Blog
The 2025 TCR Eastern Europe season reached its climax at Hungary’s Balaton Park, where Adam Kout from Hyundai Janík Motorsport was crowned champion and his teammate Jiří Zbožínek scored his maiden victory.
Kout arrived in Hungary with an eight-point lead over Martin Kadlečík from Aditis Racing, setting the stage for a tense weekend. Having taken a double win in Brno, Kadlečík carried an extra 10 kilograms of success ballast in his Audi RS3 compare to Kout’s Hyundai. That weight disadvantage was already clear in qualifying, where Kout beat him by almost half a second, earning three points compared to Kadlečík’s two. The title rivals lined up together on the front row, with their teammates Bartosz Groszek and Jiří Zbožínek right behind.
Race 1 kicked off in dramatic fashion. Kadlečík knew he couldn’t allow Kout to pull away and he launched an immediate attack into Turn 1. The two made contact, classic touring car door-banging, and Kadlečík muscled through into the lead, but Koutfought back on the back straight and reclaim first place.
Even a red flag stoppage, caused by Nemanja Milovanović’s crash, couldn’t unsettle Kout. After the restart behind the safety car, he stayed firmly in control and led the pack home. The opening race finished with Kout ahead of Kadlečík, Groszek, Petr Čížek and Zbožínek in top 5. The result extended Kout’s advantage to 17 points, meaning that in Sunday’s finale he needed only a fifth-place finish to secure the crown, even if Kadlečík won and set fastest lap.
The decisive moment came far earlier than anyone expected. With the top six reversed on the grid, Kout and Kadlečík started from the third row in Race 2, while Zbožínek and Žarko Knego lined up at the front. Zbožínek grabbed the lead at the start ahead of Čížek and Kadlečík, while Kout played it safe in sixth.
On lap two, however, the title fight ended abruptly. Knego outbraked himself into Turn 1 and slammed into Kadlečík, eliminating him on the spot. The championship was effectively decided not by a head-to-head duel, but by an unfortunate collision.
The safety car was deployed, and when racing resumed, Zbožínek held his place to take a career-first victory. Kout followed him home in second place, sealing the drivers’ title, while Čížek resisted Groszek’s pressure to secure the final podium spot.
The result also proved decisive in the teams’ standings. Aditis Racing had arrived in Hungary with a healthy advantage, but Kadlečík’s retirement and Hyundai Janík Motorsport’s 1–2 finish turned the tables. The Czech squad from Šternberk overturned the deficit to clinch the teams’ championship as well.
TCR Eastern Europe – Qualifying
© 2026 . All Rights Reserved. Křenek Motorsport.
Terms and Conditions
