Isachsen’s third

Skorupski and Častoral take the classes.

It was closer than it had been during the heats, but Sverre Isachsen gained his third win of the year by topping the order in the Austrian round of the European Rallycross Championship at Greinbach.

The race had a delayed start after a jump start, eventually pinned on Davy Jeanney who was clearly unhappy about being sent from the grid to parc ferme. The pack ran Isachsen close to turn one, Foust emerging to lead the chase while Frode Holte, who was also in there at the first corner, was forced to park his Volvo in the first lap. Foust was first to the Joker Lap, so then it was B final winner Timur Timerzyanov who led the chase and visbly cut chunks out of Isachsen’s lead. The leader made the unusual move of taking the Joker mid-race, rejoining second and just ahead of Foust. The two fought, Foust surviving a brush with the banking in the PS racing Center corner, but Timerzyanov was unable to draw out enough of a lead to remain ahead when he took the Joker. Isachsen regained the lead, Timerzyanov just fast enough fight off Foust at the chequer. Stig-Olov Walfridsson was fourth – his best finish of the year – and had the best view of the action ahead of him.

Just when it looked as though Austria might get a home win, or even that Ulrik Linnemann’s seemingly never ending misfortune might change, everything went wrong both the Dane and Christian Petrakovits. Starting from pole, Petrakovits led until the third lap when he was forced to retire his Polo. Seconds later Linnemann was out too, having run into the back of Clemens Meyer. Vadim Makarov now led, hounded by Meyer and Krzysztof Skorupski, the latter having been in the Joker Lap in lap one. Makarov and Meyer waited too long to take their turn in the Joker and by the time they did Skorupski was a close third, taking second when Meyer went in the penultimate lap and the lead when Makarov took the Joker at the last opportunity. Jaroslav Kalný’s magnificent effort in his old Peugeot 206 – his 207 is awaiting a fresh engine – was rewarded with second place, the impressive Makarov going to the podium in only his second ERC event.

Roman Častoral completed a hat trick of TouringCar victories, inheriting the lead and going on to win after Lars Øivind Enerberg went off the track in the penultimate lap. Enerberg had led from the start and, having completed the Joker Lap still in the lead of the race, appeared set to continue his command of this event. The Norwegian got his car back on the track but then puleld off again at the next bend, slamming the door of his Fiesta in a rage as he left trackside.

Častoral’s third win of the year increases the pressure on points leader Enerberg, as does the second and third places achieved here by Koen Pauwels and Derek Tohill. The latter would almost certainly have been second had he not been delayed in the second lap when B final winner Jos Sterkens spun in the new PS Racing Center corner. Robin Olsson, meanwhile, had his best result of the year and brought his Peugeot 207 home fourth while Sterkens retired with a lap to run.

Supercar 1 Sverre Isachsen (Ford Focus II); 2 Timur Timerzyanov (Citroën C4); 3 Tanner Foust (Ford Fiesta VII); 4 Stig-Olov Walfridsson (Renault Clio III); 5 Frode Holte (Volvo C30); 6 Davy Jeanney (Citroën C4) (F)

Championship 1 Isachsen104; 2 Timerzyanov 97; 3 Foust 86; 4 Holte 79; 5 Lysen 77; 6 Heikkinen 74; 7 Doran 73

Super1600 1 Krzysztof Skorupski (VW Polo IV); 2 Jaroslav Kalný (Peugeot 206); 3 Vadim Makarov (Skoda Fabia II); 4 Clemens Meyer (Skoda Fabia); 5 Ulrik Linnemann (Peugeot 207) (DK); 6 Christian Petrakovits (VW Polo IV).

Championship 1 Bakkerud (Renault Clio II) 117; 2 Linnemann 98; 3 Larsson 71; 4 Meyer 71; 5 Skorupski 59; 6 David Johansson (Citroën DS3) 58

TouringCar 1 Roman Častoral (Opel Astra G rwd); 2 Koen Pauwels (Ford Fiesta VII rwd); 3 Derek Tohill (Ford Fiesta VII rwd); 4 Robin Olsson (Peugeot 207 rwd); 5 Lars Øivind Enerberg (Ford Fiesta VI rwd); 6 Jos Sterkens (Volvo C30)

Championship 1 Enerberg 120; 2 Castoral 102; 3 Tohill 101; 4 Pauwels 92; 5 Per Magne Royras (Peugeot 206) 77; 6 Olsson 61.

full results 

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