Eric Gené wins Race 2 and is TCR Spain’s early leader
The 18-year-old Eric Gené raced like a veteran to score a brilliant victory in Race 2 of TCR Spain’s season opener at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. At the wheel of his Monlau Motorsport-run CUPRA Leon VZ, the young Spaniard kept a cool head on the wet track, benefitted from his rivals’ mistakes and won a door-to-door fight with Michael Markussen to claim his first win of the season that, added to the pole position and a second place in Race 1, enabled him to take an early lead in the championship.
His main rival Mike Halder, who had won the first race in his TPR Motorsport Honda Civic, was eliminated in a first-lap collision with Jenson Brickley.
Race 1 – Ruben Volt topped qualifying, but he and Sten Dorian Piirimägi (third fastest) had lap times disallowed because not enough fuel was left in the tank for checks. Gené inherited the pole ahead of Felipe Fernández and Erik Zabala. Halder was seventh fastest, nailed by a mechanical problem in Q2, but advanced to fifth after the penalties.
At the start, Gené kept Felipe Fernández at bay, while Rubén Fernández and Halder advanced to third and fourth ahead of Zabala. In lap 1, Felipe Fernández stole the lead from Gené who was also passed by Halder, while Rubén Fernández dropped after clashing with Zabala. In lap 3, Halder overtook Felipe Fernández for the lead, while Brickley passed Giovanni Scamardi for P4; Volt had already recovered to sixth.
The safety car was deployed in lap 4, to tow Victor Fernández’s Honda out of the gravel; when green was waved in lap 5, Felipe Fernández had a slow reflex and was passed by Gené, Brickley and Scamardi, dropping to fifth. He repassed Scamardi in lap 6, but they made contact, and the Spaniard spun off, prompting the safety car. Volt benefitted from the commotion to take P4. Racing resumed in lap 10, with Halder leading from Gené, Brickley and Volt, which is how they finished; however, Brickley was handed a five-second penalty for an incident and dropped to fifth behind Volt and Markussen. Zabala was hit by a similar penalty and slipped from fifth to eighth.
Race 2 – Guillaume Savoldelli and Scamardi shared the front row of the top ten reversed grid; the race started on a track that was wet by the rain. René Povlsen sprinted from P3 to lead into T1, but he was soon passed by Brickley and Halder, who then collided and went off. The safety car was deployed, when racing resumed in lap 6, Gené was the leader ahead of Scamardi, Markussen, Zabala, Rubén Fernández and Povlsen, with Volt in eighth place. Gené pulled away, while Markussen overtook Scamardi for second; further back Piirimägi retired after coming together with Rubén Fernández, and the safety car returned into action to recover Demir Eröge’s Honda from the gravel. The green flag was waved for a three lap-sprint to the end, with Felipe Fernández overtaking his brother Rubén, Zabala and Scamardi advancing to P3. Up front, Markussen put the pressure on Gené who rejected a muscular attack from the Dane and won by 0.8 seconds. Felipe and Rubén Fernandez followed, with Volt fifth.
TCR Spain will resume in two weeks at Motorland Aragón.
Race 1
- Mike Halder (TPR Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 13 laps
- Eric Gené (Monlau Motorsport, CUPRA Leon VZ), 1.059
- Ruben Volt (ALM Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 4.172
Race 2
- Eric Gené (Monlau Motorsport, CUPRA Leon VZ), 10 laps
- Michael Markussen (Markussen Racing, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 0.801
- Felipe Fernández (RC2 Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 1.381
Championship points
- E. Gené, 85 pts; 2. M. Markussen, 64; 3. Volt, 54
Picture: TCR Spain/Carlos Casimiro
