Maiden pole position for Andrej Maslennikov
Andrej Maslennikov claimed his maiden pole position in TCR Russia during today’s Qualifying session at the Smolensk Ring.
Maslennikov and his Lukoil Racing CUPRA completed a lap of the track in 1:31.940 and demoted Anton Badoev’s provisional fastest time of 1:32.762 to second. The latter was able to improve, but his 1:32.235 was only good enough to provisionally retain the second position. Eventually, Grigoriy Burlutskiy drove his Carville Racing Volkswagen Golf GTI to clock a 1:31.974 that was second fastest in Q1. With Badoev in third place, Pavel Kalmanovich and Pavel Yashin were placed fourth and fifth respectively, completing a surprising result that saw the first three drivers in the standings outpaced by the midfielders.
Three-time champion and current points leader Dmitry Bragin placed his TAIF Motorsport Hyundai i30 N a disappointing 14th, nine tenths behind the pole sitter, while Kirill Ladygin – third in the standings – set the 11th fastest lap in his LADA Vesta Sport. They both remained out of Q2.
In the second part of the session, Maslennikov remained on top and secured the pole with a lap of 1:31.807, beating Kalmanovich’s 1:32.015 and Klim Gavrilov’s 1:32.079. Aleksey Dudukalo, who’s second in the standings, qualified in sixth position.
The first race will start tomorrow at 14:55 local time (13:55 CET); live at www.tcr-series.tv.
Qualifying
1. 1:31.807 – Andrej Maslennikov (Lukoil Racing, CUPRA)
2. 1:32.015 – Pavel Kalmanovich (TAIF Motorsport, Audi RS 3 LMS)
3. 1:32.079 – Klim Gavrilov (Carville Racing, Audi RS 3 LMS)
4. 1:32.175 – Mikhail Grachev (LADA Sport Rosneft, LADA Vesta Sport)
5. 1:32.203 – Ivan Lukashevich (Lukoil Racing, Hyundai i30 N)
Championship points
1. Bragin 67 pts; 2. Dudukalo 63; 3. Ladygin 56
