8
WORLD AND LIFE
TCR 2017
NEWS
HOME
DRIVERS TEAM
Like Tassi and fellow Hungarian Ferenc
Ficza, the two Leopard Racing
Volkswagen Golf cars were also victims
of the infamous Turn 9 at the
Salzburgring. Jean-Karl Vernay cracked a
rib after a puncture caused him to crash
during Race 1, while Rob Huff rolled his
car no fewer than six times after a
similar incident. Vernay’s car was
repaired in time for the two Hungarian
races, but Volkswagen Motorsport had to
rush a new car to Budapest for Huff,
although the team was at least able to
re-use the engine and so avoid a grid
penalty.
Victory in Race 1 at the Salzburgring
went to Dušan Borkovi
ć
in the GE-Force
Alfa Romeo Giulietta, while Mat’o
Homola recorded the best result of the
season for the DG Sport Compétition
Opel Astra by finishing second and
Stefano Comini completed the podium
in the Comtoyou Racing Audi RS 3 LMS.
Roberto Colciago won Race 2 – his third
victory of the season – with Tassi
making it a 1-2 for the M1RA Racing
team and Comini again finishing in third
place. Those two podium finishes and
Vernay’s retirement meant Comini leapt
to the head of the Drivers’ standings
leaving Austria.
A week later and the position had
changed completely. The far more twisty
Hungaroring was never going to suit the
Alfa Romeo and Audi cars and that’s
what duly happened. A frustrated
Comini – further weighed down by the
maximum 30kg of Success Ballast –
could only salvage a solitary point by
finishing tenth in Race 2, which meant
the series had its third different leader
in a little over eight days.