Engstler begins with a lights-to-flag win at Sepang

Reigning TCR Asia champion Luca Engstler began the season in style with a lights-to-flag victory at Sepang International Circuit.
The young German and his Team Engstler Hyundai i30 N sprinted from pole position and bid farewell to the rest of the field. Not even a safety car intervention prevented Engstler from claiming a dominant victory ahead of his teammate Théo Coicaud and Team Oettinger’s Diego Moran.
At the start, too much wheelspin meant that Coicaud, who was second on the grid, found himself in the middle of the pack. Pepe Oriola in the Indigo Racing Hyundai resisted the assault from Moran’s Volkswagen Golf GTI to take second place.
However, Moran overtook Oriola at the end of the first lap, while Coicaud moved up to fourth overtaking the CUPRA of TCR Thailand champion Jakraphan Davee in the following lap.
The safety car was deployed on lap 3, after David Lau’s Audi RS 3 LMS spun and stalled in the middle of the track. Action resumed on lap 5, and Coicaud overtook Oriola for third; the Frenchman then overtook Moran for second on lap 9.
Race 2 will start tomorrow at 09:50 local time (03:50 CET) with Roland Hertner and Daniel Miranda filling the front row of the top-ten reverse grid; live streaming at www.tcr-series.com and www.tcr-series.tv.

Race 1
1. Luca Engstler (Team Engstler, Hyundai i30 N), 11 laps
2. Théo Coicaud (Team Engstler, Hyundai i30 N), 4.658
3. Diego Moran (Team Oettinger, Volkswagen Golf GTI), 6.168
4. Pepe Oriola (Indigo Racing, Hyundai i30 N), 10.714
5. Jakrphan Davee (Alphafactory Racing, CUPRA), 15.852

Championship points
1. Engstler 30 pts; 2. Coicaud 22; 3. Moran 17