Honda’s Rob Huff capped off a successful weekend in Marrakech, winning a saturated Main Race from pole position, with team mates Norbert Michelisz and Tiago Monteiro completing the podium, making it a clean sweep for the Japanese manufacturer.
Defending champion José-María López pushed hard from the start, but would have to settle for fourth.
While the Honda trio appeared in control during the race, it was a far from easy victory. The rain poured minutes before the start of the warm-up lap, forcing the entire field to switch to wet tyres and gamble on set up.
At the start, the inevitable unpredictability of the conditions and low speed agility of the Citroën allowed López to pass Monteiro, with the Argentinian only to be re-passed at turn ten.
Citroën’s Yvan Muller was unable to stay with the top four, but held on for fifth place, just ahead of Lada’s Gabriele Tarquini, whose pace improved dramatically as the race progressed.
For the first half of the race, the fight for ninth place was fiercely contested between Opening Race winner Tom Coronel, race one poleman James Thompson and Tom Chilton, who is second in the WTCC Trophy.
Coronel’s Chevrolet was struggling for rear grip, that eventually forced him to slide wide at turn seven, allowing both Thompson and Chilton through.
In the confusion of the last minute change in weather conditions, it was inevitable that some would get it right, whilst others struggled.
This was the case for both Polestar Cyan Racing’s Thed Björk and Fredrik Ekblom, who were classified as the last of the finishers, who were seemingly unable to find traction on the greasy circuit.
Honda have been able to challenge Citroën Racing a lot more this season, as a result of changeable conditions assisting in their efforts out on track,
This did not take away from a successful day for Honda, taking on the challenge of Citroën and defeating them in unpredictable conditions.
This could very well be replicated, when the WTCC reconvenes at the Nordschleife in three weeks’ time, as López is leading the drivers’ standing, ahead of Monteiro.
Race result
| POS | NO | CL | DRIVER | NAT | ENTRANT | CAR | LAPS | TIME/GAP | BEST | GD |
| 1 | 12 | Rob HUFF |  |
Honda Racing Team JAS | Honda Civic WTCC | 22 | 22 LAPS | 1:33.526 | 1 | |
| 2 | 5 | Norbert MICHELISZ |  |
Honda Racing Team JAS | Honda Civic WTCC | 22 | 0.611 | 1:33.390 | 2 | |
| 3 | 18 | Tiago MONTEIRO |  |
Honda Racing Team JAS | Honda Civic WTCC | 22 | 1.251 | 1:32.993 | 3 | |
| 4 | 37 | José María LÓPEZ |  |
Citroën Total WTCC | Citroën C-Elysée WTCC | 22 | 2.71 | 1:33.671 | 4 | |
| 5 | 68 | Yvan MULLER |  |
Citroën Total WTCC | Citroën C-Elysée WTCC | 22 | 9.916 | 1:33.274 | 5 | |
| 6 | 2 | Gabriele TARQUINI |  |
LADA Sport Rosneft | LADA Vesta WTCC | 22 | 10.517 | 1:32.679 | 10 | |
| 7 | 7 | Hugo VALENTE | |
LADA Sport Rosneft | LADA Vesta WTCC | 22 | 32.503 | 1:36.287 | 8 | |
| 8 | 25 | T | Mehdi BENNANI |  |
Sébastien Loeb Racing | Citroën C-Elysée WTCC | 22 | 36.143 | 1:33.747 | 13 |
| 9 | 15 | T | James THOMPSON | |
ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport | Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 | 22 | 37.222 | 1:33.264 | 9 |
| 10 | 3 | T | Tom CHILTON | |
Sébastien Loeb Racing | Citroën C-Elysée WTCC | 22 | 44.097 | 1:33.703 | 11 |
| 11 | 10 | Nicky CATSBURG |  |
LADA Sport Rosneft | LADA Vesta WTCC | 22 | 46.695 | 1:33.638 | 17 | |
| 12 | 9 | T | Tom CORONEL | |
ROAL Motorsport | Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 | 22 | 1:04.823 | 1:37.094 | 6 |
| 13 | 27 | T | John FILIPPI | |
Campos Racing | Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 | 22 | 1:07.716 | 1:35.045 | 14 |
| 14 | 55 | T | Ferenc FICZA | |
Zengő Motorsport | Honda Civic WTCC | 22 | 1:08.035 | 1:34.972 | 16 |
| 15 | 62 | Thed BJÖRK |  |
Polestar Cyan Racing | Volvo S60 WTCC | 21 | 1 Lp. | 1:39.539 | 7 | |
| 16 | 61 | Fredrik EKBLOM | |
Polestar Cyan Racing | Volvo S60 WTCC | 21 | 1 Lp. | 1:37.567 | 12 | |
| R | 11 | T | Grégoire DEMOUSTIER | |
Sébastien Loeb Racing | Citroën C-Elysée WTCC | 5 | 17 Lp. | 1:38.359 | 15 |
