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Hyundai Janík Motorsport driver Adam Kout won the opening race of the 2025 TCR Eastern Europe season at the Red Bull Ring. Starting from pole position, he maintained his lead to the finish and became the first winner of the season.
The new season began in Austria with high expectations and questions about who would emerge on top. The first clues came in qualifying, Adam Kout and Giacomo Ghermandi started from the front row, with Bartosz Groszek and Viktor Andersson lining up behind them on the second row. The initial start of the Race 1 was aborted due to the technical issue with Robert Pravdič’s Hyundai Elantra, leading to another warm-up lap.
When the red lights finally went out, Kout had the best start and managed to keep his Hyundai Elantra in the lead, with Ghermandi slotting into second and Groszek third. Behind them, a battle began between Andersson, Kadlečík and Čížek. Kadlečík, in an Audi RS3, overtook Andersson in the first turn of the second lap. They then ran side by side up the second straight, but as they began braking for the sharp third corner, Čížek in his Cupra nudged Kadlečík, who because of that made contact with Andersson, sending the Lynk & Co driver off track.
Unfortunately, Andersson retired, while Kadlečík and Čížek continued in fourth and fifth. Behind them, a fierce battle unfolded involving Ivars Vallers, Jiří Zbožínek, and Žarko Knego.
Vallers, in an Audi RS3, moved up to sixth place, followed closely by Knego in a Hyundai Elantra and Zbožínek in another Elantra.
Ghermandi was defending his position from Aditis Racing teammates Groszek and Kadlečík. However, the Italian driver received a drive-through penalty for a starting procedure infringement. Despite this, Ghermandi stayed on track, keeping both Audis behind and crossing the line in second without serving the penalty, so 30 seconds time penalty was added to his time.
Knego received a two-second penalty for track limits, while Čížek was handed a ten-second penalty by the stewards for the incident with Kadlečík.
The final results of the opening race saw Adam Kout win with a four-second lead. Bartosz Groszek finished second, and Martin Kadlečík claimed third. Kout’s teammate Zbožínek moved up to fourth, with Knego in fifth. Čížek dropped to seventh behind Vallers. Ghermandi was classified eighth, and Andersson ninth. Andersson will start from pole position for tomorrow’s race, lining up alongside Ghermandi.
