C2: Tarquini winner Slovakia Ring and again leader of the general

Fourth victory of the year for the Italian from the BRC Racing Team who dispossesses Muller of the championship lead by three points. Three Hondas could lose their Saturday evening result for exceeding the power boost.

Published on 14/07/2018 à 20:20

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C2: Tarquini winner Slovakia Ring and again leader of the general

At 56 years, Gabriele tarquini (Hyundai) knows music. The Italian, sitting second on the grid for Race 2 of the World Touring Car Cup (WTCR) in Slovakia, used his Touring experience to score his fourth victory of 2018.

The 2009 WTCC champion easily got rid of the pole sitter Norbert nagy (Cupra) to take the lead from the first sector. He becomes leader of the general classification again by three points ahead of Yvan Muller (Hyundai), a rank he previously held in Morocco at the start of the season.

#WTCR The veteran of the set Gabriele #Tarquini winner of the C2 #SlovakiaRing ! Norbert #Nagy 2nd, best result of his career! @FIA_WTCR @HMSGOfficial @Cupraracing pic.twitter.com/DaK9tAiB5Z

— mcasaurangvergez@autohebdo.fr (@MedhiCasaurang) July 14, 2018

The reverse grid system allowed many drivers to move up in spectacular fashion. Yvan muller thus gleaned four places when the lights went out and preferred to secure a rewarding third position in the general classification.

The day ended badly for some of the title challengers, as Jean Karl Vernay (Audi). While fighting to enter the top 10, the Frenchman went into the gravel trap before to bring his RS3 LMS back to the pits to give up.

Even though he crossed the finish line, Yann Erlacher (Honda, 10th) lost ground on the Hyundais overall. The Alsatian is now relegated to 31 points behind leader Gabriele Tarquini.

Among the other abandonments, let us note the two Volkswagen Golf GTIs of Sébastien Loeb Racing for Rob Huff and Mehdi Bennani, who were at the back of the standings, Aurélien Panis (Audi) and the withdrawal of Tom Coronel (Honda). Its right front shock absorber could not be repaired in time.

Be careful though, the result of the race remains provisional. The Hondas of Benjamin Lessennes (5th), Esteban Guerrieri (9th) and Tom Coronel were pinned for exceeding the power boost pressure during testing a few hours earlier. They should be excluded from the results, but the Boutsen Ginion Racing and Münnich Motorsport teams appealed before this decision by the stewards was implemented.

Race 3 is scheduled for 11:45 a.m. Sunday.

Rankings Race 2 WTCR at the Slovakia Ring: