Photo: ADAC TCR

Steve Kirsch wins Hockenheim season finale

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Steve Kirsch won the final ADAC TCR Germany race of the season. The Honda Team ADAC driver led home fellow Honda driver Dennis Strandberg, while Ronny Jost completed the podium in the Topcar Sport SEAT.

The start was quite messy, as an accident involving Strandberg and team-mate Josh Files at the first corner saw the newly-crowned champion hit the wall at Turn 1 and picking up a front left puncture in the process, which forced him to retire. Another contact meant Antti Buri spun on the exit of Turn 2 into the Parabolika, the SEAT driver also retiring in the pits.

Meanwhile Pierre-Yves Corthals had taken the lead, only to lose it at Turn 2 and slip down to third. The safety car was deployed, with Jost in the lead ahead of Kirsch, Corthals, Benjamin Leuchter and Kai Jordan, while Strandberg was down to sixth after the contact at Turn 1.

The race restarted on lap four, and Corthals immediately started to lose places, ending up tenth at the end of the following lap. A contact with fellow Opel driver Mike Beckhusen meant the Belgian, who was crowned European TCR trophy champion yesterday, picked up front right damage and ended up in the wall before the Parabolika.

Meanwhile Strandberg’s superior pace meant the Swede quickly went up to second with a clean move on Jost at the hairpin, and started chasing Kirsch for the lead. As several battles raged on during the race, the Target Competition driver ended up in the leader’s slipstream with three laps to go.

Despite the pressure, Kirsch successfully defended from the Swede, therefore taking the final win of the season. Jost completed the podium ahead of HP Racing’s Harald Proczyk, with Kai Jordan fifth in the JBR Motorsport Volkswagen Golf Gti TCR, the German also winning the junior championship. Lukas Niedertscheider was sixth in his SEAT, ahead of stablemate Emil Westman.

Gosia Rdest came home eighth in the Team Engstler Volkswagen, with Jürgen Schmarl and Pascal Eberle completing the top ten.

The championship was won yesterday by Target Competition’s Josh Files.