McCann wins in a thrilling finish to TC America race

Michael McCann jr took his first victory of the season in Race 1 at the Virginia International Raceway, with an all Audi podium denied at the very last minute when Michael Hurczyn’s Volkswagen dramatically snatched second place.
The eight-car field was depleted even before the race started, as Nate Vincent’s Volkswagen Golf had to be recovered after a mechanical issue on the formation lap. The race then began behind the safety car but the recovery was quickly completed and the green flag waved after just one lap.
McCann’s teammate Britt Casey jr led for much of the forty-minute race, with Hurczyn initially fighting for the lead with Casey until he ran wide and dropped four places on Lap 7. Following a visit to the pits to clear grass away from the car’s air intakes, the FCP Euro driver then started a fight back that ended in thrilling fashion in a last-gasp sprint for the line.
Bryan Putt had spun off on Lap 2 and a visit to the pits then dropped the ROWE Racing Audi down to last place before an impressive recovery drive through the entire TCA field meant Putt would eventually finish sixth. Not so fortunate was James Walker in the sole Alfa Romeo Giulietta, who came into the pits for some setup changes but couldn’t manage the same kind of recovery; the Risi Competizione car eventually ended the race as the last TCR entry to be classed as a finisher.
Hurczyn’s mishap had elevated McCann into second place behind Casey and the two Audi RS 3 LMS cars then ran first and second until Lap 18. McCann had been steadily catching his teammate and took the lead with around five minutes of the race remaining. It then looked as though it would be an all-McCann Racing top three, with Christian Cole having passed Victor Gonzalez to move into third place in the team’s other car on lap 14. Hurczyn clearly had other ideas and stormed around the final lap to set the fastest lap of the race and pass Gonzalez, Cole and Casey jr to dramatically snatch second place in the dying seconds, beating Casey by 30 thousandths. After the race, Casey was excluded because his car was underweight by 11 kilos.
Race 2 starts at 15.15 local time on Sunday (21.15 CET); live streaming at www.tcr-series.tv.

Race 1
1. Michael McCann jr (McCann Racing, Audi RS 3 LMS DSG), 19 laps
2. Michael Hurczyn (FCP Euro, Volkswagen Golf GTI), 8.844
3. Victor Gonzales (VGMC Racing, Honda Civic FK7), 9.474
4. Christian Cole (McCann Racing, Audi RS 3 LMS), 12.007
5. Bryan Putt (ROWE Racing, Audi RS 3 LMS), 2:06.212

Championship points
1. Hurczyn 94 pts; 2. Vincent 70; 3. Putt 58