Photo: TCR Media

Dusan Borkovic takes maiden TCR win in Bahrain

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Dusan Borkovic took his first career win in the TCR International Series at the wheel of the GE-Force Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR. Craft-Bamboo team-mates James Nash and Hugo Valente completed the podium for SEAT in an eventful race.

At the start Borkovic had a good getaway, but so did M1RA’s Attila Tassi. The Serbian had to wait for the second corner to take the lead, the move under investigation due to a track limits infringement. Tassi quickly lost places to Ferenc Ficza, James Nash and Jean-Karl Vernay’s WRT Volkswagen.

As Borkovic opened up a gap his rivals wouldn’t be able to close for the rest of the race, Ficza lost places as he tried to overtake Nash for second, and subsequently slipped down to seventh. A spectacular battle for that position including Tassi, Comtoyou Audi driver Stefano Comini, Craft-Bamboo’s Pepe Oriola, GE Force’s Davit Kajaia and WestCoast Racing’s Gianni Morbidelli started, and lasted for almost the entire race. The top five settled early in the race, with Borkovic leading Nash, Valente, Vernay and Colciago.

The battle for seventh continued until a touch between Comini and Morbidelli allowed Oriola through, the Spaniard resisting all attacks from Tassi, Comini and Morbidelli. On the last lap what looked like an engine failure put former championship leader Davit Kajaia out of the race again, oil spilling out of the power unit as the Alfa Romeo Giulietta came to a stop.

Dusan Borkovic won his first TCR International Series race ahead of James Nash and Hugo Valente, despite huge pressure from fellow Frenchman Jean-Karl Vernay and Roberto Colciago in the last two laps. Ferenc Ficza finished a lonely sixth in his SEAT, ahead of Pepe Oriola and M1RA’s Attila Tassi. Stefano Comini finished ninth in the Comtoyou Audi RS 3 LMS as Gianni Morbidelli completed the top ten for WestCoast Racing in his Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR.

The championship battle is now close as can be, with Vernay leading on 52 points, one more than new race winner Dusan Borkovic. Roberto Colciago is third, a further point behind, while Pepe Oriola makes it four brands in the top four of the standings, the SEAT driver 7 points behind the leader.

Action will resume on May, 7th, for the first European round of the season at Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium, on May, 7th.