Nathanaël Berthon wins at the Anneau du Rhin

The honor of France is safe! Nat Berthon climbs to the top of the podium in the first Alsace race. Berthon got off to an excellent start, getting rid of pole sitter Nestor Girolami (Honda) who had also started well. But in the long straight which separates the starting line and the first corner, the Frenchman's Audi RS3 LMS takes control of the race. He brings in his wake, Girolami, Mikel Azcona (Hyundai), Esteban Guerrieri (Honda) and Gilles Magnus (Audi) eager to move up the rankings. If Berthon seems able to hold off Girolami for first place, the fight for third place on the podium is attracting all eyes. Azcona, the World Cup leader, seems able to secure his position, despite the threat of Guerrieri and Gilles Magnus. The Belgian and the Argentinian will battle it out, during the first 10 minutes of the race, to get back on the Spaniard. At the start of the 5th lap, the two men could not avoid contact sending the Civic into a long drift which the Honda driver managed to control. He returned to the pit box to change his damaged tires, he fell in the ranking and finished the race in 10th place. Gilles Magnus does not intend to stop in his comeback (he started from 5th place in the race), he now has Mikel Azcona and Nestor Girolami in his sights. 

very aggressive throughout the race, Magnus put on a show ©fabgerard

Berthon considers himself lucky

The race remained compact during the 33 minutes on track. Berthon, still in the lead, must watch Girolami in his mirrors. The Argentinian himself must control his rear because of the threat Magnus finally got rid of Azcona following a superb exchange of arms between the two young pilots. Magnus will even come to rub the doors with Girolami who found the Belgian's behavior particularly aggressive. The end of the race is approaching and Berthon's pace seems to be slowing down a little; the Audi driver has already been struggling with his tires for four laps. Berthon wins his first race since Slovakia in 2020. It is a relieved boy who delivers his first sensations after the race: “ for once I was lucky, but I can tell you that I had horrible vibrations in my front left tire, I begged it to hold until the checkered. This victory in France does me a lot of good, it rewards all the hard work we have been doing for months.” Berthon wins ahead of Nestor Girolami who takes a few points from Azcona in 4th, Gilles Magnus being the last to get on the podium in this spectacular race 1. The second round will be contested at 16:15 p.m. Mehdi Bennani (Audi), 11th this morning, will start from pole position alongside Rob Huff (Cupra).  

present on the grid, Yann Ehrlacher received the hugs of many of his colleagues. ©fabgerard

race 1 results ©WTCR