Korean and British drivers take trophies as series returns from summer break
Elantra N TCR drivers Junesung Park and Alex Ley scored a podium apiece as the TCR Italy season resumed at Imola (September 7-8).
British driver Ley qualified as the best of the Hyundai Motorsport customers in fifth, the first of three Elantra N TCR in the top ten ahead of Park in sixth and Gabriele Covini in eighth. However, in the race it was Korean Park who made the better start, darting from the outside of the third row into second before turning into the Tamburello chicane for the first time, while Ley was boxed in at the rolling start and could make no ground.
Park held the position throughout race, though following a restart after a lap one Safety Car his focus increasingly became defence as the leading two drivers pulled away. By the end of the race the Solite Indigo Racing driver led a four-car train, covered by just over a second, across the line. Ley had been part of the battle until he suffered a puncture just as he passed the pit entrance to begin another lap. After having to crawl around the full 4.9km circuit and make a pitstop Ley rejoined to finish a lap down.
Covini started his BRC Racing Team car from pole position for Race 2 but was quickly passed by the other front runners including Ley, who moved into second and Park, who initially took third despite being forced onto the grass on the run to the first corner before passing Ley for second further around the opening lap. Park seemed to be on course for second trip of the weekend to the podium until he picked a puncture with seven minutes of the half-hour race remaining. Target driver Ley was the first driver to benefit from Park’s problem, picking up second place to score his first podium since the opening weekend of the season.
Michele Imberti, Covini and Damiano Reduzzi finished eighth, ninth and tenth in their Elantra N TCR. The finish was the best result of his debut TCR season for Covini, while Imberti and Reduzzi scored their second top tens of the weekend after finishing eighth and ninth in Race 1.
