Kadlečík wins his first race and Kout strikes back at Salzburgring
Czech drivers Martin Kadlečík and Adam Kout won the TCR Eastern Europe races at the Salzburgring, while pole-sitter Giacomo Ghermandi provided most of the action, as he was involved in incidents while fighting for the podiums in both races.
Saturday, Kadlečík and Bartosz Groszek finished 1-2 for Aditis Racing and this was the maiden win for the Czech youngster. In the second race, Kout made good use of the pole position awarded in the reverse-grid draw and claimed his second victory of the season, which helped him to retain the lead in the standings, now just five points clear of Kadlečík; Groszek has climbed to third, six further points adrift.
Race 1 – Ghermandi sat on pole after topping Qualifying, 0.146 seconds ahead of Kadklečik; Kout was third fastest with a gap of three tenths. Ghermandi had a poor get away and dropped to third behind Kadlečík and Kout, while the safety car was soon out after Petr Čížek’s brand new CUPRA Leon VZ spun off into the gravel. When the race restarted, Ghermandi overtook Kout for second but with some contact, causing the rear bodywork of the Hyundai to start rubbing on its tyres. Kout’s race went from bad to worse, as he pitted with a puncture and finished the race a lap down in eighth. Ghermandi was passed by Groszek at T10 at the end of the race, but he would ultimately lose the podium in the Stewards’ room. The Italian driver was handed a ten second penalty for the incident with Kout and dropped to sixth while Ivars Vallers was promoted to third, completing a 1-2-3 finish for Audi cars.
Race 2 – Kout had the chance to recover ground starting from pole and led his teammate Jiří Zbožínek into the first corner. Zbožínek was soon under pressure from Ghermandi, who briefly moved ahead after cutting the chicane on lap 4, but he ceded the position back. Behind, the two Aditis Racing Audi cars were making their way through the pack, with Kadlečík passing Žarko Knego for P4.
Zbožínek had to pit for fixing a loose bonnet, which promoted Ghermandi and Kadlečík to second and third, but Ghermandi’s race was over after he span at T10 and went into the tyre barriers, causing a safety car period. When the race resumed, Kadlečík tried to attack Kout for the lead at the end of the back straight but left himself vulnerable to the attack from his teammate, who took the opportunity and snatched the second place. The battle between the Aditis Racing pair handed Kout a margin which he would keep until the chequered flag, with Groszek and Kadlečík completing the podium.
The series will resume after a two-month break, in Most on August 1st/3rd.
Race 1
- Martin Kadklečik (Aditis Racing, Audi RS 3 LMS), 16 laps
- Bartosz Groszek (Aditis Racing, Audi RS 3 LMS), 5.975
- Ivars Vallers (LV Racing, Audi RS 3 LMS), 12.947
Race 2
- Adam Kout (Janík Motorsport, Hyundai Elantra N), 15 laps
- Bartosz Groszek (Aditis Racing, Audi RS 3 LMS), 0.859
- Martin Kadklečik (Aditis Racing, Audi RS 3 LMS), 1.131
Championship points
- A. Kout, 78 pts; 2. M. Kadklečik, 73; 3. B. Groszek, 67
Picture: TCR Eastern Europe
