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Lukasz Stolarczyk had a good start to 2021 TCR Eastern Europe season at Hungaroring. In Race 1, he finished 5th. In Race 2, he was second and achieved his first podium result in TCR Eastern Europe. Now, he provided an interview for us.
Lukasz, you started your second season in TCR Eastern Europe at Hungaroring. And it was a good start for you. You definitely weren´t invisible. In Race 1, you finished 5th after you fought for the podium result. In Race 2, you finished second. How are you happy with the start of new season?
In general, I´m happy. My target for this year is to fight with the fastest and this is what I was doing there. Unfortunately, my car had a problem with front wheel geometry in the first race after a few contacts with Michal Makeš and tires consumption was so high. Because of that, I lost not only second, but also third and fourth place. But from the other side, it was a great lesson for me. I had a good battles with Michal, with Milovan (Milovan Vesnić – editorial note), Sebastian Steibel, Giacomo Ghermandi and finally with Tomáš Pekař.
I picked up from this a lot. What makes me very happy is that I had an amazing starts in both races, not like in 2020 at Hungaroring. I lost many positions then. This time, I was the first in Turn 1 two times after I started from 4th and 5th.
Last year, you raced with Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR car. But this season, you race with Audi RS 3 LMS TCR car. How are you getting used to the new car? Do you still have any problems in getting used to it or everything is good?
Because of covid restrictions, we didn´t test the car so we had a big problems with setup. But during the race weekend, it developed in a good direction. We will learn about a car and we can be only faster.
In Race 2 at Hungaroring, Lukasz Stolarczyk scored his first podium result in TCR Eastern Europe.
How did you enjoy the reversed grid for Race 2? Do you think it´s better than previous format when the drivers started to Race 2 according to second best lap times from qualifying?
It doesn´t affect my starting position so much at Hungaroring. But I have to say that it looks like a good idea. We had many action on the track and it makes races more interesting for the fans.
You took his first podium result at Hungaroring. Do you believe you can achieve also first victory this season? Maybe Poznan looks like a good opportunity for it. You know this circuit very well…
I will do my best to achieve my first win in TCR Eastern Europe at every track. Poznań is the only one I know well but also on the other tracks I will do my best.
And do you believe you can seriously fight also for the championship title this year? You have strong opponents as Tomáš Pekař, Milovan Vesnić or Michal Makeš…
I need to find more speed to fight for a title, especially compared to Tomáš Pekař. He was too fast for all of us at Hungaroring. I´m happy for Tomáš´s result after his heavy crash last year at Hungaroring. But I hope that our pace will be better than his. I believe we can speed up a lot during the season and I´m not so sure if my competitors have the same possibilities but let´s see.
Your Golf from last year also races in the 2021 TCR Eastern Europe season. The car is driven by Tomasz Rzepecki, who races for Basenhurt. Tomasz had a successful debut in TCR Eastern Europe. In Race 1, he was 6th. In Race 2, he was 8th. Are you happy for him and his good debut?
I am very happy and I keep fingers crossed for him. We are in touch very often to speak about the car and about some technical points. Even if we are a competitors I am doing my best to help him to set up the car and to be fast.
Tomasz Rzepecki races with the car which Lukasz Stolarczyk drove last year.
What do you think about the development of TCR Eastern Europe championship?
The level is going up with every year and the involvement of the promoter will pay off after the COVID. I am sure that this series has a bright future.
Why should fans watch the 2021 TCR Eastern Europe season?
There will be a lot of fights in the field and you can not miss it.
