Janík Motorsport’s Jáchym Galáš says his first win in the TCR Europe series at Spa-Francorchamps has given him a big confidence boost to prove he can win further races in the championship.
The Czech driver claimed a lights-to-flag victory in the second, reverse-grid, race in Belgium, heading home team-mate Mat’o Homola.
Galáš led the race with a good start and then had Homola guarding his lead thereafter, although his Slovakian team-mate kept close by, with a margin of just under two seconds covering the duo at the end after Galáš opened the gap in the final laps.
In just his second season in TCR Europe, Galáš thinks his first visit to the top step of the podium will enable him to be more confident and competitive in future events.
“It feels amazing, especially at Spa where my idol Michael Schumacher won his first race, and now I’ve won my first race here,” said the 20-year-old.
“About the race itself; first of all, I had a great start and the Elantra is a rocket ship when you nail it! I managed to pull away at the start, had a good entry into Turn 1 where thanks to that I had a good exit, and that was the route to the victory.
“I managed to build up a small margin, and that was the crucial point.
“Surely this will help as now I know that it is possible to win, and I have proven it to myself. It’s all more motivation to move on and perform like this at every single race.”
Galáš has moved up to ninth in the drivers’ standings, putting him on 100 points after a fourth top ten finish in the opening six races.