Alfa Romeo finally on top in Slovakia

After the victory of Frédéric Vervisch (Audi RS 3 – Audi Sport Team Comtoyou) in race 1, the last two confrontations of the SlovakiaRing weekend saw the success of Nestor Girolami (Honda Civic – Münnich Motorsport) and especially Ma Qing Hua (Alfa Romeo – Team Mulsanne) during the final test.

Second on the grid, Girolami placed himself in the wake of pole sitter Rob Huff (Volkswagen Golf – Sébastien Loeb Racing) from the start of the race, finally waiting for the third lap to take control of the event.

The Argentinian will never be worried about victory, seeing his teammate Esteban Guerrieri move up to second position, after starting sixth. The podium for this race 2 is completed by Kevin Ceccon (Alfa Romeo – Team Mulsanne).

Yvan Muller (Lynk&Co 03 – Cyan Racing) is the best Frenchman in 11th position, just ahead of Jean-Karl Vernay (Audi RS 3 – Audi Sport Team Leopard Racing).

Il faudra toutefois attendre la dernière course du week-end pour voir les Alfa Romeo briller encore plus. Derrière le poleman Nicky Catsburg (Hyundai i30 – BRC Hyundai Lukoil), Ma Qing Hua a profité du départ pour venir s’immiscer en tête devant Catsburg et Norbert Michelisz (Hyundai i30 – BRC Hyundai Squadra Corse).

The Chinese remained untouchable throughout the 11 laps of the race, imposing the Alfa Romeo Giulietta for the first time this year. Norbert Michelisz finished second and saved BRC Hyundai's weekend, since Nicky Catsburg was never able to convert his two poles.

The Alfa Romeo – Team Mulsanne clan can also count on Kevin Ceccon's second consecutive podium, perfectly completing the overall result of the Italian team. Aurélien Panis (Cupra Leon – Comtoyou Racing) finished 9th and first Frenchman in this third race.

Race 2 ranking

Race 3 ranking

Discover the full report of the SlovakiaRing WTCR event, in AUTO issue 2216hebdo, available tomorrow evening in digital version and this Wednesday on newsstands.