Vincent and Hurczyn score a 1-2 for FCP Euro

Nate Vincent drove the perfect race at Road America in Wisconsin, mastering the slippery conditions to claim his second victory of the season ahead of his FCP Euro teammate Michael Hurczyn, with Victor González completing the podium places.
The forty-minute race started under cloudy skies and with a steady drizzle falling. Pole-sitter Michael McCann Jr. led from the rolling start, but the slippery track saw him slide off at Turn 5 and hand the lead to Vincent. The opening lap also saw a spin by second-placed González and so both the front row qualifiers had been caught out within a minute or so of the race starting. McCann spun again before the end of the opening lap, dropping way down the order into the pack of TCA cars.
While McCann began his fight back, Vincent started opening up an impressive gap at the head of the field. Despite the fact that Hurczyn set the race’s fastest lap, his teammate led by just over thirteen seconds around halfway through the race. By then, the rain had become much heavier and made the conditions even trickier. Fifth in the TCR class, the TCR Cup class leader Bryan Putt slid off the track and his Audi DSG car ended nose-first in the barrier. It then appeared that Putt was unable to select reverse gear and so his race ended on Lap 10, handing the TCR Cup victory to Christian Cole.
Over the closing laps, Hurczyn was steadily catching Vincent, with the pair separated by just under six seconds going into the final lap. Despite Vincent running slightly wide on that lap, he held his own to cross the line 0.211 seconds ahead of championship leader Hurczyn in what looked suspiciously like a 1-2 staged for the cameras. González finished a distant third, James Walker was fourth ahead of Cole and McCann.
In the standings, Hurczyn leads his teammate Vincent by 37 points and might secure the title in tomorrow’s race 2 that is scheduled to start at 11.10 local time (18.10 CET); live streaming at www.tcr-series.com and www.tcr-series.tv.

Race 1
1. Nate Vincent (FCP Euro, Volkswagen Golf GTI), 15 laps
2. Michael Hurczyn (FCP Euro, Volkswagen Golf GTI), 0.211
3. Victor González (VGMC Racing, Honda Civic FK7), 29.387
4. James Walker (Risi Competizioni, Alfa Romeo Giulietta), 53.520
5. Christian Cole (McCann Racing, Audi RS 3 LMS DSG), 1:13.416

Championship points
1. Hurczyn 243 pts; 2. Vincent 206; 3. Walker 157