Muller emerges victorious from the carnage in Race 1 at Vila Real

It was in the blazing sun that Race 1 of the World Touring Car Cup (WTCR) ended on Saturday in Vila Real (Portugal) with the success of Yvan Muller (Hyundai), three hours after lights out.

A spectacular pileup forced race management to replace a row of rails and safety fences while six competitors remained on the floor, their vehicles being too damaged: championship leader Yann Ehrlacher (Honda), the two representatives of Sébastien Loeb Racing at the origin of the crash Rob Huff and Mehdi Bennani (Volkswagen), Thed Björk (Hyundai), John Filippi (Cupra), James Thompson (Honda) and Gianni Morbidelli (Alfa Romeo). It was impossible to know on Saturday evening whether these drivers could be ready for the Sunday races.

Lucky to have lost a good ten positions at the start (and therefore not to be caught in the pile of crumpled sheet metal), Yvan Muller was able to restart in first place after the track was cleared; the four-time WTCC champion maintained command throughout the 13 laps of regular racing.

A fine player, the Alsatian, who takes the lead in the general ranking of Drivers with 164 points (compared to 146 for Yann Ehrlacher) does not see this event as a regular victory. “I take the points but it's not a real success. I want to remind you that Rob (Huff) was the fastest today in practice, and he was going to win the race if not for the accident. »

Race winner! Yvan Muller P2 @E_Guerrieri P3 @OriolaPepe74 #WTCR pic.twitter.com/Hncb0MRRLt

— FIA WTCR / Oscaro (@FIA_WTCR) 23th June 2018

Spanish speakers Stephen Guerrieri (Honda) and Pepe Oriola (Cupra) complete the podium. The latter especially benefited from the puncture on the left front of Gabriele Tarquini (Hyundai) in the very last turns!

Jean Karl Vernay (Audi) finished fifth and moved up to third place in the Drivers' championship with 133 points. Aurélien Comte (Peugeot ) finished sixth and Nathanaël Berthon (Audi) is eighth.

Ranking Race 1 WTCR in Vila Real: