Groszek clinches the title, as Fulín wins all on home track

Petr Fulín made a triumphant return to TCR Eastern Europe, dominating the final event of the season at Most. While the Czech fans cheered for Fulín who set the pole and won both races, the battle for the title was won by Bartosz Groszek when the other local driver Petr Semerád retired from the second race. By finishing third in Race 1, Semerád had taken the lead of the standings by one point over Groszek, but his hopes were swept away by a technical issue.  

Race 1 – Fulín set the pole ahead of Sebastian Steibel and Petr Čížek; Groszek qualified fourth, while Semerád started from P11 after he failed to clock a time following contact with Vít Smejkal. Fulín led the field at the start and opened a gap, with Steibel, Čížek and Groszek fighting for P2, while Semerád moved up into fifth in lap 2. By lap 5, Semerád joined the trio in front of him. The four cars ran nose-to-tail until lap 9, when Semerád attempted to pass Groszek, but made a mistake and lost contact. In the following lap, Čížek overtook Steibel for P2 and Groszek followed, moving into third; Steibel dropped one more place in lap 11, when Semerád got past him. In lap 13, Semerád overtook Groszek for third after they ran abreast for a couple of turns and made contact. Up front, Fulín took the chequered flag with a large margin over Čížek and Semerád who took the championship lead by one point over Groszek. 

Race 2 – Radim Adámek got away well from the pole, but he went wide at T2 and so Vacláv Janík took the lead ahead of Žarko Knego who was soon passed by Groszek, Fulín and Semerád. In lap 2, Fulín passed Groszek for second and the latter was under pressure from Semerád. Fulín moved into the lead in lap 3, while Semerád overtook Groszek for third. Groszek retook the position when they both passed Janík, moving up to second and third. The battle for the title ended soon afterwards, when Semerád retired with a technical issue, and all Groszek had to do was cruising to the end. The Pole let Janík and Steibel going through to finish second and third, far behind Fulín, while Groszek kept Čížek at bay to finish fourth.

Most – Race 1
1. Petr Fulín (Fullinrace Academy, CUPRA Leon Competición), 15 laps
2. Petr Čížek (Fullinrace Academy, CUPRA Leon Competición), 14.771
3. Petr Semerád (Janík Motorsport, Hyundai Elantra N), 15.643

Most – Race 2
1. Petr Fulín (Fullinrace Academy, CUPRA Leon Competición), 15 laps
2. Vacláv Janík (Janík Motorsport, Hyundai Elantra N), 10.970
3. Sebastian Steibel (Steibel Motorsport, CUPRA TCR), 14.934

Championship points
1. B. Groszek, 180 pts; 2. P. Semerád 169; 3. P. Čížek 134 

Picture: TCR Eastern Europe