Mike Halder described his victory in race two of the TCR Europe season opener at Circuit Paul Ricard as ‘probably the most important’ of his career so far.
Halder, along with his sister Michelle, made a last-minute switch from racing in TCR Germany to TCR Europe in the week leading up to the event.
The German team has few staff, with Halder himself acting as the Team Principal, Team Manager, Technical Director and Race Engineer.
As such, the 24-year-old pegged the victory – his second in TCR Europe after he was also victorious in the 2018 season finale – as the most important of his five-year touring car career to-date.
Halder had led the reverse-grid race from pole position and after second-placed Sami Taoufik was handed a drive-through penalty, he maintained a comfortable two-second gap to the chasing Néstor Girolami to take the win.
“I have to say huge thanks to my team, my mechanics and my sponsors who have given me the opportunity to join TCR Europe in such a short time,” said Halder.
“I had a good start and I was leading after Turn 1 so I could concentrate on my own pace. When I looked in the mirror and saw the Honda of Girolami behind me, I was able to control the gap so it was nearly the same throughout the race.
“We have no engineers, so I have to sort out the set-ups for both our cars and deal with the organisation, so I have to say this is probably the most important win in my career so far.
“I’m really proud to have won this race.”