Harald Proczyk became the first double race winner of the year in the second ADAC TCR Germany series race at the Red Bull Ring, with the Opel driver benefitting when early leader Benjamin Leuchter had to cede his position.
At the start Liqui Moly Team Engstler’s Luca Engstler got the better getaway to move into the lead, as pole-sitter Sandro Kaibach dropped into second in his Prosport Performance Audi.
But Kaibach got back past Engstler at Turn 2, and as Leuchter sought to take advantage and follow through he made contact with Kaibach at Turn 3, allowing him into the lead.
That contact would later cost Leuchter more than one place, as after a four-lap safety car period he was instructed to give the place back to Kaibach. But before Leuchter could do so, Proczyk got into second and forced Leuchter to give two places away, handing Proczyk the lead.
The HP Racing driver remained in control of the race for the remaining ten laps and took his second win of the season, moving him into a clear championship lead on 185 points, 22 ahead of Niels Langeveld.
LMS Racing’s Antti Buri finished in second, having worked his way through the field from ninth on the grid, whilst Max Kruse Racing’s Leuchter completed the podium in third.
Engstler took fourth, ahead of team-mate Florian Thoma in fifth and the second HP Racing Opel of Luke Wankmüller in sixth.
Prosport Performance’s Max Hesse fought with Thoma for fifth in the latter stages of the race, but ultimately dropped back to seventh, ahead of Racing One’s Niels Langeveld in eighth.
Kaibach faded in the second half of the race and could only manage ninth, whilst the Peugeot of Lukas Niedertscheider completed the top ten.
The earlier safety car period was required when Sebastien Steibel lost control of his Volkswagen heading to Turn 2 on lap two, sliding sideways into the fellow Golf of Jussi Kuusiniemi and catching up JC Reynolds in the process, with all three drivers out of the race with damaged cars.
The fourth TCR Germany event of the year takes place at the Nürburgring in just under two months’ time on the 3 – 5 August.
Race result
POS | NO | DRIVER | NAT | ENTRANT | CAR | LAPS | TIME | BEST | GD |
1 | 22 | Harald PROCZYK | HP Racing International | Opel Astra TCR | 18 | 18 LAPS | 1:38.294 | 6 | |
2 | 30 | Antti BURI | LMS Racing | Audi RS3 LMS TCR | 18 | 3.255 | 1:38.096 | 9 | |
3 | 10 | Benjamin LEUCHTER | Max Kruse Racing | Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR | 18 | 3.912 | 1:38.276 | 5 | |
4 | 8 | Luca ENGSTLER | Liqui Moly Team Engstler | Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR | 18 | 8.837 | 1:38.711 | 2 | |
5 | 39 | Florian THOMA | Team Engstler Europe | Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR | 18 | 11.731 | 1:38.954 | 13 | |
6 | 11 | Luke WANKMÜLLER | HP Racing International | Opel Astra TCR | 18 | 12.046 | 1:38.901 | 4 | |
7 | 19 | Max HESSE | Prosport Performance | Audi RS3 LMS TCR | 18 | 12.383 | 1:38.697 | 8 | |
8 | 14 | Niels LANGEVELD | Racing One | Audi RS3 LMS TCR | 18 | 13.786 | 1:38.557 | 10 | |
9 | 44 | Sandro KAIBACH | Prosport Performance | Audi RS3 LMS TCR | 18 | 15.275 | 1:38.880 | 1 | |
10 | 42 | Lukas NIEDERTSCHEIDER | Niedertscheider Motorsport | Peugeot 308 TCR | 18 | 15.641 | 1:38.462 | 3 | |
11 | 54 | Simon REICHER | YACO Racing | Audi RS3 LMS TCR | 18 | 16.903 | 1:38.962 | 11 | |
12 | 88 | Dominik FUGEL | Team Honda ADAC Sachsen | Honda Civic TCR 2018 | 18 | 17.682 | 1:38.929 | 17 | |
13 | 53 | Michelle HALDER | Profi-Car Team Halder | CUPRA TCR | 18 | 19.928 | 1:39.201 | 12 | |
14 | 6 | Oliver HOLDENER | Wolf-Power Racing | CUPRA TCR | 18 | 20.644 | 1:38.952 | 18 | |
15 | 60 | Loris PRATTES | TOPCAR Sport | CUPRA TCR | 18 | 22.528 | 1:39.505 | 16 | |
16 | 77 | Justin HÄUßERMANN | Team Engstler Germany | Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR | 18 | 22.561 | 1:39.289 | 15 | |
17 | 17 | Jasmin PREISIG | Steibel Motorsport | Opel Astra TCR | 18 | 23.328 | 1:39.567 | 22 | |
18 | 3 | Kai JORDAN | Team Engstler Germany | Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR | 18 | 26.210 | 1:39.242 | 14 | |
19 | 55 | Marcel FUGEL | Profi-Car Team Halder | Honda Civic TCR 2018 | 18 | 26.464 | 1:39.395 | 25 | |
20 | 47 | Niko KANKKUNEN | Team Engstler Europe | Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR | 18 | 27.080 | 1:39.470 | 20 | |
21 | 4 | Jan SEYFFERT | Lubner Motorsport | Opel Astra TCR | 18 | 31.666 | 1:39.708 | 26 | |
22 | 9 | Daniel DAVIDOVAC | HP Racing International 2 | Opel Astra TCR | 18 | 34.501 | 1:39.427 | 24 | |
23 | 13 | Tessitore | Tessitore Racing | Opel Astra TCR | 18 | 35.115 | 1:40.345 | 29 | |
24 | 23 | Sebastian STEIBEL | Steibel Motorsport | Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR | 18 | 1:08.633 | 1:40.257 | 23 | |
R | 36 | Dino CALCUM | BC Motorsport | Opel Astra TCR | 8 | DNF | 1:45.513 | 27 | |
R | 27 | Theo COICAUD | Liqui Moly Team Engstler | Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR | 7 | DNF | 2:22.477 | 19 | |
R | 7 | Mike HALDER | Team Honda ADAC Sachsen | Honda Civic TCR 2018 | 6 | DNF | 1:39.145 | 7 | |
R | 29 | Jussi KUUSINIEMI | Positione Motorsport | Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR | 2 | DNF | N/A | 21 | |
R | 33 | JC REYNOLDS | TOPCAR Sport | CUPRA TCR | 2 | DNF | N/A | 28 | |
NS | 50 | Milenko VUKOVIC | Wolf-Power Racing 2 | Renault Mégane TCR | – | DNS | N/A | – |