Münnich dominates the TCR Middle East opener in Dubai

René Münnich, driving a Honda Civic Type R run by his own team, dominated the opening round of TCR Middle East at Dubai, claiming pole position and winning the two sprint races. Luc Breukers and Zoltán Zengő finished second and third in both races at the wheel of their CUPRA cars.
After topping the Qualifying with a lap of 1:46.087, Münnich sprinted into the lead at the start of Race 1 and pulled away, increasing his margin over Breukers by two seconds per lap. He took the chequered flag at the end of the 17^th lap, inflicting a gap of 37 seconds to the young Dutchman; Zengő finished a distant third.
Zengő sat on pole position of the reverse grid for Race 2, but during the first lap both Münnich and Breukers overtook him. Münnich pace was even faster than in Race 1; he set a new fastest lap of 1:46.919 and won with a margin of 42.5 seconds over Breukers.
Competitors will take part tomorrow at 14:10 local time (11:10 CET) in a six-hour race, the third round of TCR Middle East that is also valid as the first round of the 24H Middle East series. Zengő will share his CUPRA with Hungarian countryman Csába Tóth, Lebanon’s Yussif Basil will join Breukers and the latter will also team up with Münnich.

Race 1
1) René Münnich (All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport, Honda Civic FK7 TCR), 17 laps
2) Luc Breukers (Red Camel-Jordans.nl, CUPRA TCR), 37.242
3) Zoltan Zengő (Zengő Motorsport, CUPRA TCR), 54.466

Race 2
1) René Münnich (All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport, Honda Civic FK7 TCR), 17 laps
2) Luc Breukers (Red Camel-Jordans.nl, CUPRA TCR), 42.587
3) Zoltan Zengő (Zengő Motorsport, CUPRA TCR), 1:10.211

Championship points
1. Münnich 55 pts; 2. Breukers 40; 3. Zengő 33