hairpin was again the scene of the action when there was a three-way collision between Andreas Bäckman, Théo Coicaud and Pascal Eberle. The incident forced both Coicaud and Eberle to retire, while Bäckman received a drive-through penalty for causing the collision and so dropped outside the top ten. The next lap then saw Hesse pass Jessica Bäckman for second and then began to close the gap to the leader, Fugel. The lead changed hands on Lap 5, with Jessica Bäckman also passing Fugel to lie in second place. Two laps later, Proczyk took third place from Fugel.
Antti Buri started the race with a slender lead in the championship, but started from tenth on the grid and never really looked like threatening the leaders. He was passed for seventh place by Julien Apothéloz in lap 15, but the Swiss was soon forced to pull up with what appeared to be broken steering. Buri’s relief was to be short-lived, however, as his challenge faded over the final few laps and the Audi eventually finished twelfth.
There were no such dramas for the drivers at the head of the field and Hesse took the chequered flag a little under half a second ahead of Jessica Bäckman, with Proczyk in third place a further nine-tenths adrift. Behind the three Hyundai cars came three Honda Civic cars, with Dominik Fugel finishing fourth, ahead of Mike and Michelle Halder.
The result means Hesse has moved into the lead in the championship standings and is now 14 pojnts ahead of Proczyk with Buri having dropped to third place, a further seven points behind Proczyk.
The title will therefore be decided at the series’ final round at the Sachsenring on September 28th and 29th.
Race 2
1. Max Hesse (Team Engstler, Hyundai i30 N), 18 laps
2. Jessica Bäckman (Target Competition, Hyundai i30 N), 0.452
2. Harald Proczyk (HP Racing International, Hyundai i30 N), 1.353
4. Dominic Fugel (Profi-Car, Honda Civic FK7), 15.823
5. Mike Halder (Profi-Car, Honda Civic FK7), 17.014
Championship points
1. Hesse 377 pts; 2. Proczyk 363; 3. Buri 356
