Hungaroring, Race 1: Muller beats Michelisz

A pile up after the start eliminated some potential top players

By Franck Drui

5 May 2013 - 13:10
Hungaroring, Race 1: Muller beats (…)

Yvan Muller took the most out of his pole position and managed to keep Norbert Michelisz behind at the first braking, which gave him the opportunity to control his rival for all the 12 laps.

The Frenchman increased his pace between laps 3 and 6 to create a gap and then was able to resist in the final part of the race, when Michelisz’s pace was a bit faster.

Behind them Gabriele Tarquini claimed third place, benefiting from the battle over fourth place that involved Rob Huff, Mehdi Bennani, Tom Coronel and Tom Chilton.

Eventually Huff was classified fourth ahead of Bennani who scored his first victory in the Yokohama Trophy.

A pile up after the start eliminated some potential top players such as Tiago Monteiro, Pepe Oriola, Fredy Barth and James Thompson. Coronel and Darryl O’Young are currently under investigation for this.

Key moments
Start – Muller sprints from pole to take the lead from Michelisz, Tarquini and Huff
Lap 1 – Coronel hits Monteiro at Turn 2, behind them a pile up eliminates Oriola and Thompson and forces Barth, O’Young and D’Aste to pit for repair
Lap 2 – Monteiro outbrakes himself at Turn 1 and crash into the tyre wall
Lap 2 – Coronel overtakes Bennani for sixth
Lap 5 – Coronel and Bennani overtake Chilton at Turn 13 and move up to fifth and sixth
Lap 6 – Muller and Michelisz pull away, Muller leads by one second
Lap 7 – Close fight for third between Tarquini, Huff, Coronel and Bennani
Lap 9 – Huff is put under pressure by Coronel
Lap 10 – Huff and Coronel drive side-to-side, Bennani overtakes Coronel for fifth
Lap 11 – Chilton chases Coronel for sixth
Lap 12 – Michelisz closes in on Muller, but the Frenchman maintains the lead

Pos. Driver Car Time
1 Yvan MULLER Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 12 laps - 23m17.125s
2 Norbert MICHELISZ Honda Civic +0.617
3 Gabriele TARQUINI Honda Civic +12.670
4 Rob HUFF SEAT Leon WTCC +13.573
5 Mehdi BENNANI BMW 320 TC +13.861
6 Tom CORONEL BMW 320 TC +14.133
7 Tom CHILTON Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T +15.021
8 Alex MACDOWALL Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T +17.343
9 James NASH Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T +18.073
10 Michel NYKJAER Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T +18.465
11 Marc BASSENG SEAT Leon WTCC +23.782
12 Hugo VALENTE SEAT Leon WTCC +28.395
13 Franz ENGSTLER BMW 320 TC +29.116
14 Stefano D’ASTE BMW 320 TC +30.474
15 Charles NG BMW 320 TC +34.221
16 Fernando MONJE SEAT Leon WTCC +35.498
17 Mikhail KOZLOVSKIY Lada Granta +39.708
18 René MUNNICH SEAT Leon WTCC +44.193
19 Darryl O’YOUNG BMW 320 TC DNF
20 Tom BOARDMAN SEAT Leon WTCC DNF
21 Tiago MONTEIRO Honda Civic DNF
22 Fredy BARTH BMW 320 TC DNF
23 James THOMPSON Lada Granta DNF
24 Pepe ORIOLA SEAT Leon WTCC DNF

WTCR

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