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The sixth season of the TCR Eastern Europe series poses a critical question: Can reigning champion Maťo Homola defend his title and become the first driver in history to do so? The opening event at Balaton Park on April 28-29 will provide some clues.
The Czech team, Hyundai Janík Motorsport, is among the most experienced and successful in the starting field. Over the last two seasons, it has won the overall team standings and last year also clinched the drivers’ title thanks to Slovak racer Maťo Homola, who remains in the team this year, aiming clearly to repeat his success.
“As the 2023 champion, I can’t aim for less than winning the 2024 season. We know, however, that the competition is tough, and we must continue to work hard because it won’t be easy. I believe that together with the Hyundai Janík Motorsport team, we have everything it takes to make this season very successful again,” says Homola, who will once again drive a Hyundai Elantra.
His team mate will again be Adam Kout,. “I believe that this year the competition will increase and the TCR Eastern Europe starting field will expand, and that we will enjoy a season of exciting races and track battles. My goal for this year is obviously to improve on last year’s third place in the overall drivers‘ standings and to defend our position as the best team.”
The third member of the Hyundai Janík Motorsport team is newcomer Jiří Zbožínek, who last year competed in the Clio Cup. Moving to a faster car and a different championship will be a new challenge for the young driver, but his more experienced teammates will be a great help.
Last year’s Clio Cup Trophy champion, Martin Kadlečík, has also made the move from Clio Cup to TCR Eastern Europe. The former autocross racer won all the races in 2023, and his next step in career development is TCR, where he will race the latest generation of the Audi RS3 TCR for Aditis Racing.
The German team Mertel Motorsport debuted in TCR Eastern Europe last year and, thanks to René Kircher and Davit Kajaia, collected several victories and a second-place finish in the team standings. Kircher finished second and Kajaia third. This duo could greatly challenge the favorite Homola. The Mertel Motorsport driver lineup remains unchanged for this season, but expands to a third Honda Civic for Austrian racer Jorden Dolischka, who will become the first woman to start in the championship’s history.
Sixteen-year-old Hungarian racer Attila Bucsi, who debuted at last year’s final event in Brno and won one race, will also complete the full season. Bucsi will drive a Hyundai i30 N TCR for M1RA Motorsport.
The Czech team Expres Auto Racing, with drivers Petr Čížek and Vít Smejkal, who also share management duties, will not be missing from the field. “We don’t want to look back at last season. We are focusing on the upcoming one, which is why we started testing and preparing in time. We’ve learned from our mistakes and now we want to continue on a better wave,” states Smejkal, who, like Čížek, will drive a Cupra.
Italian racer Giacomo Ghermandi changed his Audi for Honda Civic TCR and enters the championship with MM Motorsport team. From distant Latvia, we will again see the LV Racing team with Ivars Vallers at the wheel of an Audi. Similarly far from central European tracks will be Žarko Knego with a Hyundai Elantra from Auto Klub Dubrovnik. From Montenegro, the team of Fraňo Dubreta has also registered and will compete with a Cupra Leon Competitión TCR.
