Reigning World Champion Rob Huff returned to the winner’s circle claiming his first WTCC victory in a SEAT car and also giving the first win to the ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport.
Huff performed a masterful manoeuvre at the end of the safety car period, overtaking Mehdi Bennani on the outside at Turn 1. It was a ‘now or never’ move, as the Briton knew that the BMW car would have been more consistent in the final laps. However, Bennani never gave up and shadowed Huff for the whole race trying to force him into a mistake. Although this did not happen, the Moroccan driver scored a brilliant second place and another victory in the Yokohama Trophy.
Alex MacDowall completed the podium, with his team-mate James Nash in fourth position; it was a great result for the bamboo-engineering that placed both their drivers in front of Yvan Muller.
Local hero Norbert Michelisz excited the crowd with some spectacular overtaking manoeuvres in his attempt to recover. However he eventually had to settle for eighth.
The race was disrupted by a dramatic crash that involved Gabriele Tarquini and Franz Engstler. Both drivers suffered from bruises and pains to the chest and neck and were transported to the hospital for medical checks.
Key moments
Warm up lap – JAS mechanics work on Monteiro’s car until the last minute
Start – Bennani sprints from pole and takes the lead from Huff; MacDowall, Coronel and Nash fight for third place; Monteiro starts from the pitlane
Lap 1 – Muller and Tarquini make contact at Turn 3; Tarquini’s car crashes into the barrier and bounces back, landing on the front of Engstler’s car; safety car deployed
Lap 5 – the race resumes, Huff takes the lead overtaking Bennani on the outside at Turn 4
Lap 5 – Muller overtakes Chilton for sixth and chases Coronel
Lap 6 – Michelisz overtakes D’Aste for eighth
Lap 7 – Muller overtakes Coronel for fifth
Lap 9 – Nash defends fourth place from Muller and Coronel
Lap 11 – Chilton and Coronel clash at Turn 2, Chilton moves up to sixth
Lap 12 – Barth is given a drive-through for causing a collision with Oriola
Lap 13 – Coronel retakes sixth from Chilton
Lap 14 – Huff wins from Bennani and MacDowall
| Pos. | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rob HUFF | SEAT Leon WTCC | 14 laps - 29m35.871s |
| 2 | Mehdi BENNANI | BMW 320 TC | +0.426 |
| 3 | Alex MACDOWALL | Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T | +4.043 |
| 4 | James NASH | Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T | +4.465 |
| 5 | Yvan MULLER | Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T | +4.783 |
| 6 | Tom CORONEL | BMW 320 TC | +5.490 |
| 7 | Tom CHILTON | Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T | +6.835 |
| 8 | Norbert MICHELISZ | Honda Civic | +7.232 |
| 9 | Michel NYKJAER | Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T | +8.413 |
| 10 | Darryl O’YOUNG | BMW 320 TC | +8.663 |
| 11 | Stefano D’ASTE | BMW 320 TC | +10.180 |
| 12 | James THOMPSON | Lada Granta | +14.305 |
| 13 | Tiago MONTEIRO | Honda Civic | +14.886 |
| 14 | Charles NG | BMW 320 TC | +20.289 |
| 15 | Tom BOARDMAN | SEAT Leon WTCC | +23.547 |
| 16 | Pepe ORIOLA | SEAT Leon WTCC | +24.227 |
| 17 | Marc BASSENG | SEAT Leon WTCC | +25.395 |
| 18 | Fernando MONJE | SEAT Leon WTCC | +26.536 |
| 19 | Hugo VALENTE | SEAT Leon WTCC | +31.352 |
| 20 | Mikhail KOZLOVSKIY | Lada Granta | +32.330 |
| 21 | René MUNNICH | SEAT Leon WTCC | +32.710 |
| 22 | Fredy BARTH | BMW 320 TC | +3 laps |
| 23 | Franz ENGSTLER | BMW 320 TC | DNF |
| 24 | Gabriele TARQUINI | Honda Civic | DNF |