Suzuka, Race 1: Menu leads Chevrolet 1-2-3

Alain Menu converted his pole position to his fourth race win of the season and led home another 1-2-3 for Chevrolet, as his Cruze was followed by the sister cars of Yvan Muller and Rob Huff.

Alex MacDowall completed Chevrolet’s hat trick by finishing fifth overall and first of the Yokohama Trophy in his bamboo-engineering Cruze.

The top positions were decided immediately after the start, when Muller kept Huff at bay resisting a contact into Turn 2, while Gabriele Tarquini overtook MacDowall for fourth.

However, the battles between the midfielders and the back markers were exciting. A group of seven drivers – Dudukalo, Bennani, Coronel, Oriola, D’Aste, Monteiro and Egstler – was fighting for the sixth place. With four laps to go Mehdi Bennani, under pressure from Tom Coronel, hit Aleksei Dudukalo and retired, while the Russian was able to keep the lead of the pack. Tiago Monteiro finished tenth and scored the first point for Honda in the Civic’s maiden race.

A sextet formed by Boardman, Michelisz, Yoshimoto, Nash, Cerqui and Monje fought for the 13th position. After a number of clashes, Boardman prevailed, while Yoshimoto dropped back.

Key moments
Start – Menu takes the lead from pole
Lap 1 – Muller keeps second from Huff; Tarquini overtakes MacDowall for fourth
Lap 2 – Ng goes out at Turn 1 and rejoins
Lap 3 – Boardman overtakes Michelisz for 14th
Lap 4 – Yoshimoto overtakes Michelisz for 15th
Lap 6 – Monteiro and O’Young make contact while fighting for 11th
Lap 9 – Michelisz knock on Boardman’s rear bumper
Lap 11 – Boardman overtakes Yoshimoto for 14th
Lap 12 – Michelisz overtakes Yoshimoto for 15th
Lap 14 – Cerqui spins onto the gravel at Turn 1
Lap 15 – Münnich spins at Turn 8
Lap 21 – Coronel puts pressure on Bennani who is seventh
Lap 22 – Bennani hits Dudukalo and retires

Withdrawals
A. Cerqui: race incident; M. Bennani: race incident