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WORLD AND LIFE
TCR 2017
NEWS
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DRIVERS TEAM
Dmitry Bragin has staked a serious
claim for his second consecutive TCR
Russia title. The TAIF Motorsport driver
put together a solid string of results in
the two latest events: one third and
one second place at the Smolensk Ring
and one victory (his fourth so far in
the season) at the Moscow Raceway.
Between the two race meetings, Bragin
switched back again from the SEAT
León to the Audi RS3 LMS he drove in
the first two events of the season
(which resulted in a grid penalty that
deprived him of the pole position in
Moscow’s Race 1) and further stretched
his leading margin in the standings.
With only one race meeting to go – at
Kazan Ring on September 23 and 24 –
and 53 points to be awarded, Bragin
has built a gap of 31 and 42 points
respectively ahead of the only
competitors who are still in
Bragin stakes
a claim on the title
contention: LADA Sport Rosneft’s
Vladimir Sheshenin and Lukoil Racing’s
Aleksey Dudukalo.
Sheshenin claimed his second victory
of the season in Smolensk’s Race 1,
leading home his LADA Sport Rosneft
teammate Kirill Ladygin, with Bragin
in third position.
The second race was won by Lukoil
Racing’s Klim Gavrilov – his maiden
victory in the series – who benefited
from a mistake by Irek Minnakhmetov
who had taken the lead at the start.
Eventually Bragin managed to overtake
Minnakhmetov and finished second
behind Gavrilov.
The following event at the Moscow
Raceway provided plenty of emotions.
Vitaliy Dudin (Akhmat Racing Team
SEAT León) became the seventh
different winner in the current season,
as he emerged victorious in Race 1
Results
Smolensk Ring, Round 9, Saturday 5
August
1. Vladimir Sheshenin (LADA Vesta);
2. Kirill Ladygin (LADA Vesta); 3.
Dmitry Bragin (SEAT León)
Smolensk Ring, Round 10, Sunday 6
August
1. Klim Gavrilov (SEAT León); 2.
Dmitry Bragin (SEAT León); 3. Irek
Minnakhmetov (Audi RS3 LMS)
Moscow Raceway, Round 11, Saturday
19 August
1. Vitaliy Dudin (SEAT León); 2.
Vladimir Sheshenin (LADA Vesta); 3.
Nikolay Karamyshev (SEAT León)
Moscow Raceway, Round 12, Sunday
20 August
1. Dmitry Bragin (Audi RS3 LMS); 2.
Aleksey Dudukalo (SEAT León); 3.
Vladimir Sheshenin (LADA Vesta)
after a thrilling three-way fight with
Sheshenin and Dudukalo who completed
the podium. Bragin recovered from the
back of the grid to finish in fifth
position.
The second race turned into a perfect
demonstration of Bragin’s ability to
exploit the situation at its best. He made
a great start from the second row of the
grid and led Dudukalo throughout the
whole distance; behind them the battle
for third position raged, involving up to
seven drivers in door-to-door fighting.
Finally it was Sheshenin who finished
third, beating Dudin on the line.