Hyundai racer Reece Barr consolidated his position among the front runners in the second TCR Europe weekend. Reece was again fast in Qualifying doing a top job to put his Target prepared i30N on P5 for both races of the weekend despite his first visit to the Zandvoort circuit and the new BOP settings placed on the Hyundai’s. Reece said before race one “It was strange getting to terms with the new BOP settings and finding my way around a very technical track for the first time and with free practice and qualifying back to back on Saturday I was really happy to be on the third row for both races; credit goes to my team engineers who minimised the BOP challenge perfectly - the car feels good and the front five rows are very close on pace so I can race from row three and hopefully collect some good points” The teenager from Ireland (Donegal) now based in the U.K. (Silverstone) as part of the British Racing Drivers Club ‘Rising Stars’ Andy Priaulx is on a steep learning curve as he goes head to head with some of the fastest TCR drivers in Europe.
Sunday 20th May Race 1 - With an absolutely packed Zandvoort Circuit attracting over 100,000 spectators for the WTCR and ETCR headline weekend as well as the Red Bull F1 drivers Ricciardo and Verstappen showcasing; Reece starting from P5 had a reasonable start with some wheel spin off the line which allowed experienced Josh Files past and as Reece moved to the race line for the first corner there was wheel to wheel contact with Nagy’s Hyundai which through Reece’s car into a massive spin and unfortunately heavy impact with the barrier bringing his race and weekend to a very abrupt end. While the officials cleared the stricken No.8 Hyundai from the track the race continued under yellow for three laps before restarting behind the safety car.
The race seen Reece's team mates Dušan Borković take 5th in opening TCR race at Zandvoort and Kris Ricard finish 14th from the back spot on the grid due to an engine change penalty and Cupra driver Azcona taking the win ahead of Tassi and Van Lagen.
After his mandatory check-over in the medical centre Reece commented; “I was really happy with my position on the grid but unfortunately I was to experience my first shunt in a car which ends my weekend as the damage to my car can’t be repaired at the track - I’m very disappointed as my team worked really hard to counter the BOP challenge this weekend and our i30’s were still performing good and to miss both races this weekend is not good”
The No.8 Hyundai will be repaired for round 3 at the renowned Spa Circuit which is the next challenge for Reece next month.
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