TCR / 21 August 2023
Victories on three continents for Honda Civic Type R TCR
Six race wins plus three more class victories highlighted an ultra-successful weekend for the JAS Motorsport-built Honda Civic Type R TCR with customer racing teams on three continents closing in on a number of prestigious titles.
TCR Denmark
Kasper H Jensen scored a double win at Jyllands-Ringen to move himself to within a point of the series lead. He was fourth in the other race as he chases an unprecedented fourth straight title.
Jensen qualified on pole for the fourth time in five events this year and dominated the opener. His race three victory was his 20th aboard the Civic Type R TCR - a total bettered only by one other driver.
His GMB Motorsport team-mate Gustav Birch was second in Race Two and won the Under-25s class to maintain his points lead in the category. Right behind him was JAS Development Driver Philip Lindberg, who claimed his first podium of the season.
Lindberg won Race Three on the road but a time penalty for a false start dropped him to third as he surged up the points table.
TPR Motorsport's Kevin Brandsborg and Michelle Halder both had best results of third in the U25s while Esbjug Motorsport's Didrik Esbjug was fourth twice. Team Bundgas driver Kim Konig was fourth in the Trophy class in each race.
TCR South America/TCR World Tour
Ignacio Montenegro maintained his South America series lead with a fifth win of 2023 at El Pinar, Uruguay, heading his Squadra Martino team-mate Juan Manuel Casella - who qualified on pole position in his home country - to the flag.
While a technical issue caused the teenager's retirement from Race Two, Casella finished fourth, which moved him up to second in the standings and strengthened Martino's lead in the Teams' points table.
Fabio Casagrande won the Trophy class in both races as he seeks a second title in a row. Team-mate Enrique Maglione was fourth in Race Two.
The event was also the latest round of the TCR World Tour. Nestor Girolami, driving a fifth Martino car, qualified the new FL5 Civic third, but ran wide while holding second in Race One and dropped to fourth, where he finished. He was eighth in Race Two.
TCR Chinese Taipei
Shi Shiwei and Shaun Thong led a second-straight Honda clean sweep of the podium at the penultimate round of the season at Lihpao.
The GH-Team AAI drivers were beaten to pole position by team-mate Liu Weizhi, but Shiwei passed him for the lead after four corners of the 60-minute race and was never headed afterwards as the latter increased his series advantage.
Weizhi was chased down by Jianye Huang during the second half of the race and the Border Team driver - who was sharing with Yihao You - grabbed second with two laps to go.
Baltic Touring Car Championship
Sven Karuse was the class of the field as the Estonian swept to a double win in the TCR category at Parnu.
Dominating the opener from pole position, an issue forced a pitstop during the Race Two formation lap and caused him to start at the tail of the field. He sliced through the order, taking the class lead with two laps left and storming to a brilliant victory.
Karuse was also in action on Sunday in the four-hour race that marked the latest round of the Baltic Endurance Championship. He, Antti Rammo and JAS Driver Development Programme graduate Ruben Volt qualified on TC3 pole, but retired.
TCR Japan
Mototino equalled his best finish in the series with an excellent second place at Motegi, achieved with a well-judged passing move just three corners from the end of the Saturday Series race.
The 55Moto driver, who is now fourth in the standings, was fourth in Race Two; two spots ahead of J's Racing's Junichi Umemoto.
Bonus points for twice qualifying second helped Anna Inotsume maintain her lead in both the Saturday and Sunday standings. The Hagoromo 6 Dome Racing driver retired from podium spots in both races with left-front punctures.
TCR UK
Reigning champion Chris Smiley put in an almighty charge on Silverstone's National circuit to climb from 11th on the grid to sixth spot during Sunday's opening race.
He was sadly denied a strong end to the weekend when an unfortunate first-lap punt up the rear sent him spinning into the wall exiting Becketts.
His Restart Racing team-mate, JAS Motorsport Development Driver Scott Sumpton, qualified a career-best third and took fourth on the road, only to be demoted to ninth post-race owing to a five-second time penalty for exceeding track limits.
Sumpton was spun out of the lead on the opening lap of the re-started second race and fell down the order, but recovered to ninth again.
