The first round of the ESET V4 Cup is over. And now it is time to look back at the Hungaroring race weekend. The Hungarian track has hinted that it is going to be a very interesting season and maybe even a one-man show of the young guns.
While the weather forecast had been promising a cold weekend, the reality was much better. A breeze cold wind could be felt only when the sun hid behind the clouds, but on the other hand, these kind of conditions were perfect for the cars and fans got to see some great action.
All 25-minute long GT races belonged to Audi cars, especially Audi R8 LMS GT3 of Polish team Olimp and Audi R8 LMS ultra of a Czech team K&K Racing. Jedlinski against Chlad jr., that was the story of the weekend, and not just of the Sprints races, but Endurance as well. Jedlinski dominated the first Saturday race, but Olimp Racing faced much tougher competition in the one-hour long endurance event. Richard Chlad jr. made his way to the lead of the race and then defended perfectly against his Polish rival. It was a great spectacle and fans enjoyed a fantastic race, despite the Endurance race results had to be decided by the race control. But Chlad jr. fully deserved his victory. And fans were even happier when Jedlinski and Chlad continued in the same fashion on Sunday. People will not forget these Audi battles and Chlad jr. leaves as the team‘s hero after adding one more win.
Zengo Motorsport‘s Márk Jedloczy is another very happy driver. This rookie dominated in the TC category on Saturday and Sunday, beating all his competitors, even those highly experienced ones. This type of result might not be the most exciting for the fans, but it shows how talented Jedloczy is. And the same could be said about Michal Makeš in Clio Cup series. The Mičánek Motorsport driver is a defending champion and he started his second season behind the wheel of Renault in a similar fashion to 2018 by winning both races at Hungaroring.
What about the fastest cars of ESET V4 Cup? Single-seater racing did not disappoint and actually provided a similar story to the GTs with a very tight field and big battles for the win with Tom Beckhäuser in the lead role. First, on Saturday he enjoyed a great fight with János Magyar, who was backed by his home crowd. Beckhäuser managed to get in front of him in the end and took his first win of the season. On Sunday, it was similar but this time with Paolo Brajnik. This very experienced Italian driver put on an impenetrable defence and after 25 minutes and 26 seconds crossed the line as a winner, despite huge pressure from Beckhäuser.
Let‘s not forget about the Twingo Cup which is often so unpredictable. It combines experience with brave youth and a zero difference between the cars. There are always amazing battles for every position, sometimes even door to door. But that is just part of these races, just as much as a huge variety on the podium. Jaka Marinšek took the win in the opening round of the season, while Mark Škulj won the second race. And it is expected that Škulj might actually win more.
Race results
TC/Clio Cup Race 1 / TC/Clio Cup Race 2
GT Race 1 / GT Race 2
Endurance
Formula L21 Race 1/ Formula L21 Race 2
Twingo Cup Race 1 / Twingo Cup Race 2