Nathanaël Berthon first winner in Slovakia

A masterfully run race. Nathanaël Berthon takes his first WTCR victory of the season in the opening race of the Slovakia Ring meeting. 

L’Audi RS 3 LMS de l’équipe Comtoyou a passé les deux premiers virages après le départ côte à côte avec l’autre pensionnaire de la première ligne, Nicky Catsburg, sur sa Hyundai i30 N TCR, avant que le Néerlandais ne prenne la tête au troisième virage.

But Catsburg quickly began to see his pace collapse, and Berthon regained command of the race on lap three before racing to victory.

“The start was not good because I started on the wet side of the track, but it could have been worse” reacted Nathanaël Berthon.

Gabriele Tarquini moved from fifth place on the starting grid to second place at the wheel of his BRC Squadra Corse Hyundai, ahead of theAlfa Romeo Giulietta by Romeo Ferraris entered by the Mulsanne team and driven by Jean-Karl Vernay, while Catsburg fell down the hierarchy over the laps to fail in a modest 17th place on the line.

“Ninety percent of the starting grid started with the same tires,” Tarquini said, explaining that most drivers chose slicks at the front and wet tires at the rear. “It was very exciting but very slippery at the start. I was looking to attack and I took two positions in a single braking at turn 3, which was the key moment of my race”.

Vernay was delighted with his first podium for Romeo Ferraris. “It was a very difficult race, but we managed it well,” said the Frenchman. “I only lost one position from the start on the wet side of the grid, which was cool, but we managed to move up to third. »

Behind the podiums there was controversy in the battle for fourth place. Néstor Girolami, second in the championship for Münnich Motorsport, retained his position in his Honda Civic, but was put under pressure by teammate Esteban Guerrieri. He tried to assure himself on the radio that his compatriot would not attack him, but Guerrieri surprised him by carrying out a muscular overtaking maneuver, pushing his fellow title candidate back to fifth place.

“Unfortunately we lost points in the championship,” Girolami said on the team radio after the checkered flag. “Everything is not clear with the team. I was told he wouldn't attack. I'm going to talk to him. If we want to win the championship, we have to be smart. I’m really frustrated.”

Behind, championship leader Yann Ehrlacher battled from 15th place on the grid with his Lynk & Co to move up to 9th position and bring back some precious points. However, he is losing ground on Nestor Girolami who is 27 points behind in the general classification.

Very well placed in the championship so far, the two Lynk & Co teammates Yvan Muller and Thed Björk finished much further back, in 14th and 19th place. The day is likely to be very long for them.