Vincent Radermecker takes comfortable win in Zolder Race 1

Vincent Radermecker took his second win of the 2016 TCR Benelux season in Race 1 at Zolder, overtaking pole-sitter Sam Dejonghe’s WRT SEAT early in the race and pulling away to take an easy victory in his Milo Racing Volkswagen Golf.

Dejonghe held on to the lead at the start, while Radermecker kept his second position, covering off a fast-start from the DG Opel of Frédéric Caprasse, who tried to move up the inside into Turn 1.

Dejonghe led the first two laps ahead of Radermecker, the Boutsen-Ginion Honda of Benjamin Lessennes and the WRT Volkswagen of Maxime Potty.

Radermecker waiting until lap three to make his move, diving down the inside of Dejonghe at Turn 1 and took the lead. Behind him, Potty passed Lessennes for third, and the two drivers had passed Dejonghe by the end of the lap.

Potty was then knocked off at the Villeneuve chicane on lap four, with the stewards soon handing Lessennes a drive-through penalty for the incident.

By the time Lessennes served his penalty, actually pitting with a mechanical issue on lap seven, Delahaye Racing’s Didier Van Dalen was now up to second ahead of Dejonghe, who was now being harried by Caprasse’s Opel Astra TCR.

Behind the leading quartet, the Delehaye Racing Volkswagen of Romain De Leval was having to defend hard against the best-placed Honda in the race of three-time BTCC drivers’ champion Matt Neal.

The two SEATS ofEdouard Mondron and José Rodrigues and the Volkswagens of Steve Vanbellingen and Maxime Potty completed the top ten.

Race 2 follows with the grid as Race 1’s finish following a one-lap safety car intervention.