Jimmy Clairet has retaken the lead of the TCR Europe drivers’ championship after a defiant run in the first race of the weekend at Hockenheim, battling through from ninth on the grid in his Audi RS 3 LMS to deprive former driver Nicola Baldan of third with two laps to go.

The two Clairet brothers were on the move in the race, with Jimmy fighting his way past the two PMA Motorsport Audis soon after the restart, and then passing the CUPRA of Eric Gené and then Baldan’s Audi for third place in the race, scoring enough points to retake the lead from his brother.
 

Teddy Clairet, who had qualified in a lowly 14th, was making good progress after a tough qualifying session and was in the battle with the two PMA Audis as well, before he suffered a braking issue at Turn 6 and hit Nicolas Taylor’s car, causing damage and sending him off into the escape road.

With Teddy not scoring, Jimmy  is back in the lead of the standings, while Team Clairet Sport continue to lead the teams’ championship.

“I can’t expect any more than this, so I’m really happy to be P3 today,” said Clairet.

“I didn’t get a good start, but I got a good restart after the safety car which was the key point of the race, so I was able to take three or four cars in one go. I then had some clear air ahead and then just waited for mistakes from the drivers ahead of me. I overtook Baldan when he made a mistake when he tried to overtake Butti, so it was an exciting race.

“It’s a bit sad for Teddy, as I saw he crashed at Turn 6 and I don’t know what happened, and I’m sad as we’re playing for this championship together. Let’s see tomorrow, as I start P2 for the reversed grid, so we have a good chance tomorrow.”