Montenegro is champion, as Halder wins the last races
Ignacio Montenegro was crowned TCR Spain champion at the end of the last race of the season at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. One year after clinching the TCR South America title and one month after winning gold in the FIA Motorsport Games, the Argentine teenager added another gem to his short but sparkling career. At the wheel of his ALM Motorsport-run Honda Civic FL5, Montenegro took the lead in the standings after the third place in Saturday’s Race 1, capitalizing on his rivals’ troubles. Jenson Brickley, the previous points leader who hadn’t raced in Barcelona before, was never competitive throughout the weekend, while Erik Zabala lost his chances when he retired from third in Race 1 with a technical issue.
As Montenegro focused on scoring points, guest star Mike Halder dominated both races, making a winning return to the TCR Spain three years after securing the 2021 title. The German and his TPR Motorsport Honda Civic FL5 set pole position, claimed a lights-to-flag win in Race 1 and won the second race from tenth on the reversed grid.
Race 1 – The Q1 part of qualifying had been disrupted three times by the red flag after the incidents of Eric Gené, Sven Karuse and Victor Fernández. Marco Aguilera did not take part following an incident in Friday’s practice that sidelined him for good. In Q2, Halder won the pole, beating Montenegro by 0.349 seconds, while points leader Brickley qualified sixth. At the start, Halder led from Felipe Fernández, while Zabala sprinted from P7 on the grid and overtook Montenegro for third into T1; Nicolas Taylor made a slow getaway and dropped from P4 to 11th. Gené, who had started from P24 following his incident in Q1, elbowed his way through the field up to 10th by the end of lap 2, chasing the pair of Brickley and Taylor. In lap 3, Ruben Volt passed Rubén Fernández for sixth and one lap later Gené and Taylor moved up to eighth and ninth ahead of Brickley. In lap 5, Volt advanced to fifth overtaking Teddy Clairet, while Gené’s progression continued as he passed Rubén Fernández for P7 in lap 6 and then Clairet for P6 in lap 8. Up front, Halder had built a comfortable margin over Felipe Fernández, while Zabala’s pace faded during the last part of the race. He began losing positions and retired on the penultimate lap, dropping out of the title fight.
Halder won by 4.4 seconds ahead of Felipe Fernández, while Montenegro inherited the third position; Volt was classified fourth despite a five-second penalty for jump start and Gené completed an outstanding recovery to fifth. Brickley was classified ninth and lost the points lead to Montenegro.
Race 2 – The Monlau Motorsport CUPRA VZ cars of Sandro Pelatti and Miguel Ángel Romero shared the front row of the top ten reversed grid; title contenders Montenegro and Brickley were ninth and fifth, with the Argentine on a six-point lead. Pelatti led the field at the start, but during the first lap he was passed by Clairet and Romero before being swallowed by the pack. Clairet pulled away while there was a battle for second between Romero, Zabala, Volt and Halder. In lap 3, Halder who had started from P10 passed Volt and Zabala moving into second and began to set fastest laps. Meanwhile, Montenegro was running fifth and Brickley dropped from seventh to ninth behind Taylor and Felipe Fernández. Clairet’s lead of 3.8 seconds in lap 4 shrank quickly to 1.4 at the end of lap 6, 0.8 in lap 7 and 0.1 in lap 8. Despite the Frenchman’s defence, Halder took the lead in lap 9 and went to take his second victory of the weekend, while Volt slowed and dropped from fourth to eighth. During the final lap, Zabala closed in on Clairet who retained the second place by four tenths. With the fourth position, Montenegro secured the title, while Gené completed another brilliant recovery from 24th on the grid to sixth behind Felipe Fernández.
Barcelona – Race 1
- Mike Halder (TPR Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 15 laps
- Felipe Fernández (Auto Club RC2 Vallès, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 4.423
- Ignacio Montenegro (ALM Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 7.877
Barcelona – Race 2
- Mike Halder (TPR Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 15 laps
- Teddy Clairet (Team Clairet Sport, CUPRA Leon VZ), 1.342
- Erik Zabala (Monlau Motorsport, CUPRA Leon VZ), 1.721
Championship points
- I. Montenegro, 243 pts; 2. J. Brickley, 223; 3. E. Zabala, 205
Picture: TCR Spain
