CUPRA extends FIA ETCR lead as Adrien Tambay is crowned King of the Weekend in Hungary 14.06.2022: CUPRA EKS drivers celebrate a thrilling 1-2 result at the FIA ETCR eTouring Car World Cup race in Hungary SuperFinal victory for Adrien Tambay crowns him King of the Weekend at the Hungaroring

    CUPRA EKS drivers celebrate a thrilling 1-2 result at the FIA ETCR eTouring Car World Cup race in Hungary


    SuperFinal victory for Adrien Tambay crowns him King of the Weekend at the Hungaroring


    Tambay takes the lead in the FIA ETCR drivers’ standings, just two points ahead of CUPRA EKS team-mate Mattias Ekström who achieved second place in Hungaroring





CUPRA EKS has extended its lead at the top of the FIA ETCR eTouring Car World Cup manufacturers’ standings after an incredible weekend of all-electric racing at the Hungaroring. Adrien Tambay won the DHL Pool Furious SuperFinal and was crowned King of the Weekend to take the lead in the drivers’ championship – with team-mate Mattias Ekström only two points behind!




As predicted, the fast and flowing 4.381km Hungaroring circuit provided some exciting racing in an incident-filled race weekend that kept everyone in the CUPRA EKS team extremely busy. The strategic deployment of the Power Up boost, which allows cars to run at 450kW capacity for a set duration during all track sessions, played an important role in overtaking and defending – a tactic all four CUPRA EKS Racing drivers have rapidly mastered and made good use of at Round 2 in Budapest.



Adrien Tambay set the fastest time in his Pool Furious Qualifying run and finished second in his Quarter Final race. A problem leaving the starting gate in Semi Final 1 saw him last by a big margin on the opening lap, and a brilliant drive saw him finish the race in second position. Starting from second on the grid for the DHL Pool Furious SuperFinal, Tambay took the lead on lap one and controlled the race from the front to take the chequered flag – giving him enough points over the course of the event to be crowned King of the Weekend.



Tom Blomqvist had been randomly drawn in the same Pool Furious group as Tambay and was fastest in Qualifying 2 before recording a DNF in his Quarter Final race. He bounced back magnificently to win his Semi Final to line up fourth on the grid for the SuperFinal. He held that position initially, before moving up to second at mid-race distance and follow his team-mate across the line.



Mattias Ekström was once again on brilliant form – setting the fastest time in Pool Fast Free Practice and in Qualifying and winning his Quarter Final race. He started the Semi Final from pole but lost the lead on the opening lap and after an incredibly hard fight he came home third.



That put him third on the grid for the five-lap DHL Pool Fast SuperFinal and after a good start he held that position before taking second place with a great move up the inside on the final corner of the first lap. He defended the position brilliantly in a big last lap battle to take second in the SuperFinal and just miss out on winning King of the Weekend by 10 points.



Jordi Gené settled into the race weekend well and finished second in his Pool Fast Semi Final. He made a great start from fifth on the grid for the SuperFinal, but several heavy contacts during the first lap forced him into the pits to change a puncture. He re-joined the race a lap down yet still scored valuable points for finishing the SuperFinal.






Adrien Tambay CUPRA EKS driver:


“The SuperFinal was amazing! I had to make ground following my mistakes of the day before and I put a bit of pressure on myself because I wanted to reward the team for all their hard work with a good result. I knew the CUPRA e-Racer was very quick around the Hungaroring and that I had to have a trouble-free SuperFinal.



 I started from second on the grid and I knew I had to take the lead early which I did after the first two corners. Plan A worked, so I’m pretty happy! Now we have to keep our heads down and work for the home race of CUPRA at Jarama next weekend.”




Mattias Ekström CUPRA EKS driver:


“My SuperFinal race was good and ultimately second place. I’m happy with that result and very happy for the CUPRA EKS team because Adrien [Tambay] managed to win King of the Weekend. It’s a huge result for the team in the manufacturers’ championship, which is obviously very important. It’s all eyes forward for the next race. The CUPRA e-Racer is a very good race car and we should be able to score another great result at Jarama.”



It's back-to-back race weekends in the FIA ETCR eTouring Car World Cup, as Round 3 takes place at the Circuito del Jarama in Spain on 17-19 June.



Arnaud Hacault- photos SEAT