Borković is the fastest B3R driver in the wet qualifying
The last qualifying session of the 2016 TCR International Series season turned out to be a major challenge as Q1 got underway in dry conditions but rain started to fall 5 minutes before the end of the first installment. Q2 was delayed and was eventually held in full wet conditions.
Driver mistakes are common in Macau, several accidents disrupted Q1 even on a dry circuit but having a wet track posed a previously unknown challenge for the competitors as neither of them have raced in these conditions so far this weekend.
In Q1 everything happened according to the plans of B3 Racing Team drivers. Following the first timed laps, Mato Homola was leading for a brief period but he got stuck in traffic while others, including his team mates Dušan Borković and Attila Tassi managed to improve on their results after being held up by yellow flags on their first attempt. However, this did not matter for them as they all managed to advance into Q2 before the rain had arrived.
According to the rules, the top 12 cars are eligible to take part in Q2 which decreased the likelihood of traffic or driver errors but the track conditions got significantly worse between the sessions. B3 Racing Team altered the setups during the break to help its drivers to adapt to the changed conditions.
Dušan Borković did it in the fastest way: At the very last moment, he claimed 5th in the overall classification by taking advantage of the improving track which enables him to begin both races on Sunday from the 3rd row. Mato Homola’s situation is unfortunate as he was classified 9th and the well-known reversed grid rule is not applied for this weekend.
The wet surface did not prove to be beneficial for B3 Racing Team’s 17-year-old Attila Tassi. The young Hungarian prodigy successfully progressed into Q2 where he claimed 12th place which means that he will start both races from the 6th row but could challenge for points that will be awarded for the top 10 finishers.
Dávid Bári, technical director of B3 Racing Team pointed out that Dušan Borković was the fastest driver with a SEAT Leon Cup Racer in wet conditions and was left encouraged that the team’s all three drivers managed to earn a place in Q2. He added that the sudden rainfall triggered possibly the most difficult conditions for qualifying in Macau and said it was fortunate that the drivers managed to complete the session without unexpected issues.
Races will be streamed live at www.tcr-series.tv in English on the 20th of November 2016 at 03:00 AM CET.
