Stefano D’Aste has taken his first World Touring Car Championship win in the second race at the Salzburgring – after all three leading Chevrolet’s suffered punctures towards the end of the race.
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Before the race had started, both the Special Tuning Racing cars were withdrawn – Darryl O’Young with damage while Tom Boardman had transmission issues.
Pole Position driver Alexey Dudukalo was able to start but he lost out to the fast starting BMW’s of Tom Coronel and D’Aste while the three Chevrolets were already on a march from rows four and five of the grid.
It took four laps for the lead Chevrolet of Yvan Muller to move into the lead, having taken second from D’Aste at the first chicane, he then moved into the lead on the back straight with Huff chasing.
Race one winner Huff was second half way round the fifth lap and set about chasing down Muller for the lead, and Menu was catching as well and he moved into fourth on the fifth lap.
Menu soon moved into third and made it a Chevrolet 1, 2, 3 – before his race ended prematurely in the barriers at turn nine. Menu’s puncture promoted the two BMW drivers’ into third and fourth.
Alex MacDowall soon joined Menu in the gravel, his bamboo engineering Chevrolet Cruze also had a puncture and he ended up in the same position as Menu.
Gabriele Tarquini was soon off with a puncture, and he limped round to the pits for repairs. While Tarquini was being repaired, Coronel and D’Aste were catching the leading Chevrolet’s for the lead.
The final lap saw the Chevrolet duo open up a slight advantage over the two BMW drivers’ but three corners from home, Muller saw his chance of victory blow up as he suffered a front left puncture and he visited the gravel trap.
This promoted Huff into the lead but his tyre went at the penultimate corner, and Coronel looked to move to the inside but found his route blocked. D’Aste took advantage and went round the outside to secure his first WTCC victory and the first for the Wiechers-Sport team.
A hobbled Huff just held off Coronel for second while Pepe Oriola brought home the #74 SEAT Tuenti Racing Team SEAT Leon fourth, with Zengo Motorsport’s Norbert Michelisz fifth.
The top ten was completed by Mehdi Bennani, Coronel’s ROAL Motorsport team-mate Alberto Cerqui, Muller who had recovered from the gravel, Franz Engstler and James Nash, who secured his second top ten finish of the weekend.
Huff has closed the gap to Muller to eight points ahead of the trip to Portugal while Menu has slipped 31 points behind Muller. Coronel has moved back into being the best of the rest, just ahead of Tarquini, while Oriola continues to lead the way in the Yokohama Independents trophy.