Elantra N TCR customers secure win and podium
Our Elantra N TCR customers enjoyed a successful weekend at WTCR Race of France, which saw Jean-Karl claim his first of two wins of the day.
Hours before he secured the PURE ETCR Driver of the Weekend honour, Jean-Karl made a great start from second place in Race 2 to power into the lead. A late safety car brought the chasing pack back together, but with one final racing, the Engstler Hyundai N Liqui Moly Racing driver resisted pressure and returned to the top step of the podium. As a result of his win and sixth place in Race 1, Jean-Karl has vaulted up the standings to second, just 16 points shy of the leader.
“As soon as I gained the advantage on Yvan, it was just a question of controlling him and the tyres to make sure we didn’t have any problems,” said a jubilant Jean-Karl. “I’d like to say a huge thanks to the team – I’m very happy to be back in the championship fight and to have shown a great performance this weekend.”
His Team team-mate Luca narrowly missed out on the second phase of qualifying and started both races in 13th. Undeterred, the German made great progress in the races with his Elantra N TCR to finish ninth and 11th respectively. Following the Race of France, he sits 16th in the championship battle.
The races were much better than qualifying, coming up from 13th on the grid to ninth and 11th, scoring some good points for the team,” said Luca. “Now we need to focus on the next event, but I am very happy for my team-mate Jean-Karl today.”
Race 1 podium for Gabriele
BRC Racing Team’s Gabriele maintained his third place starting position as Race 1 got underway before the safety car was called. After the restart, there proved to be little opportunity to overtake around the undulating circuit, and Gabriele crossed the line to claim his second podium finish of the year.
“Not a bad weekend for me and for the Hyundai Elantra N TCR,” said a smiling Gabriele. “We are the heaviest car this weekend and at this twisty and slow circuit, it is quite hard to be carrying a lot of weight, but in this situation the car was showing an unbelievable pace – especially in qualifying.”
His team-mate Norbert scored extra points in qualifying, in which he was in the top three in every phase, and went on to convert his pace into a seventh and sixth place finish. The Hungarian had been running in a provisional podium place until midway through the race, when an issue with his front left tyre saw him fall down the order.
“I was really happy with my qualifying and race performance, but I am disappointed about the tyre failure in Race 2,” he admitted. “We’re not sure what caused the damage as I didn’t go wide or run over debris. It meant there was a huge fight at the end of the race to keep the cars behind.”
As a result of the weekend, Norbert is ninth in the drivers’ standings and Gabriele 11th.
The next round of the WTCR season, Race of Italy, is due to take place on November 6-7.
