Björk and Homola triumph in Vila Real

The Swede and the Slovak went through the various clashes typical of urban races on the Portuguese circuit. Yvan Muller increases his lead overall.

Published on 24/06/2018 à 19:16

⁰ View comments)

A day after his Hyundai i30 N caught fire during Race 1 pileup in Vila Real (Portugal), Thed Bjork dominated the debates for the final round of the World Touring Car Cup (WTCR) late Sunday afternoon.

Author of pole, the outgoing WTCC champion was never worried despite three safety car interventions throughout the 15 laps. “This race was fantastic. The speed of my car was incredible, I love this track and I was flying on the track”, smiled the Swede, who is relaunching with a view to the title (5th with 143 points).

WINNER! Leading the race from start to finish, @Bjorkbm #WTCR pic.twitter.com/kene8aCcHl

— FIA WTCR / Oscaro (@FIA_WTCR) 24th June 2018

Hyundai a fait main basse sur le podium de la Course 3 avec Gabriele Tarquini and Norbert Michelisz second and third. The first Frenchman classified is Yann Erlacher (Honda, 7th). Aurélien Panis (Audi, 9th) and Jean-Karl Vernay (Audi, 10th) managed to score a few points.

John Filippi (Cupra) had to retire even though he could have aimed for a points finish. Nathanaël Berthon (Audi) did not finish while Aurélien Comte (Peugeot ) did not start for mechanical reasons.

A few hours earlier, during Race 2, the Slovak Mat'o Homola (Peugeot) reaped its first laurels in the discipline thanks to the Joker lap. The driver took the advantage over Yvan Muller (Hyundai) when the Frenchman took the slower passage around the roundabout.

Thank you for the lesson @Tiagosworld18 with the #jokerlap yesterday @FIA_WTCR pic.twitter.com/wf89iCDnQf

— Mato Homola (@MatoHomola) 24th June 2018

Starting from pole position, Gordon Shedden (Audi) was stripped of his third place due to a five-second penalty for violating the track limits. Pepe Oriola (Cupra) takes his second podium of the weekend ahead of Jean-Karl Vernay (Audi).

Two other French people finished in the Top 10: Yann Ehrlacher (Honda, 7th) and Aurélien Panis (Audi, 8th). John Filippi (Cupra) finished 12th, while Aurélien Comte (Peugeot) and Nathanaël Berthon (Audi) gave up.

In the general classification, Yvan Muller is getting some fresh air with a 23-point lead over his nephew Yann Ehrlacher. Gabriele Tarquini returns to 25 points after two discreet weekends. Jean-Karl Vernay is fourth, 36 points behind the Alsatian.

The next WTCR round will be held in Slovakia in three weeks (July 13-15).

Ranking Race 2 WTCR in Vila Real:

Ranking Race 3 WTCR in Vila Real: