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Since the introduction of the reverse grid rule it became massively difficult for drivers to win both races in a weekend. That is good, as the aim of this regulation was to prevent anyone dominating a round. On the other hand it makes double victories even more precious. In the Hankook RCM Cup Dániel Nagy (RCM Motorsport) has already managed to do the double, now Bálint Hatvani (Zsille Motorsport) joined him on the Pannóniaring.

Hatvani showed his pace and affection for the Western-Hungarian track early by winning the qualification and grabbing pole for the third time in a row. And he went on dominating race one as well, giving only three laps to his opponents to challenge him. After that he left the field on its own, and took a solid victory. Gábor Tim (Apex Racing) finished second after jumping ahead of László Csuti (RCM) at the start, and finding his way around Nagy in lap 5.

Championship leader Nagy came home in P3. He eagerly wanted to take his revenge on Tim in the final laps, but made a gear change mistake, which forced him to settle with third position. Attila Tassi (RCM) got the chequered flag in P4 after a spectacular fight with Csuti in the first lap. Later he left his team-boss behind and had a relatively quiet race. Csuti struggled with his car’s braking system throughout the entire race, and had to battle with his friend Witold Elekfy before the finish. Their fight was eventually won by Witek, leaving the co-commentator of Hungarian Eurosport WTCC broadcasts in P6.

The Gentleman Cup was once again won by Gábor Kismarty (Zengő Motorsport), while the rookies presented a nice surprise. After the technical problems of Gábor Forrai’s (Apex) RCM Swift Racer, newcomer Annamária Abari (RCM) won the category in her debut race.

Pannóniaring, race 1 results:

Due to the reverse grid rule the winner of race one had to start race two from the middle of the pack, for P8. Zsille Motorsport however did a fantastic job to set up the car for Hatvani, and the former rival of Norbert Michelisz and Norbert Kiss showed his form in race two once again. He finished lap one in P7, lap two in P4 and started lap five in the lead. From that moment the complete field was doomed to watch his braking lights, as Hatvani maintained a solid 2.5 – 3 seconds advantage until the flag dropped.

His closest rival was Gábor Tim, but the former champion was unable to match the speed of the weekend’s hero. Tim spent some laps behind Kismarty and lost some time there, but still cannot get closer to Hatvani after overtaking the Gentleman Cup leader.

Nagy scored a third position once again but he had to fight hard for the podium and could overtake Tassi in the very last lap. The teenager star of RCM thus finished fourth once again, while pole sitter Kismarty came home in P5 winning the Gentleman category sixth time in a row, and getting very close to the title.

László Csuti called the second race on the Pannóniaring one of his best fights ever. He had a splendid battle with Kismarty for the lead and managed to overtake him in lap 3. Although the Hatvani – Tim duo passed them, they continued fighting for the podium. Later in the race Csuti dropped to P7 and eventually finished sixth.

Witold Elekfy concluded one of his best weekends finishing fifth in race one and seventh in race two. He was later promoted to P5 in the second race after his rivals were hit with time penalties. The Rookie Cup was won by Forrai leading Abari and Bence Pusztay (Zengő).

Pannóniaring, race 2 results (without penalties):

The Hankook RCM Cup overall standing is tighter than ever. Tim took the lead from Nagy however the Apex driver has a very slim advantage of one single point. With his double victory Hatvani catapulted himself back to the fight, the Zsille driver is only 17 points adrift in P3. Kismarty has a solid 30-point lead in the Gentleman Cup, while Forrai is still leading the Rookie category with only six points ahead of Pusztay.

The next round of the Hankook RCM Cup will be held on the Slovakiaring on 23^rd August.

RCMCup - András Lantos