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The fourth round of this year’s TCR Eastern Europe season took place last weekend at Slovakia Ring, where championship leader Adam Kout delivered a flawless performance in his Hyundai Elantra. His dominance allowed him to extend his advantage over closest rival Martin Kadlečík in the Audi RS3.
Throughout the season, two clear title contenders have emerged. Adam Kout and Martin Kadlečík have been trading victories, separated by just two points heading into the Slovakian round. Kout arrived determined to score big and open up a more comfortable lead, while Kadlečík was hoping either to snatch the top spot in the standings or at least keep the gap within reach.
In the end, it was Kout who left Slovakia with maximum points, while Kadlečík was left with mixed emotions. Kout struck the first blow already in qualifying, taking pole position with a stunning margin of 1.2 seconds over Žarko Knego. Kadlečík was another two tenths behind in third. From there, all Kout needed was a clean start, a steady lead and no surprises. That’s exactly how it played out: a dominant start-to-finish victory for the Janík Motorsport driver.
Kadlečík and his teammate Bartosz Groszek completed the podium, giving Aditis Racing plenty to celebrate. That order was somewhat expected in Race 1, but attention quickly shifted to Sunday’s reverse-grid race, where the top eight starters were inverted. That meant Groszek lined up sixth, Kadlečík seventh, and Kout eighth.
When the lights went out, Kadlečík made a lightning start. By the second corner, he was already in the lead, pushing flat out to build a gap. But it didn’t take long for Kout to appear in his mirrors. By lap three, he launched an attack and swept past for the lead and from that moment, the result was sealed. Kout took victory in Race 2, while Kadlečík limited the points damage with second place. The gap between them grew from just two points to twenty, though with rounds in Brno and Balaton Park still to come, the title fight is far from over. Kout will need to stay sharp.
Groszek claimed third place again in Race 2, meaning the same three drivers locked out the podium all weekend. One who came close to breaking their stranglehold was Žarko Knego. The Croatian was flying at Slovakia Ring in his Hyundai Elantra, quick in qualifying and competitive in both races. But in Race 1, a costly mistake under braking dropped him out of contention, and in Race 2 he fought hard to hold off Groszek but eventually slipped to fourth.
Czech driver Petr Čížek delivered a strong performance in his Cupra, finishing fourth and fifth across the two races. Meanwhile, Jiří Zbožínek left Slovakia slightly disappointed after struggling to match teammate Kout’s pace, coming away with fifth and sixth.
Still, while no one had an answer to Kout’s speed, the rest of the field put on a great show with thrilling battles for the remaining points. Among those mixing it up were Ivars Vallers, Vít Smejkal, Peter Szilagyi, Radoslav Obrtal, Nemanja Milovanović, Luka Fabijanćić and Bojan Miljković.
TCR Eastern Europe – Qualifying
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