Sam Dejonghe wins busy first sprint race at a wet Circuit Assen
Sam Dejonghe claimed his first sprint race victory of the year at TT Circuit Assen, finishing ahead of team-mate Mathieu Detry, though the result is in question as Detry is due to serve a drive-through penalty.
Willem Meijer leapt into the lead at the start in the Bas Koeten Audi ahead of a fast-starting Honda of Tom Coronel, while Mika Morien also had a great start in the second of the Bas Koeten Audis, and passed Coronel’s Honda at Turn 3.
The two Audis began to pull away, while Coronel was passed on the second lap by Sam Dejonghe in the Team WRT SEAT.
The officials soon judged that Meijer’s start was “too good”, as the Dutchman was handed a drive-through penalty which promoted team-mate Morien to the lead.
On lap five, Coronel lost a further spot to Mathieu Detry’s Volkswagen, with the Team WRT driver now set to further close in on the championship lead.
On lap seven, Morien slipped behind both the Team WRT cars, with Dejonghe now leading from Detry, but Detry was soon confirmed to have a drive-through penalty for contact with Coronel as he passed. With two laps left, Detry never served the penalty and crossed the line in second, but was dropped to seventh with 30 seconds added to his time.
Benjamin Lessennes has extended his lead in the standings over Guillaume Mondron, after Coronel finished ahead of Guillaume’s brother Edouard on track.
Race 2 follows imminently.
