Rally ace Thierry Neuville has won his first ever touring car race

The World Rally Championship star Thierry Neuville made a dream debut of his circuit racing career in this weekend’s ADAC TCR Germany event at Nürburgring, where he participated as the VIP guest. In his first-ever touring car race, Neuville secured the pole position and then converted it into a victory.

Neuville was driving the #104 Hyundai i30 N TCR for Hyundai Team Engstler, defeating his teammate Max Hesse by 4.233 seconds. The young Swiss driver Julien Apotheloz finished third in Topcar Sport’s Cupra TCR.

“It was a lot of fun. If the result is good, it’s always fun. I had a very good race, the start was the hardest. After that, I had to concentrate on taking the ideal line and doing my laps clean. I did a good job, only in the end the tires break down a bit and I had to make sure I finished well,” Neuville said.

Thierry Neuville in a Hyundai i30 N TCR at Nurburgring

LMS Racing’s Antti Buri was fourth in an Audi RS3 LMS, claiming the lead in the overall standings. On Sunday, Pascal Eberle started from pole on the reverse grid. Neuville started from tenth place.

The Race 2 was shortened due to torrential rain with thirteen minutes still on the clock. Max Hesse was declared winner, in front of Pascal Eberle and Antti Buri.