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Fulin and Borkovic win an ETCC race each to jointly lead standings

  • gb
21.06.15
As was the case at the opening round of the FIA European Touring Car Cup in Hungary, the two overall race winners in Slovakia both drove Single Make Trophy-specification SEAT León Cup Racers to jointly lead the SMT classification. Czech Petr Fulin took command of the opening race, while Serbia’s Dušan Borković won race two, which was enlivened by incidents, drama, and a safety car. There were intense battles throughout all the classes, with Davit Kajaia and Michal Matejovský each claiming a double victory in TC2T and TC2 respectively, while Ulrike Krafft and Niklas Mackschin both triumphed in Super 1600.
ETCC Race of Slovakia 2015

Race one: Fulin fantastic in Slovakia Petr Fulin overcame set-up issues to win from pole in his SEAT. “It wasn’t an easy weekend as we were struggling a lot with the tyres in testing,” he said. “But then we changed everything and I am happy because we were able to win one race and lead the championship. We’re still learning the car but I feel more and more confident all the time.” While Fulin pulled clear, Ferenc Ficza, in an identical SEAT, was coming under increasing pressure from local hero Mato Homola, who was also taking part in the WTCC races this weekend. Although Ficza would soon be out with a puncture there were no such problems for Homola, who finished second with Dušan Borković recovering to third after an early time loss. Teenager Norbert Toth – who made it a SEAT top four on his WTCC debut. Davit Kajaia finished fifth and top TC2T runner in his BMW, despite losing time after he ran wide off the track. The Georgian dedicated his race weekend to the victims of the recent floods in Tbilisi. Like Fulin and Kajaia, Michal Matejovský was another polesitter who went on to win, although another impressive drive in TC2 came from Honda’s Peter Rikli, who went from practically last to ninth at the finish. Ulrike Krafft also came under pressure, at one point lying third in the Super 1600 standings despite starting on pole. However, she recovered for her first win of the year.

 

Race two: Borković battles back for ETCC victory The starting grid was formed of the top eight positions from the first nine-lap event reversed, meaning that Matejovský was on pole. But it was Borković who claimed the outright honours and Single Make Trophy glory as Matejovský’s BMW was soon swallowed up by the faster SMT contingent. Ronny Jost was an early leader in his SEAT. And he was still in contention when the action continued following a safety car period. But his eagerness to resume racing earned him a drive-through penalty after he was adjudged to have accelerated away from the line too quickly, but not before Borković and Andreas Pfister had muscled ahead. The safety car had been deployed after Aytac Biter put his BMW into the gravel. One of the most impressive drives was from Kajaia, who set fastest lap and finished second overall. Mato Homola pushed Kajaia hard and made an attempt to pass on the final lap but had to settle for another second place on his home circuit. Matejovsky fulfilled his objective of claiming a double TC2 win over the weekend, with sixth overall. “It was a perfect weekend for us,” he said. “We achieved what we wanted to do overall but the other cars were to fast for me to stay in front, even starting from pole. Ulrike Krafft was one of many drivers who took a brief trip into the gravel, with Niklas Maschin eventually winning the Super 1600 class in his Fiesta, even to his own surprise.