Honda opens the brand at the Pau Grand Prix

Some say the two South Americans will pay dearly for their pride in showing off their top speed so early in the season. The Honda Civics will carry 40 kg of ballast from the next meeting at the Nürburgring. Taking that into account, Girolami managed this race perfectly from start to finish. Bebu got the best start in front of his friend Guerrieri. Yvan Muller immediately followed suit. Sixth at the start, Yann Ehrlacher (Lynk & Co) managed to overtake his teammate Ma Qing Hua at the start of the race. The objective for the title holder is clear: “ You have to finish this race and score as many points as possible. When we are moderately qualified, we have to be intelligent, especially on a track where overtaking is complicated.". The Frenchman will lead a wise race and pocket the points for 4th place.

unlucky Nathanaël Berthon (Audi) suffered a slow puncture. ©DPPI

The Alsatian finished in this place thanks to the bad luck of Nathanaël Berthon (Audi Sport) who was nevertheless flamboyant in this round. The Audi driver had to return to the pits two minutes from the checkerboard, even though he had a solid place in the top 5. It was a slow puncture contracted in the first moments of the race which forced the Frenchman to finally finish 16th. The race was lively in the peloton, Mikel Azcona (Hyundai) had to use his elbows and his bumpers to finish 6th ahead of Santiago Urrutia (Lynk & Co). Mehdi Bennani (Audi Comtoyou) finished 10th for his return to the World Cup. 

https://twitter.com/FIA_WTCR/status/1523271899224379392

WTCR Pau standings – Race 1:

2022 WTCR Round XNUMX standings ©WTCR

The second race of the World Touring Car Cup will take place at 17:10 p.m., still on the streets of Pau (FR).

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