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Timurzyanov wins and Doran third at the ERC in Belgium

Timur Timerzyanov won the event, regaining the lead of the championship and becoming the first Russian driver ever to win an event outright. The team's second Supercar Citroën C4 came home in third place in the hands of Englishman Liam Doran. "I'm very happy with the result,' said team boss Kenneth Hansen, "Both drivers drove brilliantly, they respected each other and understood the need to take a long view and get results that are good for the championship - I'm proud to have these two drivers in my cars. Liam got everything together today after a bit of bad luck in the first day of the event and Timur was very good under pressure. It's a very good result and gives everyone confidence before the next round of the championship in Holland next week."

Doran and Timerzyanov shared the front row of the A final grid, Timerzyanov having been fastest in saturday's first heat with Doran then setting the pace to be fastest in the second qualifying heat. The Englishman pipped his team mate to pole in the third heat but at the start of the final it was the Russian's C4 that edged ahead
"We were level at the start and then I got a bit of wheelspin and Timur just edged ahead. If it had been anyone else I would not have backed off but when it's your team mate there has to be a bit of respect, so I let him have the line into the first corner," said Doran who then took his Joker Lap early. "I went straight into the Joker but got stuck behind Andy Scott for two laps and that cost me the chance to win, without that I think it would have been me and Timur at the end." As it was, the delay allowed Frode Holte to split the Citroën pair and take second place.

Having edged ahead in the first corner, Timerzyanov led the race throughout but had a scare in the last lap. "It was completely under control. I got the lead and then I was as careful as possible, quick but clean. The only problem was at the end, I went as fast as I could into the Joker Lap but the car jumped a bit and got a puncture on the right rear. I felt that there was a problem and was very careful in the last half lap, braking harder and keeping the inside line," said Timerzyanov who was almost speechless with joy when the race ended, "It's fantastic to win a race in my first year racing a Supercar, more than I expected. I'm the first Russian winner and I'm leading the championship again so this is some kind of perfect day!"

The team's third car in the championship is raced by Johan Larsson in the Super1600 class. The young Swede had a mixed event with his Citroën C2, the weekend getting off to a bad start after a mix up in the timed practice session. "It rained in timed practice and some drivers changed to wet tyres but there was a lot of confusion. Then the officials said that I was late going to the grid and gave me, and a lot of others, a three-second penalty. I don't know if that was right or not, but it really changed my race," said Larsson who qualified ninth after the three heats and started in the B final.
"I hoped for more than a B final but it's not so bad and for the championship it's actually okay because several of the other drivers also had the same kind of problems today. The full-throttle gear shift broke in the final and I had to change my driving a bit because of that. We finished eighth, scored points and had good speed in the car so I'm focusing on that before we go to Holand next week," said Larsson.

Results Supercar

1 Timur Timerzyanov (RUS)
2 Liam Doran (GB)
3 Frode Holte (N)
4 Andy Scott (GB)
5 Ludvig Hunsbedt (N)
6 Michael De Keersmaecker (B)

Championship

1 Timerzyanov 74
2 Tanner Foust (USA) 70
3 Holte 67
4 Doran 63
5 Sverre Isachsen (N) 63
6 Toomas Heikkinen (FIN) 56

Results Super1600

1 Julian Godfrey (GB)
2 Andreas Bakkerud (N)
3 Christian Petrakovits (A)
4 Ulrik Linnemann (DK)
5 Vadim Makarov (RUS)
6 Clemens Meyer (D)
7 Daniel Holten (N)
8 Johan Larsson (S)

Championship Super 1600

1 Bakkerud 91
2 Linnemann 71
3 Meyer 56
4 Larsson 53
5 David Johansson (S) 44
6 Ildar Rakhmatullin (RUS) 43.

Next event, Valkenswaard, Holland, August 12-14

By Hansen Motorsport