Blog
Maťo Homola became the champion of TCR Eastern Europe this year at Most. However, questions still linger about who will finish second in the standings. Will it be René Kircher or Davit Kajaia, teammates from Mertel Motorsport, or Adam Kout or Carlo Czepiel, Homola’s teammates?
The 2023 season is nearing its end at Automotodrom Brno, and there is still much to fight for. Kajaia, Kircher with the Honda Civic, and Kout and Czepiel with the Hyundai Elantra are newcomers to TCR Eastern Europe, and all of them have proven to be very fast drivers. They have each won a race during the season and scored numerous podium finishes. Now it all depends on who will have a better outcome in Brno.
Kajaia currently has the upper hand in the standings, sitting second with 129 points. However, Kircher is close behind with only a five-point difference. Kout trails behind Kajaia by sixteen points, while Czepiel faces a significant gap of 38 points. Although Czepiel’s chances are slim, mathematically, he can still finish second if his opponents experience really bad luck.
The only person who can be certain of his position is Maťo Homola from Hyundai Janík Motorsport. His consistent performance and three wins (including two at his home track, Slovakia Ring) were enough to secure the championship in the penultimate round at Autodrom Most.
Undoubtedly, Maťo Homola will play an important role in the final event and will assist his teammates if possible. However, another driver who can influence the final result is last year’s champion, Bartosz Groszek, returning behind the wheel of an Aditis Racing Team´s Audi for this round. As a proven winner, he may have the last word in the race results.
Giacomo Ghermandi with Audi and Petr Čížek with Cupra have shown great pace in the second half of the season, and they both have a chance to surpass Petr Fulín and Milan Vuković in the standings, as they will not be participating in this round, moving up to sixth and seventh positions, respectively.
For four drivers, Brno will be their last chance to score at least one point this season. Ivars Vallers from Latvia, Vít Smejkal from the Czech Republic, Antonio Citera from Austria, and Sebastian Kolakowski from Poland have come close to the top ten on many occasions but have been unable to secure any points. They are motivated to prove themselves at Brno.
The final round will also see a new addition to the entry list. Sixteen-year-old Hungarian talent Attila Bucsi will be making his TCR debut with the Hyundai i30 N TCR from M1RA Motorsport.
Although Homola has already been crowned the champion, the team standings are still undecided. Hyundai Janík Motorsport leads with 279 points, but Mertel Motorsport is only 26 points behind.
