Klim Gavrilov delighted to secure first Touring Car Cup gold medal

Klim Gavrilov admitted he was thrilled to secure the first touring car gold medal in the FIA Motorsport Games after a battling second place in race two at Vallelunga.

The Russian driver had secured victory in the opening race of the weekend to secure the overnight lead in the standings and went into race two aware that a second place finish would wrap up the title regardless of the results for his closest rivals.

Starting from second on the grid, Gavrilov ran behind the similar Audi RS 3 LMS of Gilles Magnus throughout the race, despite intense pressure in the early stages from the Honda of Tom Coronel.

A late safety car that closed up the field then saw the teenager come under even more pressure from Coronel across the final lap, but he held on – despite contact in the final sector – to secure the result he needed to beat Magnus to the title by just two points.

“It’s great to be the first golden medalist for touring cars,” he said. “I’m very proud of myself and the team for this achievement. It’s just amazing! I had started the event in the proper way with victory in race one, so I knew that finishing second would be enough to win gold.

“I let Magnus pull away as I did not want to take any risks, but when the race resumed after the safety car period for the last lap, I had to fight hard to defend the second position. Coronel hit me a couple of times, but I managed to stay on the track and keep him behind.

“It was a tough, but fair fight, as this is real touring car racing!”