You could say that Chevrolet victories at the Salzburgring were expected, considering how quick the Cruze cars have been on the uphill part of the Austrian racetrack.
Actually, those predictions came true, although the names of the drivers who won the two races were not the top-rated ones.
Michel Nykjær and James Nash obviously benefited from the grid penalties imposed after Saturday’s much-debated qualifying session. Especially so, because among the drivers
punished by the Stewards were RML team-mates Yvan Muller and Tom Chilton who had shown a far superior pace.
However, both today’s winners deserved their successes. Nykjær completed a spotless Race 1, leading from lights to flag and keeping Nash at bay on the way to his second victory of the season. Nash reproduced the Dane’s performance in Race 2, resisting the pressure from
Norbert Michelisz and creating a gap that was large enough to keep Muller at a safe distance on the last lap. This was the first WTCC win for both the young Englishman and the bamboo-engineering team.
It was also the first time in WTCC history that competitors of the Yokohama Trophy won both races in the same weekend.
In the overall championship Muller extended his lead up to 80 points. The Frenchman put in two dogged performances, claiming two podium results and taking maximum benefit from the
problems that plagued Gabriele Tarquini and his Honda Civic.
The championship will resume at the Moscow Raceway on June 8th and 9th for rounds 11 and 12, marking the series’ first visit to Russia.