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The second appearance of the Expres Auto team in this season’s TCR Eastern Europe ended on a positive note. Drivers Petr Čížek and Vít Smejkal earned more points at the Red Bull Ring and left Austria in good spirits. However, the situation didn’t look promising on Saturday after the incident with other driver.
Čížek secured the sixth-fastest time in qualifying, setting him up well to add to his points tally after finishing fifth and seventh at Hungary’s Balaton Park. At the start, the Czech driver began moving forward, closing in on the leading quartet of Maťo Homola, Adam Kout, Attila Bucsi, and René Kircher, who were constantly battling for positions, slowing themselves down. Meanwhile, Giacomo Ghermandi was closing in on Čížek from behind. It was Ghermandi who ultimately ended Čížek’s race.
„We had a great race going, but then Ghermandi came along, hit our rear, cut our tire, and that was it,“ Čížek expressed his frustration with his rival’s actions.
Despite Čížek’s race ending prematurely on Saturday, Expres Auto didn’t leave empty-handed. Vít Smejkal secured one point by finishing in tenth place. „I enjoyed the race. For four to five laps, I battled with Jiří Zbožínek. It was fantastic,“ he said. Smejkal was also pleased with his progress in Austria compared to last year. „I improved by a second and a half. I’m glad I’m getting closer, now losing only about 1.5 seconds to the leaders instead of 2-3 seconds. That’s important to me,“ he added.
On Sunday, Čížek had to start from the last position but worked his way up to fifth place within twenty-five minutes race, matching his best result of the season. Vít Smejkal also contributed to the team’s points tally.
„It was great,“ Čížek said enthusiastically at the finish line, also appreciating the attitude of his competitors. „I enjoyed all the battles. Each driver was very fair and always left enough space. Everything happened without any contact,“ he praised the level of Sunday’s racing. While Čížek was unhappy with Ghermandi’s actions on Saturday, things were different a day later. „I have to commend him. It was absolutely clean from his side,“ the Expres Auto driver acknowledged.
Expres Auto managed to score points with both of their drivers for the second time this year on Sunday. Vít Smejkal earned another point for finishing tenth, just like on Saturday.
