TCR World and life

9 PURE ETCR’s third and fourth events at Copenhagen and Hugaroring proved that all the contenders can fight on equal terms. And that the ETCR racing cars are equally impressive on both the street circuits and the Grand Prix racetracks. With only one event left, at Pau-Arnos in France, CUPRA driver Mattias Ekström is still leading the standings with 273 points, 29 more than Hyundai Motorsport’s Jean-Karl Vernay. With 77 points at stake in the season finale, Ekström’s teammates Mikel Azcona – who lies third with a gap of 35 points – seems the only other driver who can still aim to be crowned champion thanks to his victory in the Pool B Super Final at the Hungaroring (above). After having won both finals at Vallelunga and MotorLand Aragón, Ekström had to bow twice to the Alfa Romeo Giulia cars of Luca Filippi in Denmark (left) and Philipp Eng in Hungary. Vernay too remained winless in the two most recent events; at Copenhagen he was third behind Ekström and was beaten by Azcona at the Hungaroring.