Sport: Happy ending for Florian Thoma (VW)
TCR MIDDLE EAST The TCR Championship of the Middle East ended unusually in Bahrain. Due to heavy rain in the desert state, there was only one final run, which Florian Thoma finished second in the VW Golf GTI TCR. In the overall standings, the man from Bern took bronze. There are only a few days a year when it [...]
There are only a few days a year when it rains so much in the United Arab Emirates - last Saturday was one of them. And then, of all days, nine drivers still lined up for the finale of the TCR Series Middle East on the shortened Bahrain GP circuit (2.55 km) under floodlights, Florian Thoma among them.
His teammate Luca Engstler turned pole position into a start-finish victory endangered only by aquaplaning after two additional formation laps, not least thanks to the best visibility conditions.
The soon-to-be 18-year-old son of Allgäu-based team owner Frank Engstler confidently maintained his position at the top of the standings with his third success in the fifth race. Following the cancellation of the final race due to unacceptable conditions, this made him the youngest champion of an official TCR championship to date.
Florian Thoma initially dropped from third on the grid to fifth, whereupon he risked a lot to make up for the lost positions. He more than succeeded, crossing the finish line in second place just six seconds behind the 22-year-old from Studen, Switzerland.
Second place in the very first rainstorm - and this in the desert
As a result, the official brand ambassador of Volkswagen Switzerland ultimately secured third place overall behind Engstler and Italy's Giacomo Altoè in an Audi RS3 LMS. Thanks to the one-two win, Engstler Motorsport also clearly clinched the team classification.
Florian Thoma: "Apart from a half-hour test at Hockenheim, I've never driven in the wet before. I would never have thought that I would actually experience my first rain race in this championship. I was too cautious at the start, but after getting used to it and feeling out the limit in the wet, I was able to catch up to second place. At the end, the aquaplaning was extreme, so I'm happy with my performance. Now I'm hoping that things will go even better in the ADAC TCR Germany starting in April."
http://middleeast.tcr-series.com
