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The TCR Eastern Europe championship resumed with its third round of the season at Autodrom Most, where two races formed part of the Racing Journal Speed Fest weekend. Both were won by Aditis Racing’s Martin Kadlečík after hard-fought battles.

The two leading contenders for this year’s title, Martin Kadlečík and Adam Kout, renewed their rivalry on the sweltering Czech asphalt. Across the opening five races at Grobnik and the Salzburgring, championship leader Kadlečík had taken three victories, with Kout claiming the other two.

Hyundai Janík Motorsport driver Kout began the weekend at Most in commanding fashion, comfortably topping qualifying and beating second-placed Kadlečík by more than six tenths of a second.

That dominance faded in the opening race, however, as Kadlečík’s black Audi RS3 piled the pressure on Kout’s leading Hyundai Elantra. Kout eventually made a small mistake, locking up under braking for Turn 1, and Kadlečík seized the opportunity, forcing his way past through the following sequence of bends.

From that point on, Kadlečík controlled the pace. Neither Kout nor third-placed Jiří Zbožínek had an answer, even so Zbožínek suffered technical trouble in the closing stages, allowing Petr Čížek to move into third in his Cupra. Žarko Knego finished just a few seconds behind in his Hyundai Elantra, while Kadlečík’s team-mate Radim Adámek completed the top five.

Sunday’s race began with Jiří Zbožínek on pole position alongside Radim Adámek, courtesy of the reversed-grid format. Zbožínek retained the lead with ease, while Žarko Knego moved into second and set his sights on another podium finish. Behind him, however, were the two principal title contenders.

Kout was the first to put Knego under pressure, but he was unable to hold off the charging Kadlečík. The championship leader then passed Knego and set off after race leader Zbožínek.

With ten minutes remaining, Kadlečík began lining up his attack. In the end, Zbožínek opened the door himself. Exiting the final corner, he bounced over the kerb and spent several seconds kicking up dust on the parched ground beside the circuit. He managed to keep the car under control, but dropped to second before losing that position also to Kout in the closing moments.

Kadlečík therefore celebrated his second victory of the weekend on the Autodrom Most podium, while Kout collected another runner-up trophy. Zbožínek finished third, ahead of Žarko Knego in fourth, Petr Čížek in fifth and Radim Adámek in sixth.

The next round of the TCR Eastern Europe championship will take place at the Slovakia Ring on 22–23 August.

TCR Eastern Europe – Qualifying

TCR Eastern Europe – Race 1

TCR Eastern Europe – Race 2

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