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The penultimate race of the TCR Eastern Europe season at Salzburgring was dramatic. Adam Kout started from pole position and won the race, with Giacomo Ghermandi second and René Kircher third. Championship leader Maťo Homola received a time penalty and dropped down the order.
Kout lined up on pole alongside René Kircher, with Maťo Homola and Ivars Vallers behind them. Kircher had the best start, managing to take the lead from Kout in the sprint to the tight first chicane. Behind them were Kajaia, Vallers, and then Homola.
All the drivers navigated the first chicane cleanly and continued without incident. Giacomo Ghermandi had an impressive start, moving up from eleventh to sixth.
Vallers made a mistake in the final chicane, losing a position, and Homola soon passed Kajaia to move into third place.
Kout was pushing Kircher, trying to find a way past. For a few laps, they were side by side, before Kout eventually overtook Kircher in the final chicane to take the lead. At the same time, Davit Kajaia ran off the track and crashed heavily into the barriers, which prompted the deployment of the safety car.
The order behind the safety car was Kout, Homola, Kircher, Ghermandi, Čížek, Vallers, Zbožínek, Knego, Dubreta, and Dolischka.
However, the race was soon red-flagged to allow repairs to the barriers. This played into the hands of Homola and his potential title win, but both he and Kircher were given a 10-second penalty for jump starts.
After a brief delay, the race resumed behind the safety car. Kout maintained his lead, with Kircher second, followed by Homola, Ghermandi, and a small gap to fifth-placed Čížek and the rest of the field.
Kout was under pressure, with just half a second separating him from Kircher, who had his mirrors full of Homola and Ghermandi. As we’ve seen multiple times this season, there was yet another clash between Homola and Ghermandi. The Italian driver almost spun Homola, but Slovakian driver managed to keep his car on the track and continued for a few more turns before Ghermandi eventually passed him.
There was also a close battle for fifth to tenth places between Čížek, Vallers, Dubreta, Zbožínek, Knego, and Dolischka. Unfortunately, a collision between Dubreta and Zbožínek at the first chicane caused Dubreta to spin, and the incident was investigated by the stewards.
Kout crossed the finish line first, with Kircher second, but his 10-second penalty dropped him to third behind Giacomo Ghermandi. Petr Čížek finished fourth, Vallers fifth, and Maťo Homola dropped to sixth after his time penalty. This result means that the points gap between Homola and Kout is now only 16 points heading into Sunday’s final race.
