Salzburgring, Race 1: Muller wins from heroic Coronel

Yvan Muller took a beautiful win in Race 1 under the sun at the Salzburgring. The Frenchman made good use of the pole to carry on his race almost undisturbed. The man of the race, though, was Tom Coronel, as the Dutchman conquered a brilliant second position at the wheel of his ROAL Motorsport Chevrolet RML, after battling with Loeb and later López.

The Argentine was in second when he missed the braking point at the first chicane in lap 8. He rejoined behind Coronel and attacked him fiercely but the Dutchman made a flawless defense of the runner-up position.

Behind the podium trio, the race was close but positions changed little, with Loeb taking fourth ahead of Monteiro, Chilton, Bennani, Tarquini, Michelisz, Morbidelli, Münnich and the three LADA cars.

Franz Engstler dominated again the TC2T race, with John Filippi taking second this time in the Campos Racing SEAT and Di Sabatino completing the podium.

Key moments

— Grid – The last-minute surprise is to see Valente on the grid, after Campos Racing worked all night to repair his following yesterday’s crash.
— Start – Muller takes the lead despite a very good start of Loeb, who is passed by Coronel at the chicane and soon after by López.
— Lap 1 – López takes second from Coronel. Muller leads from López and Coronel, then Loeb, Monteiro and Chilton.
— Lap 2 – López chases Muller. Valente and Borković stop at the pits.
— Lap 3 – Borković rejoins the race.
— Lap 5 – Very stable race with the two leading Citroën cars a couple of seconds ahead of a very compact group. Tarquini passes Michelisz for 8th. In TC2, Engstler leads from Filippi and Di Sabatino.
— Lap 8 – López goes straight at first chicane and loses second to Coronel.
— Lap 9 – Duel between Coronel and López with slight contact in the high speed section. Münnich passes Thompson for 12th.
— Lap 10 – Münnich passes also Huff for 11th.
— Lap 13 – Focus is on the fight for second between Coronel and López.
— Lap 15 – Nothing to do for López who his kept at bay by Coronel, while Muller wins.