TCR Europe

Homola secures first Pole Position of 2019 TCR Europe

1 Mins read
Mat'o Homola. Credit: WSC Ltd / TCR Europe

Mat’o Homola was fastest in Qualifying for the opening rounds of the 2019 TCR Europe Touring Car Series, with the first four rows dominated by Hyundai drivers.

The Hungaroring is host to the first two races of the new season, where the Slovak driver put his Team Target Competition Hyundai i30 N on pole position ahead of his team-mate Andreas Bäckman.

M Racing’s Nelson Panciatici and Josh Files qualified third and fourth with Gilles Magnus the fastest non-Hyundai in fifth position in his Comtoyou Racing Audi RS 3 LMS, followed by the Peugeot 308 of Julien Briché.

Nelson Panciatici was fastest in Q1 in Hungary. Credit: WSC Ltd / TCR Europe

Qualifying was not without its challenges with Q1 part was red-flagged at the beginning when Luca Engstler crashed his Hyundai in turn one. When the action resumed with sixteen minutes to go, Panciatici set the fastest lap of 1:53.064 that nobody was able to beat.

By the end of the session, both Magnus and Briché improved their times and climbed to second and third, demoting the other Hyundai cars of Dániel Nagy, Files and Jessica Bäckman. Eight of the twelve spots for Q2 were secured by Hyundai drivers.

The other non-Hyundai drivers who made the cut were ex-WTCR driver John Filippi in the Renault Mégane and rookie Santiago Urrutia in the second Audi. The best of the Volkswagen drivers was Urrutia’s team-mate Maxime Potty in thirteenth place, who was eleven-thousandths of a second slower than twelfth-placed Nathan Bihel in the second M Racing Hyundai.

Santiago Urrutia holds the race two reverse grid pole position in his WRT run Audi. Credit: WSC Ltd / TCR Europe

Urrutia qualified in tenth place overall in Q2 and will start from pole position for race two, with the Target Competition Hyundai of Dušan Borković alongside and local hero Nagy in the M1RA Motorsport Hyundai in third place on the grid.

In the TCR Eastern Europe Series, Martin Ryba was fastest overall in the Brutal Fish Racing Honda Civic, sitting in twenty-first position overall.

The two opening 2019 TCR Europe Touring Car Series races can be found on Facebook, YouTube and on the TCR TV website.

892 posts

About author
I have been a very passionate fan of Motorsport for over 30 years with Touring Cars as my favourite form of Motor Racing. I cover The TCR UK Series, The TCR Europe Series and The FIA World Touring Car Cup (WTCR) as well as following various TCR Series around the world.
Articles
Related posts
TCR Europe

Josh Files crowned TCR Europe champion with victory in final race

3 Mins read
After a stellar campaign, Josh Files has won the 2019 TCR European Championship.
TCR Europe

Peugeot dominate Race One, but Files limits the damage

3 Mins read
Julien Briche won the opening race of the TCR Europe finale, but his main rival wasn’t too far behind.
TCR Europe

Pole position keeps championship hopes alive for Julien Briche

2 Mins read
Julien Briche stays in the title race, but reversed-grid fortune ensures that Josh Files remains largely in control.