Volt and García share wins, while Bordás grabs TCR Spain title
A strong field of 22 cars enlivened TCR Spain’s season finale at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, where Ruben Volt and Álvaro García took one race victory apiece, while Enric Bordás secured the Drivers’ title.
In Race 1, Volt converted his pole position into a lights-to-flag win at the wheel of his ALM Motorsport Honda Civic Type R FL5; this was the Estonian youngster’s second victory on the Catalan racetrack following the one he took five weeks ago in TCR Europe; Bordás’s fourth place in his Monlau Motorsport CUPRA Leon meant he was crowned champion before the last race. After dropping out of the title fight following an incident, García finished the season in style claiming an authoritative victory in Race 2 with a Comtoyou Racing Audi RS 3 LMS, securing the runner-up spot in the championship.
Race 1 – Three Honda cars topped the grid after Volt, Scott Sumpton and Didrik Esbjug had been fastest in Qualifying. Volt and Sumpton got away well at the start, followed by Esbjug and the pair of Lewis Brown and Bordás who were fifth and sixth on the grid. During the first lap, Felipe Fernández and García came together and dropped to eighth and ninth. In lap 2, Bordás overtook Brown, moving up into the fourth place, while the Briton was under pressure from Nicolas Baert. García recovered to seventh as he passed the Fernández brothers, Felipe and Rubén, in lap 3. One lap later both Baert and García overtook Brown advancing to P5 and P6.
At the beginning of lap 5, García dived to the inside of Baert but lost control and their Audi cars made contact. Baert stopped onto the gravel, while the spinning García collided with Philip Lindberg who then collected Alex LaHoz. The safety car was deployed to recover Baert’s car, while LaHoz limped to the pits; García and Lindberg rejoined at the back of the field.
Racing resumed in lap 9; Volt and Sumpton finished 1/2 for ALM Motorsport, while Esbjug kept Bordás at bay to complete an all-Honda podium. However, with García finishing 13th, the fourth place was enough for Bordás to secure the title.
Race 2 – Baert and Felipe Fernández shared the front row of the top-ten reversed grid. The poleman stalled at the start, with Fernández taking the lead from Lindberg and Bordás who had sprinted from P5 on the grid. In the first lap, García passed Brown and Bordás, moving up into P3 and then passed Lindberg for second in lap 3. Behind him, Brown and Volt passed Bordás climbing to fourth and fifth respectively. In lap 4, García stole the lead from Fernández, while Brown and Volt continued their progression, moving into third and fourth ahead of Lindberg. Further behind, Baert was recovering after the bad start and climbed to eighth in lap 5, while Volt overtook Brown for P3 and, in lap 6, Sergio Casalins passed Lindberg for P5. Up front, García stretched his lead, while Volt began to threaten Fernández’s second place and eventually passed his Spanish rival in lap 13. It was too late for the Estonian to try and catch García who claimed his second victory of the season.
Barcelona – Race 1
1. Ruben Volt (ALM Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 13 laps
2. Scott Sumpton (ALM Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 1.014
3. Didrik Esbjug (Esbjug Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 4.506
Barcelona – Race 2
1. Álvaro García (Comtoyou Racing, Audi RS 3 LMS II), 15 laps
2. Ruben Volt (ALM Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 0.658
3. Felipe Fernández (RC2 Motorsport, Audi RS 3 LMS II), 5.133
Championship points
1. E. Bordás, 256 pts.; 2. Á. García, 226; 3. L. Brown, 213
Picture: TCR Spain
