The past weekend’s ESET Cup event at the Autodrom Most was characterized by the prowess of Czech drivers – across all categories. A situation almost identical also unfolded in the Clio Cup.
The ESET Cup’s return to the north Bohemian Autodrom Most attracted a solid number of fans, who spent the entire weekend watching local racers claim one victory trophy after another. Let’s start with the GT3 category. There, it probably surprised no one that Filip Salaquarda from the I.S.R. Racing team came for the laurels in both sprint and endurance. His dominance is overwhelming and, as shown in Most, even if someone gets to the first place after the start, Salaquarda soon takes it back. There is no doubt that the title is within reach. He didn’t score enough points in Most, but at the Slovakia Ring, Salaquarda could celebrate an early victory.
In the GTC category, the road to the title becomes somewhat more complicated – if we speak from the racer’s perspective, not the team’s. Here, Mičánek Motorsport is dominating with its drivers Jáchym Galáš and Matěj Pavlíček. This duo has won seven out of eight races; Galáš four, Pavlíček three. Hence, Galáš currently leads the standings with a 3.5-point lead over Pavlíček. This is a minimal difference and, given that there are still two events, i.e., four races, left in the season, the battle within the Brno team will intensify. Their track rivalry could be influenced by Dennis Waszek, who achieved his first victory of the year in Most and kept pace with the latest generations of Lamborghini Super Trofeo.
The GTX category this time belonged to Václav Janík with KTM GTX. The Czech racer converted his first starts into double glory, but as for the title, he is far from it due to his absence in previous events. On the contrary, Pavel Sovička with the same car as Janík, but in the colors of the RTR projects team, is close. Regular podium placements have secured him second place in the standings and only a four-point deficit to leader Alexander Ober.
The Clio Cup also has its dominant racers. Martin Kadlečík, with the fourth generation, continues his winning streak in Most, achieving his eighth consecutive victory. Will anyone defeat him this year? Of course, there’s a chance, but that would require something unexpected. Simply something similar to what happened to Tomáš Pekař in Most. He dominates in the category of fifth-generation cars and, if not for an uncaused accident in the first chicane of the first race in Most, he would surely have taken home two winner’s trophies. This way, he took home one. His team-mate Henrik Seibel won the other.
It’s clear that in some series and categories, the outcome is more or less decided, while in others, we’ll probably wait for the final resolution until the season’s final race. And that’s how it should be, the right mix of drama and expected results make for a great reflection of the ESET Cup and Clio Cup seasons.
Championship Standings
Standings ESET Sprint
Standings Endurance
Standings Clio Cup