Dusan Borkovic wins red-flagged Salzburg Race 1 while Team WRTs both crash out

Dusan Borkovic has won the first race of the day at the Salzburgring, with the Serbian having to fend off Mat’o Homola’s Opel throughout, while Team WRT suffered a disaster, with both Rob Huff and Jean-Karl Vernay crashing out at Turn 9 in separate incidents.

Borkovic launched his GE-Force Alfa Romeo into the lead ahead of Mat’o Homola’s Opel into the first corner, while Pepe Oriola held onto third in his Craft-Bamboo Racing SEAT, with James Nash up to fourth in the sister car ahead of Thomas Jäger’s Kissling Opel.

M1RA Honda’s Attila Tassi and Team WRT’s Rob Huff had started from the back, and after a strong start, Tassi was up to 13th by the end of lap one from 21st, with Huff up to 17th.

Stefano Comini managed to start making his way forward from lap three, passing Jäger’s Opel for fifth on lap three at Turn 1, though was forced to defend against Jäger on the backstraight against the Opel’s power. Comini then rapidly passed both the SEATs of Nash and Oriola to move up to third on lap eight.

An incident at Turn 1 between Icarus Motorsports’ Duncan Ende and ASK Vesnic’s Milovan Vesnic saw the Serbian’s Audi stranded in the gravel trap, while Ende was able to make his way around the circuit albeit with a puncture on his SEAT.

The safety car was deployed for this incident, but before the field could reach the safety car there was a major incident at Turn 9 for Team WRT’s Rob Huff, with the British driver crashing out heavily in his Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR, sustaining significant damage, ruling him out of Race 2.

The race was suspended behind the safety car for five laps, resuming on lap 12, with Homola challenging Borkovic’s Alfa for the lead, getting a nose ahead on the backstraight, but unable to get ahead.

Homola then had to switch to defend against Comini’s Audi, allowing Borkovic to escape again, while Jäger was able to pass both the SEATs which had overtaken him earlier to get back into fourth position.

The safety car was soon out again however, after Huff’s team-mate and championship leader Jean-Karl Vernay crashed out, also at Turn 9, with his car taking the hit mainly to the left-hand side of the car.

The race was suspended behind the safety car before being red flagged after 14 laps, with Borkovic declared the winner.

With Comini third and Vernay not finishing, Comini has closed to within three points of the Frenchman in the standings ahead of the second race, in which Roberto Colciago is due to start on pole position.