Mato Homola

Mato Homola is a racing driver from Slovakia who competes in various touring cars championships. He currently drives Hyundai i30 N TCR in the TCR Europe Series.

Earlier in a touring car career, which started in 2012, he competed with various manufacturers in different international championships, finishing two times as FIA European Touring Car Cup vice-champion in 2013 and 2014.

Mato Homola began his racing career at the age of 14

Early success in karting competitions

Born in July 1994, Homola started his racing careera as a teenager in karting competitions. From 2008 to 2010 he has competed in the Slovak and Czech championships.

Although he began to race much later than most of his colleagues, Mato learned quickly and had a considerable success. In each of three years he spent in karting, Homola finished 5th in the standings of Rotax Max Junior class.

Succesful conversion from go-karts to cars

After learning basics in karting racing, Homola for the first time tried cars racing in 2010 with Homola Motorsport in the  Slovak championship. Driving a Skoda Fabia 1.4 Kit Car, he finished the season as a runner-up even after he has competed only in the second half of the season. That was a sign that Mato was ready for the bigger stage.

He continued to race at the national level but also debuted in the FIA Central European Zone Circuit Trophy. Behind the wheel of the Alfa Romeo 156 WTCC he won the national title in the D4 2.000cc class and also triumphed in the FIA CEZCT.

Mato Homola next to his BMW 320si in 2012

Mato Homola was the first Slovak in the ETCC

Mato’s progress continued in 2012. He became the first Slovakian driver to enter the FIA European Touring Car Cup. On his debut, at his home track Slovakia Ring, Mato twice claimed the 3rd position what resulted in 3rd place overall. However, that year he raced only once more in the ETCC. It was at Salzburgring where Homola had to retire due to engine failure of his BMW 320si.

The following season was a huge step forward. Mato raced full ETCC season and did a very good job. With three race wins and four 2nd places, Homola proved his talent in the very competitive championship. He managed to fight for the Championship title until last race in Brno, but at the end had to settle for the runner-up title in S2000 class, losing to Petr Fulin.

The same result he achieved in 2014. Driving a BMW 320 TC, Homola scored one win and other three podiums in S2000 TC2 Turbo class before finishing as a vice-champion for the second year in a row, this time losing to Nikolay Karamishev.

Mato Homola celebrates victory in the ETCC race at Slovakia Ring

WTCC debut in 2015, full-time TCR commitments from 2016

In 2015 Homola switched to SEAT Leon Cup Racer and competed in the Single-makes Trophy of the ETCC. With two wins and a total of seven podiums he finished 4th in the overall standings.

However, the highlight of the season was a debut in the FIA World Touring Cars Championship with Campos Racing. Mato had an opportunity to race at his home round as a guest but he failed to impress as he finished 13th in the first and 15th in the second race of the round.

Finally, Mato made an impact at international stage in 2016 when he debuted in the TCR International Series. Driving the SEAT Leon prepared by the Hungarian B3 Racing Team, he won the race at Oschersleben and scored two fastest laps over the season. He also received Fan Award in the race at Estoril Circuit for an excellent pole position and a superb fight with Gianni Morbidelli in the first race of the weekend. Homola finished 5th in the Championship that year what was a fantastic result for the young driver.

Mato Homola, 2016 TCR Series in Bahrain

Racing with DG Sport Competition since 2017

Mato remained in the International TCR Series in 2017 but now as a member of the DG Sport Competition team from Belgium. He also switched from SEAT to Opel Astra car and after some struggling at the beginning, his results improved later in the season. He scored two podiums and finished 11th in the points.

In 2018, TCR International Series and WTCC merged into the WTCR - FIA World Touring Car Cup. DG Sport Competition and Homola entered the new championship with the #70 Peugeot 308 TCR.  After a disappointing results in the first four rounds, Homola surprisingly won a race in the fifth round in Portugal. It was his only win and only podium, and he finished just 18th in the points.

Homola is celebrating WTCR victory in Portugal

Photo: tweetiz.com, homolamotorsport.sk, autogrip.sk, matohomola.sk