Junui Park was delighted to secure his second win of the season, with the points haul for the South Korean enough to keep the Hyundai driver in outside contention for the drivers’ championship heading to Barcelona.

The result was somewhat bittersweet for all, as Junui Park then confirmed he’ll not be competing next year, as he’ll be taking part in his national service.

Park qualified an impressive second on the grid in the new Hyundai Elantra N EV TCR, just behind pole-sitter Gabriele Covini’s BRC Hyundai.

After making a good start, Park kept in contact with Covini during the early stages, before Covini then experienced a front-left puncture which he believes was due to debris right before the Ascari chicane.

Park assumed the lead and was then under pressure from Nicolas Taylor’s PMA Motorsport Audi until the final moments of the race, when Taylor experienced his own puncture, leaving Park to take a dominant victory by over 16 seconds ahead of the Monlau Motorsport CUPRAs of Adam Shepherd and Marco Butti, who’d both backed off to conserve their tyres.

 “My last win at Hungaroring was in Race 2, but this time I qualified in P2 and so it’s the first time I’ve won a Race 1, so I’m very happy,” said Park. “There were many punctures, so I was managing my tyres.

“The team did a very good job with the car, it’s a great result. Next year I’ll stop racing as I have military service, so I want to thank Solite Indigo Racing for these last five years.”