Luca Engstler takes lights-to-flag Sachsenring win

Luca Engstler won the first race of the weekend at the Sachsenring, managing to keep his Hyundai i30 N TCR in the lead at the start and never looking back. Fellow front row starter Mike Halder finished second in his Honda Civic TCR, with new championship leader Harald Proczyk completing the podium in his Opel Astra TCR.

While the start was smooth at the front, Max Hesse got squeezed between Niko Kankunnen and Justin Häußermann. Hesse emerged unscathed, whereas Kankunnen and Häußermann both picked up damage. The safety car was deployed, and there were no major changes at the restart.

The most entertaining battles were between Hyundai driver Theo Coicaud and Cupra’s Pascal Eberle for fourth, and Michelle Halder defending sixth from Audi driver Antti Buri. The Finn overtook the Cupra 13 minutes into the race and went on to chase Eberle, only to be interrupted by Francesco Ruga going off and causing another safety car period.

At the restart Buri continued his remarkable charge from 13th on the grid by passing Eberle in the third sector on the restart lap. It took another two laps to get closer to Choicaud and passing the Frenchman by selling him a dummy. The Hyundai driver was quick to react however, and re-gained his fourth place with a clean move at the last corner.

The scrap allowed Eberle to get close to the duo. As Choicaud and Buri fought for fourth into the first corner, Eberle saw a gap and tried to pass both of them, but ultimately there wasn’t enough space for the three cars and Buri was squeezed between his two rivals. The contact resulted in Choicaud and Eberle ending up in the gravel, causing the third and final safety car of the race with six minutes to go.

There were no major changes after the restart and Engstler won the race ahead of Halder and Proczyk. Buri finished fourth after a spectacular charge through the field, but the incident that caused the last safety car is still under investigation by the stewards. Michelle Halder finished a good fifth in her Cupra, ahead of former championship leader Niels Langeveld in his Audi RS 3 LMS.

Luke Wankmüller was seventh at the flag in his Opel Astra TCR, ahead of Max Hesse’s Audi. Dominik Fugel in his Honda Civic and Benjamin Leuchter in his Volkswagen Golf completed the top ten.

The championship battle is now tighter than ever, with Proczyk in the lead and Langeveld and Engstler both 3 points behind the leader. Honda’s Mike Halder is a further 22 points behind. The second race at the Sachsenring is scheduled for Sunday at 14:45 CEST.