A hat-trick for Thome and victory for Paget at Dijon-Prenois
Sébastien Thome took three wins in the first three races of the FFSA TC France series at Dijon-Prenois in as many races where his three-way fight with Julien Paget and Sylvain Pussier was the highlight of the weekend. Paget then controlled the drama-filled final race that saw Pussier and Thome recovering after running in troubles.
Paget continues to lead the championship on 176 points, just 13 points clear of Pussier, with Thome, who missed the opening round at Nogaro, still in contention just 25 points back when only the four races at Circuit Paul Ricard on 5/6 October are left.
Race 1 - Thome started from the pole ahead of Paget and Pussier, but at the first corner Pussier got past Paget for second. Futher back, Christian von der Weid spun his Hyundai i30 N and caused a safety car intervention. After the restart, Thome pulled away, while Pussier and Paget were involved in an exciting battle for second. Paget passed Pussier at T2 on lap 9 after light contact propelled Pussier’s Leon VZ into a slide, but Paget was ordered by the Stewards to return the position. On lap 14, as they came across traffic, Pussier went to the right and Paget to the left of a slower car, and so Paget emerged ahead of his rival to claim back the second place. Thome won by 2.6 seconds over Paget, with Pussier right behind in third.
Race 2 – Thome was again on pole, with Pussier starting second ahead of Paget. Much like Race 1, Thome was able to control the pace as Pussier and Paget fought for second position. Paget briefly got ahead of Pussier at T4 just after a mid-race safety car, but Pussier retook the spot on to the finish. Thome’s margin this time was a narrower half a second ahead of Pussier and Paget.
Race 3 – Once again Thome led from the pole ahead of Paget and Pussier. There was a scary moment for the leader as his Audi went into a slide on the way down the hill on lap 4, but he was able to correct and stay ahead of Paget. There were two safety car interventions in succession on laps 6 and 8, with Pussier’s teammate Gilles Chauvin spinning out at Turn 2 in an incident with a backmarker causing the second neutralization. The main drama came with just over four minutes to go as the front of Thome’s Audi came loose, but he was able to stay out and hold on to claim his third win in a row, and also his seventh in the season.
Race 4 – Thome started on pole ahead of Pussier and Paget, but on the way into T1, Pussier made light contact with the rear of Thome’s Audi and spun, with Paget able to make his way past into the lead. Thome came back at Paget to try and take second place on the following lap, but then slowed with a loose turbo pipe and returned to the pits. This meant Chauvin was now up to second, but for only about two corners before he went wide and spun out into the gravel trap, causing a safety car period. When the race resumed, the TCR cars were so split apart it was a comfortable run for Paget to claim his sixth win of the season, with Pussier recovering to second in the class and Christian Suter third, his career best result in the Circuit Toys Hyundai. Thome finished the race in fourth, one lap down.
Dijon-Prenois – Race 1
- Sébastien Thome (Team Clairet Sport, Audi RS 3 LMS), 16 laps
- Julien Paget (Optimum Racing ASM, CUPRA Leon Competición), 2.647
- Sylvain Pussier (SP Compétition, CUPRA Leon VZ), 3.185
Dijon-Prenois – Race 2
- Sébastien Thome (Team Clairet Sport, Audi RS 3 LMS), 17 laps
- Sylvain Pussier (SP Compétition, CUPRA Leon VZ), 0.487
- Julien Paget (Optimum Racing ASM, CUPRA Leon Competición), 1.134
Dijon-Prenois – Race 3
- Sébastien Thome (Team Clairet Sport, Audi RS 3 LMS), 16 laps
- Julien Paget (Optimum Racing ASM, CUPRA Leon Competición), 0.505
- Sylvain Pussier (SP Compétition, CUPRA Leon VZ), 0.804
Dijon-Prenois – Race 4
- Julien Paget (Optimum Racing ASM, CUPRA Leon Competición), 17 laps
- Sylvain Pussier (SP Compétition, CUPRA Leon VZ), 34.001
- Christian Suter (Circuit Toys, Hyundai i30 N), 36.852
Championship points
- J. Paget, 176 pts; 2. S. Pussier, 163; 3. S. Thome, 151
Picture: SRO
