The Slovakia Ring hosted the fifth round of this year’s Clio Cup season. Championship leader Bartlomiej Mirecki won Saturday’s opening race, while second-placed Tomáš Pekař claimed his second victory of the year on Sunday.
Mirecki arrived in Slovakia with a comfortable 47-point lead over Pekař and strengthened his position at the top of the standings with victory on Saturday. Once again, though, he had to work hard for it against his closest rival. Pekař and Mirecki started from the front row, with Mirecki taking the lead into Turn 1. However, he was unable to shake off the orange Clio, and their battle provided plenty of entertainment for the fans in the Slovakia Ring grandstands.
Every fight for position gives the drivers behind an opportunity to close in, and a leading group soon formed consisting of Mirecki, Pekař, Smiechowski, Paprota, Wysmyk and Primožič. Both Pekař and Smiechowski led at various stages, but it was the Polish championship leader who eventually fought his way to a sixth victory of the season and extended his advantage in the standings. On the final lap, Julian Smiechowski also managed to find a way past Pekař to take second place.
Mirecki started the second race from only 12th on the grid and this time appeared to adopt a more conservative approach, avoiding unnecessary risks. It ultimately brought him fourth place behind Filip Dziwok in third, Rafal Paprota in second and race winner Pekař.
Starting from 10th, Pekař steadily picked off his rivals one by one before moving into the lead around the halfway point. From there, he kept the race under control, including through the restarts that followed safety car periods.
Mirecki therefore retains a comfortable lead at the top of the standings, but there are still two rounds remaining at Brno and the Hungaroring. With four races still to be run, there is plenty of points on offer and plenty left to fight for.
RACE RESULTS
Qualifying
Race 1
Race 2
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