A blazing-fast circuit and an incredibly competitive grid – that was the recipe for the opening round of this season’s Clio Cup, and it delivered a spectacular show. It was non-stop door-to-door racing from start to finish.
The Red Bull Ring has proven time and again that it can produce thrilling races, and the start of this year’s Clio Cup was no exception. If anything, the battles were even more intense than ever. Although pre-race favorite Tomáš Pekař from Carpek Racing secured pole position in Saturday’s qualifying session by more than three-tenths of a second over Polish rookie Oskar Marszalkowski of Janík Motorsport, he couldn’t shake off the competition in either of Sunday’s races.
In Race 1, Poland’s Bartłomiej Mirecki quickly slotted in behind Pekař and started looking for a way past. He found a gap in Turn 6 on lap three, but that was just the beginning of a sensational showdown. What followed was pure racing theater – Mirecki and Pekař went wheel-to-wheel, banging doors and trading paint in a fierce but fair fight. Both are experienced drivers and, while the battles were intense, neither wanted to spin the other off track – though it came close more than once.
Right behind them, Marszalkowski watched patiently, waiting to see how the scrap would unfold. As the race neared its end and the lead battle raged on, he made his move – especially as the chasing pack began to close in, running faster lap times than the fighting front-runners.
In the final two minutes, chaos erupted. Seven cars were locked in a nail-biting fight, rubbing fenders and jostling for space. It was clear that the race would be decided in the very last corner. In a classic photo finish, Pekař crossed the line just 0.044 seconds ahead of Mirecki, with Julian Śmiechowski right behind.
However, due to the on-track battles, Pekař was handed a four-second penalty for exceeding track limits. That handed the win to Mirecki, with Śmiechowski promoted to second and Nikodem Sobczyk claiming third.
Anyone expecting a calmer second race was in for a surprise. It played out much like the first – only this time, with the added twist of a brief rain shower. Once again, the main protagonists were Pekař and Mirecki, with Śmiechowski in the mix. Their relentless battles kept the fans on the edge of their seats all race long, building up to yet another dramatic finale. This time, Pekař crossed the finish line first, edging Mirecki by 0.173 seconds, with Sobczyk in third.
But once again, the stewards had the final say. Mirecki was slapped with a five-second penalty for forcing another driver off track, which dropped him from second all the way down to eighth in the tightly packed field. As a result, Śmiechowski was bumped up to second place behind Sobczyk.
Race results
Clio Cup Red Bull Ring – Qualifying
Clio Cup Red Bull Ring – Race 1
Clio Cup Red Bull Ring – Race 2
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