Luck plays its part as Jimmy Clairet takes narrow TCR Europe points lead
Team Clairet Sport’s Jimmy Clairet believes luck was on his side on the opening TCR Europe weekend of the year at Portimão, enabling the Frenchman to establish an early series points lead.
Having topped second practice on Friday, the Audi RS 3 LMS driver stormed to pole position by the narrowest of margins before profiting from a first-lap incident behind him to build a healthy lead at the start of race one on Saturday.
Clairet was then able to withstand a fierce challenge from Monlau Motorsport’s Eric Gené to claim victory, but conceded that the latter’s Cupra León Competición may have been more of a threat had Gené not lost time at the start.
“I was a bit lucky with the crash behind me, as Gené was flying,” Clairet said. “I tried to manage the tyres and not make any mistakes, and then won the race, so I’m really happy.
“The championship is long, so from tenth you have to wait for any opportunities to overtake.”
Prior to Sunday’s second race of the weekend, Clairet said that a top 10 finish was his “minimum” objective, something he managed comfortably with a strong run to fifth place in the reversed grid race.
That surge has proved crucial for Clairet, who leaves Portugal with a three-point margin over race two winner Jenson Brickley, who was promoted to second place on Saturday following a post-race penalty for his Monlau Motorsport Cupra team-mates Gené.
“When we saw the entry list we knew it would be really tough this season,” Clairet added. “This year with Audi we have a really good car to compare ourselves with other teams.
“I want to thank my dad for all that he does for us, and to the team, they did a fantastic job.”
For Brickley, a strong getaway off the line at the start of race two proved critical to the British driver claiming his maiden TCR Europe victory, having controlled the race throughout despite the attentions of Felipe Fernández’s Honda Civic Type-R.
Post-race, Brickley said that he has now got a handle on his launches, having previously struggled in this area.
“It feels amazing, I have finally got the starts mastered now, I got a good start and it was all about managing the lead from there.
“I pushed for the first two laps and then the safety car came out and I was like: ‘oh no!’ but then two safety car restarts went well.
“I couldn’t be happier, thanks to the team Monlau; amazing car and to all the sponsors.”
Clairet leads the points standings heading into round two of the 2025 TCR Europe season at Spa-Francorchamps on the weekend of 16-17 May, with 58 points, three clear of Brickley.
Courtesy of his upgraded podium result in race one and fourth place finish in race two, Teddy Clairet lies third in the standings, with 43 points, while Fernández is fifth with 31, one point ahead of MA:GP’s Viktor Andersson who rounds out the top five.
