Yvan Muller scored his third consecutive race victory in difficult weather conditions and eroded further his gap from championship leader Rob Huff, shrinking it to 8 points only.
Huff salvaged an important second place after making a mistake that could have proved crucial in the championship fight. The young Briton managed to keep his head cool, recovered his pace and eventually put pressure on Muller during the late stages.
Gabriele Tarquini obtained another podium result adding a consistent performance to a great start, which enabled him to create a gap and resist the return of Robert Dahlgren. The latter collected a brilliant fourth place – the best result so far for Volvo in WTCC – after dropping to eighth on the opening lap following a collision with Alain Menu.
Stefano D’Aste won the Yokohama Trophy, giving the Wiechers-Sport team a much-desired victory on their home track.
Other drivers who shone on a tarmac that was changing quickly from very wet to drying, were Pepe Oriola and Aleksei Dudukalo who finished eighth and ninth.
Key moments
Start – after two aborted attempts because of irregular line ups, Muller takes the lead from Huff and Coronel
Lap 1 – Menu hits Dahlgren who drops from fifth to eighth; Tarquini overtakes Coronel for second
Lap 1 – Monteiro pits with a puncture, consequence of a collision at the start
Lap 2 – Nykjær moves up to fourth overtaking Menu and Coronel; Menu overtakes Coronel for fifth
Lap 3 – Coronels drops to eighth behind Dahlgren and D’Aste
Lap 4 – Huff drives wide at turn 3 and rejoins ahead of Tarquini; Oriola and Engstler overtake Coronel for eight and ninth
Lap 5 – Engstler goes straight at turn 1 while trying to overtake Oriola
Lap 6 – Dahlgren overtakes Menu for fifth
Lap 8 – Dahlgren overtakes Nykjær for fourth
Lap 9 – Menu overtakes Nykjær for fifth
Lap 10 – Dudukalo overtakes Coronel for tenth; Nykjær drivers wide at turn 3 and loses sixth place to D’Aste
Lap 10 – Michelisz spins after a clash with Engstler
Lap 11 – Engstler overtakes Coronel for tenth
Lap 14 – Huff closes in on Muller; Engstler spins on the last turn after a clash with Dudukalo
Withdrawals
F. Barth: alternator; T. Monteir DNC, puncture.
| Pos. | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Y. Muller | Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T | 14 laps - 25m54.624s |
| 02 | R. Huff | Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T | +0.289s |
| 03 | G. Tarquini | SR Leon 1.6T | +13.810s |
| 04 | R. Dahlgren | Volvo C30 | +14.665s |
| 05 | A. Menu | Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T | +18.578s |
| 06 | S. D’Aste | BMW 320 TC | +25.058s |
| 07 | M. Nykjaer | SR Leon 1.6T | +33.795s |
| 08 | P. Oriola | SR Leon 1.6T | +34.362s |
| 09 | A. Dudukalo | SR Leon 1.6T | +43.187s |
| 10 | T. Coronel | BMW 320 TC | +45.665s |
| 11 | M. Bennani | BMW 320 TC | +46.105s |
| 12 | J. Villa | BMW 320 TC | +46.328s |
| 13 | K. Poulsen | BMW 320 TC | +46.627s |
| 14 | D. O’Young | Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T | +46.919s |
| 15 | N. Michelisz | BMW 320 TC | +47.560s |
| 16 | F. Engstler | BMW 320 TC | +55.237s |
| 17 | Y. Taniguchi | Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T | +1m29.885s |
| 18 | I. Okyay | BMW 320 si | +1m52.554s |
| 19 | F. Fabiani | BMW 320 si | +1 lap |
| 20 | T. Monteiro | SR Leon 1.6T | DNF |
| 21 | F. Barth | SR Leon 1.6T | DNF |
| Best lap | R. Huff | Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T | 1:49.734 |