Maťo Homola wins opening race after Attila Bucsi’s penalty
The intense battle for the win between young Attila Bucsi from the M1RA Motorsport team and Maťo Homola from Hyundai Janík Motorsport was decided by the race steward. Although Bucsi crossed the finish line first, he was handed a ten-second time penalty for a jump start.
Adam Kout began the race from pole position alongside Attila Bucsi, placing Hyundai in the entirety of the first row, with reigning champion Maťo Homola and Giacomo Ghermandi in the second row.
Kout had a slow start, allowing Bucsi to take the lead while blocking Homola, who was forced onto the grass temporarily. Nevertheless, Homola maintained his second position, with Ghermandi in third and Mertel Motorsport Hondas in the subsequent positions, pressured by Kout.
Kout managed to overtake Kajaia and was gearing up to attack Kircher, whom he passed in the second lap. Bucsi led the race, but Homola closely followed him, their lap times only a few thousandths of a second apart. Ghermandi was in third place, Kout in fourth, and Kircher and Kajaia fifth and sixth, respectively. Petr Čížek was seventh in his new Cupra, Žarko Knego eighth, debutant Martin Kadlečík ninth with an Audi, and Fraňo Dubreta tenth with a Cupra.
Mid-race, Kout was the fastest man on the track, catching up to Ghermandi, who is notoriously difficult to overtake. However, Kout’s attempts were interrupted by a safety car deployment due to Jiří Zbožínek being stranded in the gravel trap.
The restart offered a new opportunity for drivers to improve their positions. Nevertheless, an accident occurred in the first corner when Knego had braking issues, failed to make the turn, and collided with Davit Kajaia. A red flag was immediately displayed.
After the race resumed behind the pace car, Bucsi retained the lead with Homola in second and Ghermandi third, under pressure from Kout and Kircher. Ghermandi made a minor mistake and ran wide across the gravel, allowing Kout and Kircher to pass him.
Following the checkered flag, Bucsi was penalized ten seconds for a jump start, dropping him to seventh place. Homola was declared the winner, with Kout in second and Kircher in third. Giacomo Ghermandi finished fourth, and the top five was rounded out by Petr Čížek with a Cupra. TCR Eastern Europe debutant Martin Kadlečík, driving an Audi, finished sixth and was also named the best junior of the race. The first points in the championship were scored by three drivers in eighth, ninth, and tenth places – Fraňo Dubreta, Ivars Vallers, and Vít Smejkal, who will start from the pole-position in the second race thansk to the draw by winner Homola.
