Kout and Ghermandi take wins in TCR Eastern Europe opening

Janík Motorsport’s Adam Kout and MM Motorsport’s Giacomo Ghermandi won the first two races of the TCR Eastern Europe season at the Red Bull Ring in Austria.

Saturday, last year’s vice champion Kout drove his Hyundai Elantra to a lights-to-flag victory in Race 1, while Ghermandi took his maiden win in Race 2 on Sunday at the wheel of his Honda Civic FL5, getting over the penalty that had stripped him of a second place in the first race.

Thanks to the pole position and a second in Race 2, Kout has built an early lead in the standings, with Ghermandi and Bartosz Groszek tied 17 points behind.

Race 1 – Kout had set the pole in a qualifying that was red-flagged two minutes before the end when Ghermandi spun off; the Italian had posted the second fastest lap, five tenths behind the pole and two thousandths ahead of Groszek.

At the start, Kout got away well and bid the rest of the field farewell; several seconds behind him Ghermandi and Groszek ran nose-to-tail until they were joined by Martin Kadklečik during the final laps. Eventually, Ghermandi was notified of a drive-through penalty for a grid infringement that he did not serve, which was converted into a time penalty of 30 seconds that dropped him from second to ninth, promoting Groszek and Kadklečik to the other podium places. The only thrill was offered by a three-car collision on lap 3 during the battle for P4, when Petr Čížek punted Kadklečik’s car into Martin Andersson’s. The Swede pitted for repairs, and Čížek was given a 10-second penalty that demoted him from fourth to seventh.

Race 2 – Andersson started from the reversed grid pole but was quickly passed by Ghermandi; the Swede battled with Čížek who edged ahead after they ran side-by-side in the opening lap. Andersson was passed by Kadklečik and Groszek; Kadklečik moved up to third when Čížek made a mistake and ran wide on lap 4. Kout worked his way through the order and passed Groszek for P3. Kadklečik caught Ghermandi on lap 7 but ran wide as he tried to go around the outside and found himself battling with Kout. The two drivers fought for four laps, with Kout eventually getting past on lap 10, but their battle had allowed Ghermandi to build a two-second lead, which Kout was unable to overcome before the end of the race.

The series will return to Austria for racing at the Salzburgring on May 30^th/June 1^st.

Race 1

1. Adam Kout (Janík Motorsport, Hyundai Elantra N), 14 laps
2. Bartosz Groszek (Aditis Racing, Audi RS 3 LMS), 2.256
3. Martin Kadklečik (Aditis Racing, Audi RS 3 LMS), 5.428

Race 2

1. Giacomo Ghermandi (MM Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 16 laps
2. Adam Kout (Janík Motorsport, Hyundai Elantra N), 0.851
3. Martin Kadklečik (Aditis Racing, Audi RS 3 LMS), 5.602

Championship points

1. A. Kout, 48 pts; 2. G. Ghermandi, 31; 3. B. Groszek, 31

Picture: TCR Eastern Europe