Gabriele Tarquini performs the right operation at Suzuka

Gabriele Tarquini (Hyundai i30 – BRC Racing Team) will be the hot favorite to clinch the 2018 WTCR title in mid-November on the streets of Macau.

The Italian had an excellent operation this Sunday morning by winning the third race of the Suzuka weekend in Japan, after taking advantage of Kevin Ceccon's penalty (Alfa Romeo Giulietta – Team Mulsanne), for a bad position on the grid.

Ceccon had the better of Tarquini on the track after missing his takeoff but the latter did not exert his talent to try to pass Ceccon, being aware of the upcoming penalty for the Alfa Romeo driver.

Tarquini wins in the end ahead of Aurélien Comte (Peugeot 308 TCR – DG Sport Compétition) and Ceccon. Mehdi Bennani (Volkswagen Golf – Sébastien Loeb Racing) and Aurélien Panis (Audi RS 3 LMS – Comtoyou Racing).

A success which allows Tarquini to have a 39-point lead over Yvan Muller (Hyundai i30 – Muller Racing), only 10th and 21st in the two Sunday races in Japan. Thed Björk (Hyundai i30 – Muller Racing) retains third place overall, 53 points behind Tarquini.

Pepe Oriola (Cupra TCR – Campos Racing), Jean-Karl Vernay (Audi RS 3 LMS – Lukoil Leopard Racing), Esteban Guerrieri (Honda Civic – Münnich Motorsport) and Norbert Michelisz (Hyundai i30 – BRC Racing Team) still remain in the running for the crown, 87 points being distributed on the route from Guia to Macau.

Rob Huff (Volkswagen Golf – Sébastien Loeb Racing) had previously won the second race ahead of Pepe Oriola and Norbert Michelisz contested with a grid composed according to the reverse grid rule. The Briton thus regains the top step of the podium, which he had not known since the second Hungarian race.

C2 and C3 Suzuka classification

Discover the report of the Suzuka WTCR events, in AUTO issue 2189hebdo, available tomorrow evening in digital version, and from this Wednesday on newsstands.