The first day of Grand Prix of Croatia was defined by a nail-biting TCR Eastern Europe race, but the other seven races in a packed programme delivered no shortage of suspense and uncompromising on-track competition either.
In the first race of the new TCR Eastern Europe season, held on Saturday at Automotodrom Grobnik, Martin Kadlečik celebrated victory at the wheel of an Audi RS3. The previous season's runner-up, who turned 22 a week ago, didn't hide his satisfaction after a race that defined the sporting story of day one of Grand Prix of Croatia.
Four years ago, when I first raced at Grobnik in the Twingo Cup, it was 40 degrees in the shade, but I enjoyed today too in the rain, Kadlečik said after the race. He didn't post his best qualifying lap. In return, he started well and after the first corner moved from sixth to fourth.
From then on I patiently looked for my limits, worked my way through the order, and at the same time looked after the tyres because the track was nearly dry. I enjoyed the race. Grobnik is a phenomenal track, one of those old-school ones with long fast corners. It doesn't leave much room for error, but that has its charm too.
The best Croatian finish in the opening TCR race went to Žarko Knego, who took fourth place. After just two corners at Grobnik, Knego climbed from fifth to third, but ultimately came up a step short of the podium.
I wasn't satisfied with my qualifying result. Objectively, fifth on the grid isn't bad, but it was less than I expected. The start went well and I managed to climb to third, but Čižek was fast and persistent. After he got past me we had identical pace, for a few laps we set times within a thousandth of a second of each other, but he had built enough of a gap to leave me no chance for a comeback in race one. I hope for a better result tomorrow, said Knego.
In morning qualifying on a wet surface, Adam Kout was fastest. The reigning TCR Eastern Europe champion took pole by just 5 thousandths of a second over team-mate Jiri Zbožinek and made an excellent start, but a half-shaft failure on his Hyundai Elantra on lap three left him without a result. Alongside Kadlečik, Petar Čižek and Jiri Zbožinek rounded out the podium. Knego secured fourth, while Frano Dubreta, the best Croatian in qualifying (3rd), completed the top five.
The Saturday competitive day at Grobnik opened with the Croatian Open Championship. In the first group (Groups 1, 2 and 5), Nikša Blažević (Honda Civic) was fastest, while in the most populated National Class (G5), Leon Zelenko took victory.
Franić pressed me well in the opening corners but I managed to stay ahead. I took my own pace, eventually built a gap and broke away. From there I just made sure not to make a mistake, Zelenko reflected on his convincing performance, in which he posted his fastest lap in the closing stages of the race that was red-flagged on lap 10 due to an incident.
When the rain picked up a bit, I went a touch faster. The tyre pressures were tricky for wet conditions and this was a chance to gather extra experience because it was my first race in proper rain, Zelenko emphasised.
In the second-group OPH race (Groups 3, 4 and 6), Robert Bradarić took the win and only confirmed the old saying that class is permanent, form is temporary. The Solin driver was in proper form on Saturday.
After a 14-year break I decided to give the track a go, just for fun, and Grand Prix of Croatia was the ideal occasion, Bradarić revealed. Like the Czech Kadlečik, he started from sixth.
We had some small technical issues in qualifying that were quickly fixed, but then I got caught in heavy rain. In the race I didn't want to force it. I gradually worked my way through and ended up winning.
The Suzuki Swift Cup race was marked by a duel between Gabor Tim and Balazs Hartmann. The pair swapped the lead three times, but Tim showed more in the closing stages and won the season opener.
Even more dramatic was the first Bohemia Clio Cup race, in which the top three crossed the line within just four tenths of a second, Poland's Bartlomiej Mirecki taking victory. The Formula 3 race was a convincing win for Austria's Michael Fischer, while among the 16 identical Renault Twingos, Oliver Steiner of the Czech Republic took the win. The day was closed out by Group 8 of the Croatian Open Championship, with Petr Koukola winning.