TCR Europe heads into second half of the season at Barcelona
The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is the venue for the fourth round of the 2020 TCR Europe series, with Brutal Fish Racing’s Dan Lloyd holding the advantage heading into the weekend.
The Honda Civic Type-R TCR driver made the most of problems for his main title rivals Mehdi Bennani and Mike Halder last time out at Monza to extend his points lead to 32 over Bennani’s Comtoyou Racing Audi team-mate Nicolas Baert, despite failing to finish in Race 2 after suffering a puncture.
That Lloyd was able to maintain a healthy margin in the standings goes some way to explaining just how bad the weekend was for Halder and Bennani.
For the Profi Car Team Halder driver, it was a nightmare meeting as the German retired from both races. The first, through contact with the BRC Racing Hyundai i30 N TCR of Mat’o Homola while disputing third place at the second chicane, while mechanical issues forced him out of the second race.
For Bennani, technical gremlins caused his Race 1 withdrawal while the Moroccan was able to finish eighth in Race 2 to somewhat limit the damage done by Lloyd on Saturday.
Lloyd currently leads the way on 173 points, with Baert moving up to second on 143 after a solid weekend in Monza whereby he scored a third and fifth place finish.
Bennani and Halder are next up on 125 and 122 points respectively, and each knows that a strong weekend in Spain is needed if they are to keep their realistic goals of winning the title alive.
Monza produced two new winners in the 2020 season, with JSB Compétition Peugeot’s Julien Briché finally getting his season up and running in Saturday’s opening race, winning from Lloyd.
Briché then almost pulled off an incredible double victory in Sunday’s second race, eventually falling short courtesy of a superb defensive effort from Lloyd’s Brutal Fish Honda team-mate Pepe Oriola, who claimed his maiden Series win.
Behind the top quartet in the standings, it is an increasingly tight affair, with the next five drivers separated by less than a race win (25 points). Leading that group is Target Competition’s John Filippi on 116 points, with Homola, BRC Racing team-mate Dáni Nagy, Teddy Clairet (Team Clairet Sport), Michelle Halder (Profi Car Team Halder) and Briché firmly in the hunt.
Andreas Bäckman will return to action this weekend after missing both races at Monza as the Swede recovered from a hand injury sustained in his high-speed crash in the second race at Zolder.
Bäckman took part in practice at Monza but did not set a lap in qualifying due to ongoing pain, therefore missing the races. After a double non-score in Zolder and Monza, the Target Competition Hyundai driver will be keen to make amends this weekend.
The weekend will start on Friday with free practice, with the first session scheduled for 12:40 CEST and the second for 17:30, both lasting 30 minutes. Qualifying will be held on Saturday at 11:45, with the usual Q1-Q2 format.
Race 1 takes place on Saturday afternoon, starting at 16:05 and lasting 25 minutes. The second race will start at 13:55 on Sunday.
TCR Europe series – Barcelona timetable
Friday 9th October
12:40 – Free practice 1
17:30 – Free practice 2
Saturday 10th October
11:45 – Qualifying
16:05 – Race 1
Sunday 11th October
13:55 – Race 2
All times CET
