Hungaroring, Race 1 : Yet another 1-2 for Citroën

Reigning World Touring Car Champion, Yvan Muller, scored a commanding win in the first race at the Hungaroring, today. He led home another Citroën 1-2 ahead of team mate José María López. Tiago Monteiro completed the podium in the first Honda Civic.

Nine-time World Rally Champion, Sébastien Loeb, atypically missed his start and dropped from third to seventh, allowing all four Honda cars to pass him. Local hero Norbert Michelisz, who had had a difficult qualifying session yesterday, used his talent to move up from 11th to sixth in the space of three corners.

With Coronel starting in eighth, the top-8 after the first lap stayed the same throughout the entire race, with the real fights for position happening in the back. Midway through the race, the LADA cars seemed to suffer handling problems and both Rob Huff and James Thompson were passed by the Chevrolet cars of Gianni Morbidelli and Hugo Valente.

In the TC2T class, Liqui Moly Team Engstler scored another 1-2, this time “apprentice” Pasquale Di Sabatino finishing ahead of team boss Franz Engstler.

Key moments

— Start – Loeb misses his start and drops to 7th.
— Lap 1 – Muller leads from López and the Honda cars of Monteiro, Tarquini, Bennani and Michelisz, the latter up from 11th. Thompson moves up to 10th. Coronel is first of the Chevrolet group in eighth.
— Lap 2 – The engine cover of Chilton’s Cruze is loose.
— Lap 3 – Valente chases Huff for 12th place but runs wide and sees Morbidelli pass him with a bit of door-rubbing. Muller sets provisional fastest lap.
— Lap 4 – Despite being hampered by his engine cover, Chilton keeps on chasing Coronel for 8th position. Morbidelli passes Huff.
— Lap 5 – Chilton pits while Loeb closes in on Michelisz. Morbidelli is on a roll and passes Thompson for 9th. Muller again betters the fastest lap time for the fourth consecutive lap. Engstler leads the TC2T class.
— Lap 8 – Huff outbrakes Thompson in Turn 1 for 10th; Valente does the same two corners later and Borković, who started last, follows suit in Turn 4.
— Lap 9 – Huff goes sideways in Turn 2 and is passed by Valente a corner later.
— Lap 12 – Engstler runs wide in Turn 4 which allows Di Sabatino to close up and pass his team boss in the next Turn.