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TCR Eastern Europe returns to the Red Bull Ring this weekend, where the battle for wins and the championship will continue. The Austrian Formula 1 track offers multiple opportunities for passing and exciting racing.
The reigning winner from last year is Davit Kajaia from Mertel Motorsport. The Georgian driver of the Honda Civic had an unlucky opening weekend at Balaton Park three weeks ago, scoring only four points. Now, he hopes to rebuild the season with strong results at the fast Austrian track.
However, the competition will be fierce. Current points leader Maťo Homola won the first race at Balaton Park, while Attila Bucsi dominated the second sprint. These two might continue their Hyundai battle, with Homola driving an Elantra for the Hyundai Janík Motorsport team and Bucsi in an i30 N TCR for M1RA Motorsport.
Adam Kout, Homola’s teammate, has the same number of points as Bucsi. Needless to say, they will have to carry compensation weight for their success in Hungary. Homola will carry a 40-kilogram weight ballast, while Bucsi and Kout will have 30 kilograms each.
This opens up opportunities for other drivers with lighter cars. René Kircher from Mertel Motorsport will carry only 10 kilograms and might be one of the favorites for the race win. Giacomo Ghermandi, who starts this season with a Honda Civic, also showed great promise in Hungary.
Croatian driver Žarko Knego is a long-time competitor in TCR Eastern Europe, but this will be his first start with a Hyundai Elantra at the Red Bull Ring, as he raced there last year with his old Cupra. For the first time in TCR Eastern Europe at the Red Bull Ring, we will see Jiří Zbožínek as the third member of the Hyundai Janík Motorsport team, as well as Jorden Dolischka, who is the third driver for Mertel Motorsport alongside Kircher and Kajaia.
Expres Auto Racing, with Petr Čížek and Vít Smejkal, hopes to continue scoring points in the championship, as both their Cupra cars collected points in Hungary for the first time. Ivars Vallers, driving an Audi, was happy to score his first points at the previous event and hopes to repeat his success.
The weekend at the Red Bull Ring starts with free practice on Friday, continues on Saturday with qualifying and race 1, and concludes on Sunday with race 2.
