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Martin Kadlečík from Aditis Racing crossed the finish line first in the opening race of the TCR Eastern Europe championship weekend at Automotodrom Grobnik, which was held in mixed dry and wet conditions.

Although it was no longer raining, the track remained damp and extremely slippery, with several puddles still visible. Teammates Adam Kout and Jiří Zbožínek started from the front row ahead of Franco Dubreta and Petr Čížek, while Žarko Knego and Martin Kadlečík lined up on the third row.

Zbožínek made a slightly better start and took the lead from Kout, but even better launches came from Knego and Kadlečík, who moved up to third and fourth respectively. Kadlečík immediately found a way past Knego.

Still on the opening lap, Kout regained the lead from Zbožínek, while Kadlečík quickly began attacking Zbožínek for second place. At the end of lap two, Kadlečík wasted no time moving into second position, with leader Kout within striking distance by just three seconds.

However, technical problems then struck Kout, who suddenly slowed with an apparent issue on his car and was forced to retire from the race due to the halfshaft.

Kadlečík inherited the lead ahead of Zbožínek, while the battle between Čížek and Knego intensified in the fight for the final podium position. Čížek eventually moved into third place, pushing local driver Knego down to fourth, but the fight remained close as Knego stayed right behind Čížek for a while.

Dubreta ran in fifth place, while Pulič, Fabijančič and Miljkovič battled for points in sixth to eighth positions. During the race, as light rain began to fall again, Fabijančič ran wide in one of the corners and lost momentum.

As the drizzle became slightly heavier, Čížek kept closing the gap to Zbožínek and, with only a few minutes remaining, he overtook him for second place.

Martin Kadlečík won the opening race of the TCR Eastern Europe season at Grobnik ahead of Petr Čížek and Jiří Zbožínek. Žarko Knego secured fourth place, while Franco Dubreta completed the top five. Pulič finished sixth, Miljkovič seventh and Fabijančič eighth. Robert Pravdič took ninth place, while Radim Adámek rounded out the top 10.

The grid for Sunday’s Race 2 will feature a reversed order, as winner Martin Kadlečík drew number six and will therefore start from sixth position.

Race 1 FINAL

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