Photo: TCR Media

Luca Engstler extends championship lead with Yeongam Race 2 win

Luca Engstler won the second race of the day at the Korea International Circuit in his Engstler Motorsport Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR, which was held in the rain after the clouds opened up between races, and in doing so extended his newly acquired points lead.

Elegant Racing’s Alex Liu started from pole after KMSA Hyundai driver Kang Wong Doo was forced to start from the pit lane, and the Maximum Racing Hyundai of Lo Sze Ho failed to make the grid after retiring from Race 1.

Liu’s Cupra TCR led the way through the first corner, but was passed by Mitchell Cheah’s Engstler Volkswagen at Turn 3.

Liu tried to dive back down the inside of Cheah for the lead at Turn 4, but spun and dropped to fourth, with Chariya Nuya in the BBR Honda Civic now second ahead of Luca Engstler’s Volkswagen.

Engstler quickly passed Nuya for second and was closing on his team-mate, while Diego Moran briefly made it an Engstler 1-2-3 when he passed Nuya’s Honda for third on lap two.

An incident for Indigo Hyundai driver Cho Hoon Hyun and Alex Liu on lap three saw the safety car deployed, just as Engstler made his move for the lead on Cheah at Turn 4.

Engstler was forced to hand the position back before the restart on lap six, but he soon re-passed Cheah for the lead at Turn 6, with Cheah now defending against the Viper Niza Racing Cupra TCR of Kantadhee Kusiri, who was now up to third ahead of Moran.

Kusiri made his move on Cheah on lap eight, passing the Volkswagen at Turn 12 and began closing down Engstler, but was unable to make a move, with Engstler winning the race by just four-tenths of a second.

Cheah completed the overall podium ahead of Moran, with Indigo Hyundai driver Kang Byung Hui classified in fifth overall and the winner of the TCR Korea series race within a race, but a timing glitch may mean the results will be amended, with BrandNew Racing’s Alex Hui understood to be fifth overall, but was shown as a lap down on the timing screens after he started from the pit lane.

Chariya Nuya was classified in sixth, the best-placed Honda driver, ahead of Nattachak Hanjitkasem, with Kim Byoung Hyun eighth in the DreamRacer Honda Civic Type R FK8 TCR.

TCR Korea Race 1 winner Andrew Kim was ninth, with Cho Hoon Hyun recovering to tenth in the second Indigo Hyundai i30 N TCR.

The season finale of the TCR Asia series takes place at the Shanghai International Circuit in China on October 5th, while the TCR Korea series next races at the Inje Speedium in South Korea on September 30th.