Shanghai, Race 2: Huff leads a Chevrolet 1-2-3

Muller hits Menu at the braking of Turn 1

By Franck Drui

4 November 2012 - 10:05
Shanghai, Race 2: Huff leads a (…)

Chevrolet claimed another clean sweep for the podium of the second race, with Rob Huff crossing the line first ahead of Yvan Muller and Alain Menu. This enabled the Englishman to stretch his championship lead by 7 further points.

The key moment of the race happened at the beginning of lap 8, when Muller tried to overtake Menu who was leading at the end of the pit straight. They made contact and Huff took the opportunity to jump ahead of them both. In the final part of the race Muller recovered the second position, but Huff had built a solid gap by then.

The trio of Chevrolet cars was followed by a trio of BMW cars, with Tom Coronel, Stefano D’Aste and Mehdi Bennani finishing in fourth, fifth and sixth; the Italian claimed his second victory of the day in the Yokohama Trophy.

Gabriele Tarquini was classified seventh, ahead of Colin Turkington who managed to prevail after a race-long tough battle with Tom Boardman, Alberto Cerqui and Tiago Monteiro.

Key moments
Start – Coronel takes the lead from pole, followed by D’Aste
Lap 1 – Michelisz and MacDowall collide at Turn 1 while fighting for third
Lap 2 – Menu overtakes D’Aste for second
Lap 3 – D’Aste, whose left front door hangs loose, is passed by Muller and Huff
Lap 4 – Boardman overtakes Tarquini for sixth; Coronel loses the lead to Menu and Muller
Lap 5 – Huff overtakes Coronel for third; Monteiro overtakes Cerqui for ninth
Lap 6 – Turkington overtakes Cerqui for tenth
Lap 8 – Muller hits Menu at the braking of Turn 1; Huff jumps into the lead
Lap 9 – Menu overtakes Muller for second
Lap 11 – Muller retakes second from Menu
Lap 13 – Turkington overtakes Boardman for eighth

Withdrawals
J. Nash: DNS, engine; P. Oriola: technical failure; K. Leong: technical failure

Pos. Driver Car Time
1 Robert HUFF Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 13 laps - 25m17.714s
2 Yvan MULLER Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T +1.195
3 Alain MENU Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T +2.698
4 Tom CORONEL BMW 320 TC +4.378
5 Stefano D’ASTE BMW 320 TC +4.866
6 Mehdi BENNANI BMW 320 TC +5.574
7 Gabriele TARQUINI SEAT Leon WTCC +20.406
8 Colin TURKINGTON Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T +25.189
9 Tom BOARDMAN SEAT Leon WTCC +26.741
10 Alberto CERQUI BMW 320 TC +27.167
11 Tiago MONTEIRO Honda Civic S2000 WTCC +27.342
12 Aleksei DUDUKALO SEAT Leon WTCC +28.113
13 Darryl O’YOUNG Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T +30.937
14 Fredy BARTH SEAT Leon WTCC +32.626
15 Franz ENGSTLER BMW 320 TC +35.170
16 Fernando MONJE SEAT Leon WTCC +35.249
17 Alex MACDOWALL Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T +35.368
18 Hugo VALENTE SR Leon 1.6T +41.675
19 Tom CHILTON Ford Focus S2000 TC +42.220
20 Eric KWONG Chevrolet Cruze +75.910
21 Filipe de SOUZA Chevrolet Lacetti +81.126
22 Charles NG BMW 320 TC +94.329
23 Kin Veng NG Chevrolet Cruze +1 lap
24 Norbert MICHELISZ BMW 320 TC +1 lap
25 Alex LIU BMW 320 si DNF
26 Kevin LEONG Honda Accord Euro R DNF
27 Pepe ORIOLA SEAT Leon WTCC DNF
28 James NASH Ford Focus S2000 TC DNS

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