Photo: PSP Images

Mario Dablander wins at home in Salzburg

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Mario Dablander took victory in Austria for Target Competition, leading an all SEAT Supercopa top five in the wet race.

Dablander had started fifth on the grid in the reversed grid second race, but had a great start and was up to third by the first corner behind Norbert Nagy’s Zengõ SEAT and Jordi Oriola’s Tuenti SEAT.

Further behind, Nicolas Hamilton ran into the back of Aurelién Comte’s SEAT at the first corner chicane which saw a multi-car accident created behind which also involved Mikhail Maleev, Peter Rikli Ferenc Ficza an created Igor Skuz.

Then at Turn 5, Jordi Oriola’s car shot straight off and into the barrier sustaining damage. The Spanish driver was able to return his car to the pits but would be out of the race.

The safety car was now out as cars were recovered from the first corner, with the race restarting on lap four. Mario Dablander was now in the lead and pulled away a large gap to Nagy’s SEAT whilst Mat’o Homola battled to hold on to third.

Homola eventually lose third on lap seven, falling behind Anton Ladygin’s SMP Racing Russian Bears SEAT and also lost further positions to Aurelién Comte and Nikolay Karamyshev’s SEATs at Turn 5 and on the back straight of Lap 9.

On lap 11, Krenek Motorsport’s Michal Matejovsky spun on the start-finish straight and abandonded his car, bringing out a second safety car. This looked set to wipe out Dablander’s eight second lead over Anton Ladygin, who had just passed Norbert Nagy for second place, but did anything but as there was a pair of S1600 cars in-between them, which held back from Dablander as the race was restarted with one lap to go.

Dablander crossed the finish line as the green flag waved with a nine second lead and maintained it till the end, with Comte also able to gain one more spot and pass Nagy’s SEAT for third, and was side-by-side across the line fighting Ladygin for second, but Ladygin got the position by just five-hundredths of a second.

Mat’o Homola won in the S2000 class, finishing sixth overall whilst Kevin Krammes was the victor in S1600, 11th overall.

With Fulín’s DNF in race one and DNS in race two, Homola closes to just four points heading to the next round at Pergusa in yhe S2000 drivers’ standings.