Dušan Kouřil Jr. has managed to take the 5th place in the opening race of the Touring Car category in the FIA Motorsport Games event at Vallelunga.
This weekend, Vallelunga in Italy hosts the first-ever FIA Motorsport Games event. The ESET V4 Cup is being represented by two Czech drivers – Dušan Kouřil jr. in the Touring Cars category and Václav Šafář in the Formula 4 category.
But who thought that they will be happy with just participating in this historic event, they could not be more wrong. Especially in Kouřil‘s case, who was very happy with his result after the first race.
The Czech driver showed his pace already in qualifying, where he set the 9th fastest lap time. But as the pole sitter Luca Engstler and originally fourth Jim Ka To were moved to the back of the grid, Kouřil‘s Hyundai i30 N TCR got moved to 7th position on the grid.
photo: SRO/Kevin Pecks-1VIER
His race started well and by the end of the opening lap, he was already in 6th place. But that was not his final position, as all the fans could see with 12 minutes remaining in the race. Tom Coronel and Gilles Magnusem, who battled for 4th position, ended in a collision and the Dutch driver lost a couple of places. And Kouřil used this situation to improve by one more place.
In the final laps, the Czech driver also tried to make a move on John Filippi in 4th position, but he could not find a way and he finished his first-ever big international race on a great 5th place.
Václav Šafář managed to finish 14th from 11th place on the grid in the Formula 4 qualifying race.
photo: SRO / Dirk Bogaerts Photography
The main race starts on Sunday at 11:40 and this year’s ESET V4 Cup participant at Hungaroring will start from the 7th row on the grid. And it is the same row for Kouřil in Touring Cars as well. His 2nd race starts at 13:20.
title photography: SRO/Kevin Pecks-1VIER