Dušan Borković has called his début in the TCR International Series ‘a great weekend’ after the Serb scored points and a podium in the pair of races in Bahrain.
Borković immediately made an impression in the series by qualifying in second on Saturday, lining up on the front of the grid in his début in the series and for his B3 Racing Team Hungary outfit.
Although a poor start saw him drop down the order in race one, he fought back from as low as eighth to claim a points finish in sixth.
“I am satisfied with the start of the TCR season,” said Borković after race one. “Although we don’t have all the data about the car, tyres and the track we did our best as a team to make a better setup than for the free practice sessions.
“I was very pleased with the second place in Q2 because I am competing against great drivers; six of us were in 0.1 of a second!
“I knew it would be challenging to start from P2 because behind me were all the aggressive drivers like [Pepe] Oriola, [Gianni] Morbidelli and [Mat’o] Homola. I had a problem at the start and it cost me my position.
“I am satisfied with 12 points won, the season is long and the most important thing is to get as much points as possible per weekend and to keep improving.”
Race two saw Borković make his way from the tail of the top ten into fourth by the chequered flag, which later became third and a maiden podium after WestCoast Racing’s Aku Pellinen was hit with a post-race 30-second penalty for a jump start.
“Although I was not in the best mood after race one because of the problems at the start, when I sum everything up this was a great weekend and it looks like it is going to be a very exciting season,” concluded Borković. “It is really important for me that I scored points in qualifying and both races.
“I am sad I didn’t get a better score in race one but we have a lot of work ahead of us and we are preparing for the next event in Portugal.
“I hope my fans are satisfied with the start of the season and I would like to thank all of them and my sponsors for their support. I am very satisfied with the third position in the overall standings, as that will give me even more incentive to fight for the top. It is a long championship.”