Photo: WTCR

Second half of wide open WTCR season commences at Most

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The FIA World Touring Car Cup will head to Autodrom Most in the Czech Republic for the first time this weekend as the second half of a wide open and competitive season continues.

The eight races of the season so far have provided eight different winners and the Lynk & Co Cyan Racing duo of Yann Ehrlacher and Santiago Urrutia are placed first and second, separated by just two points.

“Most looks like a good track for us. We are leading both championships currently and that’s the important thing. But it’s really close and things can quickly change, so we continue our focus on scoring consistently. I’m really looking forward to hit the track again after the long break,” said Yann Ehrlacher.

Hyundai driver Jean-Karl Vernay, who headed the standings in the early stages of the season, has dropped to third after a difficult run of races, 16 points from Ehrlacher.

“I have never been to Autodrom Most so I am not sure what to expect this weekend,” said Engstler.

“The team has competed there in the past so we have some data to use, and hopefully I can use all this experience to get ready as much as possible. We can’t afford to make mistakes anymore; we want to fight for the championship, so we have to be super focused to get back to where we want to be and have a strong weekend.”

Gilles Magnus is the top placed Audi driver in fourth position and had a strong weekend at the Hungaroring, winning Race 1. The Comtoyou Racing driver trails Ehrlacher by 19 points.

The compensation weights have changed ahead of this weekend, with weight gains for Cupra, Hyundai and Lynk & Co. The Hondas of Münnich Motorsport meanwhile will remain at the maximum 60kg.

Esteban Guerrieri is the best placed Honda driver in eighth position after a challenging first part of the season.

“I feel my title chances are still very open, and hope we can start the second half of the season on a strong note to get back in the hunt,” said Guerrieri.

Two drivers will have a hectic schedule this weekend as both Mikel Azcona of Zengo Motorsport, who is fighting for the TCR Europe drivers’ title, and Tom Coronel will take part in the TCR Europe finale at Barcelona.

The duo will take part in the practice and qualifying sessions at Most on Friday before heading to Barcelona for the qualifying and first race of TCR Europe.

The results during the Saturday will determine whether they will remain in Spain or head back to Most.

As the FIM Endurance World Championship is racing on Saturday, there is no WTCR track action that day.

The first race of the weekend takes place at 14:15 CEST on Sunday.

Schedule WTCR Race of Czech Republic
Friday – October 8th
12:00 – FP1
14:30 – FP2
16:45 – Qualifying

Sunday – October 10th
14:15 – Race 1
17:10 – Race 2