Archiv rubriky: TCR Eastern Europe

After a year in the Clio Cup, Jiří Zbožínek stepped up to a much faster racing machine this year: the Hyundai Elantra. He joined the TCR Eastern Europe series, becoming the third driver for Hyundai Janík Motorsport. In the overall standings, Jiří finished 11th, and he took 3rd place in the Junior category.

How would you rate your debut season in TCR Eastern Europe 2024?

I’d say I rate it quite positively. Considering it was my first season in this category, I think there was noticeable progress throughout the year. Most importantly, I managed to achieve the goals I set for myself before the season began. So overall, I’d call it a good season.

What was the most intense moment of your 2024 season?

I think it was during the third round at Slovakiaring when I managed to finish on the podium. That was definitely the most intense moment for me.

Was there a particular time when you had to push to the absolute limit or even beyond?

That would also be at Slovakiaring. During the race, I knew I was in a good position, and I knew I had the pace to move up even further. So, I pushed hard to catch the driver ahead of me. I remember really having to go all out, and it was right on the edge. It was a hot weekend, and several drivers were struggling with tire issues, which made it even tougher.

How challenging was the transition from the Clio to the much more powerful TCR car?

It was definitely tough in the beginning. Even though the Clio and TCR cars have the same drivetrain layout, the TCR car is heavier, wider, longer, and overall just bigger. I had to get used to all of that. The handling was also quite new to me—the TCR car requires a very specific driving style, which I wasn’t used to. The starting procedure, in particular, was something I struggled with all season because it’s quite complicated. So, there were a lot of new things I had to learn.

How did your teammates Maťo Homola and Adam Kout help you progress this season?

They both played a big role in my progress. They have more experience, and they helped me a lot by analyzing my driving with me and giving me advice on how to improve. They were like teachers to me, and I was really grateful to be able to learn from them.

What goals did you set for yourself at the beginning of the season, and did you manage to achieve them?

At the start of the season, my goal was to consistently finish in the top 10 and score points. I managed to achieve that, so I’m really happy about it.

What was the most valuable lesson you learned during your first season in TCR?

Probably that I shouldn’t hesitate when I decide to do something.

How do you see your future in touring car racing? Are you planning to continue in TCR Eastern Europe?

That’s a tough question because everything changes so quickly. But I definitely want to continue in the TCR Eastern Europe series, at least for next year. We’ll see how things go and what opportunities come up after that.“

Maťo Homola has moved up to fifth position in the Kumho TCR World Ranking after winning his second title in TCR Eastern Europe. Adam Kout has become the second driver from the series to break into the top ten following his podium finish at the 2024 edition of the FIA Motorsport Games.

The Czech driver joins his Slovakian teammate from Hyundai Janík Motorsport, Maťo Homola, among the top ten ranked drivers worldwide, thanks to a strong performance at the Valencia circuit, where he finished behind Ignacio Montenegro and Raphael Reis.

Teammates from Mertel Motorsport, René Kircher and Davit Kajaia, are in 39th and 40th positions, respectively. Petr Čížek, who has competed in TCR Eastern Europe since its inception, is in 69th position. Also within the top 100 is Žarko Knego, who holds 86th place.

Maťo Homola – 5th

Adam Kout – 10th

René Kircher – 39th

Davit Kajaia – 40th

Petr Čížek – 69th

Žarko Knego – 86th

Ivars Vallers – 105th

Giacomo Ghermandi – 104th

Attila Bucsi – 151st

Martin Kadlečík – 156th

Jiří Zbožínek – 182nd

Vít Smejkal – 198th

Jorden Dolischka – 233rd

Frano Dubreta – 283rd

Radim Adámek – 289th

foto: FIA Motorsport Games

The unique FIA Motorsport Games, essentially the „Olympic Games of racing,“ took place last weekend at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit in Valencia. Among nearly 700 participants were three familiar names from TCR Eastern Europe – Davit Kajaia, René Kircher, and Adam Kout, who brought a bronze medal home to the Czech Republic.

Kajaia and Kircher had been teammates in the TCR Eastern Europe series for the past two years, racing a Honda Civic for the Mertel Motorsport team. However, this time, they were competing for their respective countries, as was Adam Kout, who finished second in this year’s TCR EE driver standings.

Only Kircher and Kout met on the Ricardo Tormo track in the touring car discipline, as Kajaia represented his country, Georgia, in the Single Make GT category, driving a Ferrari 296 Challenge. Kajaia was among the fastest drivers, winning the first free practice session and setting the second-fastest time in Qualifying 1. The race also went well for him; however, he and five other drivers were hit with a 25-second penalty for a starting procedure infringement, finishing 7th in the final classification.

Kircher and Kout represented Germany and the Czech Republic, respectively, in the TCR race. Knowing each other well, their battle for fifth place in the qualifying race was both spectacular and fair. Kircher put significant pressure on Kout, looking for an opportunity to pass. Unfortunately, a large white cloud of smoke soon emerged from under Kircher’s hood, forcing him to retire with a broken turbo. Kout, meanwhile, finished the qualifying race in third place, securing an excellent position for the medal race.

Although Kout was twice hit in the same corner by two different drivers and pushed off the track, he never stopped fighting in final race. He managed to catch up with his competitors twice and was back in contention. When penalties were issued to his opponents for collisions, Kout finished fourth. Later, the race winner was disqualified due to a technical infringement, moving Kout into third place and awarding him the bronze medal for the Czech Republic. Unfortunately, René Kircher was unable to finish either the qualifying race or the main race.

The 2024 TCR Eastern Europe season delivered thrilling races and fierce competition, with Slovakian champion Maťo Homola defending his title after a consistent and strong campaign. Close behind, Adam Kout made an impressive push to the title, while Hungary’s rising star Attila Bucsi showcased his talent, pushing Homola to the limit. Here’s how these top three drivers made their mark on a season.

Maťo Homola

Slovakian racer Maťo Homola has been a part of the Janík Motorsport team since 2021, though he has been competing in touring car races for over a decade. In the last two years, he has been putting his experience to good use in the TCR Eastern Europe series. Last year, during his first full season in the series, he secured the title even before the final race, and this year, he successfully defended it. He claimed five victories in Saturday’s sprint races, and in Sunday’s races, where he started from the middle of the grid, he always raced cautiously. He avoided unnecessary risks, which earned him another four podium finishes. His consistent point-scoring finishes were key to his second TCR Eastern Europe title. Out of twelve races in the 2024 season, he never finished lower than sixth.

Adam Kout

Adam Kout returned to motorsport in 2023. After years competing in Superkart, he got back to grips with racing a touring car, driving the Hyundai Elantra for Janík Motorsport, and immediately showed that he hadn’t lost any of his speed – quite the opposite. This year, he was one of the serious title contenders in TCR Eastern Europe and collected the most points in the second half of the season, including four wins. He steadily closed the gap on his teammate Homola and, at the final race in Salzburg, he was willing to take more risks than ever before. This earned him two victories, but he still finished five points behind the ever-consistent Homola. If it hadn’t been for a puncture at the Slovakia Ring, which forced him to retire from second place, the overall result could have looked very different.

Attila Bucsi

Attila Bucsi demonstrated his talent in 2023, with a winning debut at the final TCR Eastern Europe race in Brno. Right from the start of this season, he was among the title contenders and dominated the Sunday sprints. He held second place in the overall standings, just behind Maťo Homola, and they battled for every point. Driving a Hyundai i30 N TCR, prepared by M1RA Motorsport, Bucsi took wins in his home country of Hungary, as well as in Austria and Slovakia. However, he didn’t participate in the last two events, which saw him drop to third place in the final standings. Nevertheless, Bucsi delivered impressive performances and, as a representative of the new generation of Hungarian racers, he has shown that his competitors will need to keep an eye on him.

The final race of the TCR Eastern Europe season at Salzburgring was a thrilling spectacle. Adam Kout won the race after starting from last place, battling for every position. Maťo Homola finished third, which was enough for him to secure his second title in a row.

Jiří Zbožínek from Hyundai Janík Motorsport started from pole position, with Jorden Dolischka from Mertel Motorsport alongside him. The second row was occupied by Žarko Knego and championship leader Maťo Homola. Ivars Vallers and Petr Čížek started from the third row, with René Kircher and Giacomo Ghermandi on the fourth. Homola’s teammate and championship contender, Adam Kout, started ninth, alongside Fraňo Dubreta.

Žarko Knego made a superb start, shooting into the lead with Zbožínek second, Ghermandi third, and Homola fourth. Unfortunately, Kout stalled the engine and started with a notable delay, but he soon caught up with the field, which was still tightly packed.

Ghermandi took the lead on the second lap, with Knego second and Homola third. However, Vallers had other plans and overtook both Homola and Knego for second. Soon after, Homola found his mirrors full of Kout. Kout executed a brilliant overtake at the first chicane, moving up to fourth, while Kircher seized the opportunity to overtake Homola as well.

Kout then attacked Knego but outbraked himself at the first chicane, taking the escape road and losing two positions. However, he made an unbelievable manoeuvre on the back straight, passing both Knego and Kircher three-wide and quickly moving up to third.

As the race entered its closing stages, Kout began closing the gap to second-placed Vallers, while Ghermandi maintained a comfortable lead. However, when Ghermandi braked into the first chicane, he locked up, crossed the gravel trap, and retired the car. At the same time, Kout passed Vallers to take the lead.

The final order was Kout, Vallers, and Homola, which was a safe position for Homola to clinch the title. René Kircher finished fourth, with Petr Čížek in fifth. Sixth place went to Knego, followed by Zbožínek and Dolischka.

The penultimate race of the TCR Eastern Europe season at Salzburgring was dramatic. Adam Kout started from pole position and won the race, with Giacomo Ghermandi second and René Kircher third. Championship leader Maťo Homola received a time penalty and dropped down the order.

Kout lined up on pole alongside René Kircher, with Maťo Homola and Ivars Vallers behind them. Kircher had the best start, managing to take the lead from Kout in the sprint to the tight first chicane. Behind them were Kajaia, Vallers, and then Homola.

All the drivers navigated the first chicane cleanly and continued without incident. Giacomo Ghermandi had an impressive start, moving up from eleventh to sixth.

Vallers made a mistake in the final chicane, losing a position, and Homola soon passed Kajaia to move into third place.

Kout was pushing Kircher, trying to find a way past. For a few laps, they were side by side, before Kout eventually overtook Kircher in the final chicane to take the lead. At the same time, Davit Kajaia ran off the track and crashed heavily into the barriers, which prompted the deployment of the safety car.

The order behind the safety car was Kout, Homola, Kircher, Ghermandi, Čížek, Vallers, Zbožínek, Knego, Dubreta, and Dolischka.

However, the race was soon red-flagged to allow repairs to the barriers. This played into the hands of Homola and his potential title win, but both he and Kircher were given a 10-second penalty for jump starts.

After a brief delay, the race resumed behind the safety car. Kout maintained his lead, with Kircher second, followed by Homola, Ghermandi, and a small gap to fifth-placed Čížek and the rest of the field.

Kout was under pressure, with just half a second separating him from Kircher, who had his mirrors full of Homola and Ghermandi. As we’ve seen multiple times this season, there was yet another clash between Homola and Ghermandi. The Italian driver almost spun Homola, but Slovakian driver managed to keep his car on the track and continued for a few more turns before Ghermandi eventually passed him.

There was also a close battle for fifth to tenth places between Čížek, Vallers, Dubreta, Zbožínek, Knego, and Dolischka. Unfortunately, a collision between Dubreta and Zbožínek at the first chicane caused Dubreta to spin, and the incident was investigated by the stewards.

Kout crossed the finish line first, with Kircher second, but his 10-second penalty dropped him to third behind Giacomo Ghermandi. Petr Čížek finished fourth, Vallers fifth, and Maťo Homola dropped to sixth after his time penalty. This result means that the points gap between Homola and Kout is now only 16 points heading into Sunday’s final race.

TCR EASTERN EUROPE – Race 1

The final round of the 2024 TCR Eastern Europe takes place at the Salzburgring, where this year’s champion will be decided. The battle between Adam Kout and Maťo Homola, teammates from Hyundai Janík Motorsport, began in qualifying.

The fastest driver in a twice red-flagged qualifying session was Adam Kout, which is crucial for his championship chances as he was awarded three points for this result. The second fastest was René Kircher from Mertel Motorsport, and third was Homola, who earned one point. This means the points difference between championship leader Homola and second-placed Kout is now 32 points.

Starting alongside Homola will be Ivars Vallers from the LV Racing team. The third row will feature Kircher’s teammate Davit Kajaia and Žarko Knego from the Autoklub Dubrovnik team. Jiří Zbožínek from Hyundai Janík Motorsport set the seventh-fastest time, with local driver Jorden Dolischka in eighth.

Ninth-fastest was Petr Čížek from Expres Auto Racing, and tenth was Fraňo Dubreta. Giacomo Ghermandi had an incident during qualifying and will start from the back of the grid.

TCR EASTERN EUROPE – Qualifying

Adam Kout from Hyundai Janík Motorsport claimed his second race victory of the season, this time at Automotodrom Brno. Thanks to this win, he remains in contention for the title against his teammate, Maťo Homola.

The combined TCR Europe and TCR Eastern Europe race in Brno provided thrilling racing throughout the weekend. Levente Losonczy and Bartosz Groszek started from the front row, followed by Giovanni Scamardi and Ignacio Montenegro. TCR Eastern Europe drivers Adam Kout and Martin Kadlečík lined up in the third row, with championship leader Maťo Homola just behind them.

The grid, with more than 20 cars, got away cleanly, side by side into the first corner. However, in the second turn, Petr Čížek and Žarko Knego collided, sending both off the track, which led to the deployment of the safety car.

The highest-placed TCR Eastern Europe driver was Adam Kout from Hyundai Janík Motorsport in seventh position. Martin Kadlečík from Aditis Racing was ninth, followed by Davit Kajaia, Giacomo Ghermandi, Felipe Fernández from TCR Europe, and Maťo Homola.

After the restart, the battle on the track resumed fiercely. Kadlečík soon found himself right behind Kout, who was trying to overtake the TCR Europe drivers ahead of him. Giacomo Ghermandi held third place, but Maťo Homola passed Davit Kajaia and closed in on the Italian.

It seemed as though Ghermandi would hold onto third, but unfortunately, he retired his car in the closing stages of the race. As a result, Homola moved up to third place, with Davit Kajaia fourth and Ivars Vallers fifth. Behind them were Fraňo Dubreta, René Kircher, Jiří Zbožínek, and Jorden Dolischka.

Thanks to Kout’s win, the championship battle will go down to the final race event of the season at Salzburgring. While Homola still has a comfortable lead, Kout remains mathematically in contention. Although the drivers‘ title chase was not decided in Brno, the team championship went to Hyundai Janík Motorsport. Homola, Kout, and Zbožínek scored enough points throughout the season to win their third consecutive team championship in TCR Eastern Europe.

The fourth round of TCR Eastern Europe was marked by the success of the Hyundai Janík Motorsport team. Maťo Homola continued his tradition of Saturday victories, while on Sunday, Adam Kout celebrated his first win of the season at the Autodrom Most.

It seemed like the established pattern of this season would continue. In the previous three rounds at Balaton Park, Red Bull Ring, and Slovakia Ring, Maťo Homola with his Hyundai Elantra won every Saturday, and Attila Bucsi with his Hyundai i30 N TCR from the M1RA Motorsport team took the top spot every Sunday.

Homola absolutely dominated the Saturday race in Most. He secured pole position in the wet qualifying session and maintained his lead despite a slight nudge from Giacomo Ghermandi at the first chicane right after the start. Homola held onto first place with Adam Kout closely following him throughout the race. There was no battle between them, and instead, they pulled away from their pursuers, building a comfortable lead at the front.

However, the opening laps behind them were intense, and it took a few minutes for the order to settle. The race finished at a steady pace, which is typical for the first race of the weekend, where the starting grid is determined by qualifying. René Kircher with his Honda Civic from the Mertel Motorsport team secured third place ahead of Attila Bucsi, while Petr Čížek managed to keep Žarko Knego behind him in fifth.

The Sunday race was more exciting. Maťo Homola drew the highest possible number, 10, which meant the top ten drivers were reversed for the second race. Homola and Kout started from the fifth row. After a string of four second-place finishes, Kout was determined not to settle for another silver but aimed to win on his home track. In the first lap, he moved from ninth on the grid to take the lead and never looked back. His race seemed smooth, but two yellow phases and red flags made his path to his first win of the season more complicated. Nevertheless, he managed every restart safely, preventing second-place Petr Čížek with his Cupra from making an attack. Čížek, from the Expres Auto Racing team, achieved his first podium of the year, making it even sweeter as it was on his home track. The podium, filled with smiles, was completed by Croatian Žarko Knego with his Hyundai Elantra, who also celebrated his first top-three finish of the year.

For the first time this season, Attila Bucsi didn’t reach the podium. The young Hungarian had been contending with Homola for the title, but his fourth and sixth places in Most complicated his situation, allowing Adam Kout to close the gap to just six points.

There are still two rounds left in the season, which means the standings, with Homola, Bucsi, and Kout in the top three positions, can still change.

TCR Eastern Europe – Qualifying

TCR Eastern Europe – Race 1

TCR Eastern Europe – Race 2

Driver Standings

Juniors and Teams Standings