TCR World and life

22 EASTERN EUROPE DušanBorković takes itall THE SERB MAKES FOUR-FROM-FOUR ON HIS MAIDEN SEASON A newcomer to the championship, Dušan Borkovi č began his assault to the TCR Eastern Europe title in the best possible way, making clean sweeps in the first two events of the championship at Grobnik and Slovakia Ring. The Serb and his M1RA Motorsport Hyundai i30 N were in a league of their own, setting pole positions and winning all the four races. With the reigning champion Milovan Vesni ć forced to skip the Slovakia event because of COVID-19 travelling restrictions, Bence Boldizs moved into second in the standings, although 54 points behind Borkovi ć . GROBNIK – BORKOVI Č CONVERTS THE POLE INTO VICTORY Pole-sitter Borkovi č got away cleanly in Race 1, but Vesni ć passed Konopka for second and the trio completed the remainder of the 25- minute race in those positions. Behind them, Petr Č ižek dropped two places to eighth when he was passed by both Igor Stefanovski and Dušan Kouril, while Bence Boldizs and Jáchym Galaš spent the race battling for fourth and fifth. The safety car was deployed on Lap 3 after a contact between Szymon Jabłonski and Gábor Kismarty-Lechner. When racing resumed Borkovi č steadily pulled away from the pair in pursuit and took a well-deserved win ahead of Vesni ć and Konopka. In Race 2, Borkovi č made another perfect getaway from pole, while Konopka again had a slow launch, which allowed Vesni ć through into second place. As Borkovi č was able to pull away from Vesni ć and Konopka, the only major fight in the top ten involved the recovering Boldizs and Stefanovski. Up front, no one had anything for Borkovic, with the Serbian winning the race by 12 seconds over countryman Vesni ć , with Konopka completing the top three, replicating the same podium result as Race 1. SLOVAKIA RING – ANOTHER ONE-MAN-SHOW FOR BORKOVI Č Borkovi č started Race 1 from pole and led the way, while Galáš passed Sandro Soubek for second on the opening lap, but it was clear neither had the pace to do anything about Borkovi č , who was already pulling away. On lap 3, Galáš and Soubek made contact as they continued their fight over second, with Galáš dropping to eighth, while Soubek now had Kou ř il just behind him. Galáš set about recovering ground to reclaim fifth by the finish. Soubek appeared to be on for a safe second, but he lost pace during the final lap, allowing Kou ř il to second at the line by two- tenths of a second. In Race 2, Borkovi č took the lead once again, from Soubek and Galáš, while Boldizs recovered seven places to fourth by the end of lap 5. Just as in the first race, Soubek’s pace began to fade as he struggled for grip, and he was passed by Galáš for second. Soubek continued to fall behind, and a lap later the third place was snatched by Bolsizs. After the race, Galáš was excluded because his Volkswagen Golf GTI failed to comply with the minimum ground clearance, and this promoted Boldizs and Soubek to second and third. The next event of the series takes place at the Automotodrom Brno on September 5th-6th.