DG Sport Compétition’s Aurélien Comte took victory in the reverse-grid second FIA World Touring Car Cup (WTCR) race at Zandvoort, having passed the Honda of pole-sitter James Thompson at the very start.
A superb start for Comte’s Peugeot saw the Frenchman lead before the first corner and he never looked back.
Comte was twice able to open up a comfortable lead, including after a two-lap safety car period required when Team Mulsanne’s Fabrizio Giovanardi and Comtoyou Racing’s Aurélien Panis came together on lap five.
Münnich Motorsport’s Yann Ehrlacher took second, after the Honda driver put in a spirited performance that saw him move from fifth to fourth at the start, before picking off Campos Racing’s Pepe Oriola for third with just three laps to go.
Despite contact between Ehrlacher and Oriola, who drove an especially defensive line, Ehrlacher was able to get through and he then took second after team-mate Thompson handed him the position on the last lap to boost his championship standing.
Thompson himself was able to claim third – marking the Brit’s first podium finish in touring car racing since June 2011, almost seven years ago.
Oriola hung on to claim fourth – despite backing the pack up as his tyres faded – ahead of Sébastien Loeb Racing’s Mehdi Bennani in fifth.
Gordon Shedden was the leading Audi driver in sixth, the WRT driver having had a back-and-forth battle with Münnich Motorsport’s Esteban Guerrieri late in the race that saw the duo swap positions several times.
Guerrieri took seventh, ahead of SLR’s Rob Huff in eighth, although the Volkswagen driver had his hands full to keep Frédéric Vervisch behind him, with slight contact between the duo on the opening lap of the race which pitched Huff wide through the dirt.
Vervisch claimed ninth, whilst the second Campos CUPRA of John Filippi completed the top ten, having finished where he started.
A fruitless race for Hyundai saw YMR’s Thed Björk once again finish as the best driver for the brand in 16th position, whilst Team Principal Yvan Muller retired in the pits, having at one stage slid wide with an unforced error.
Jean-Karl Vernay started from the pitlane as a result of an overnight engine change penalty demoting him to the back of the grid, and the Frenchman completed only exploratory laps in the race, ultimately being not classified but posting the fastest lap of all.
Ehrlacher’s second place means he is just one point behind series leader Muller heading into the final race of the day.
Race three takes place at 16:35 CEST (15:35 BST).
Race result
| POS | NO | DRIVER | NAT | ENTRANT | CAR | LAPS | TIME | BEST | GD |
| 1 | 7 | Aurélien COMTE |  |
DG Sport Compétition | Peugeot 308 TCR | 14 | 14 LAPS | 1:46.761 | 2 |
| 2 | 68 | Yann EHRLACHER | |
ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport | Honda Civic Type R TCR | 14 | 4.757 | 1:46.902 | 5 |
| 3 | 15 | James THOMPSON |  |
ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport | Honda Civic Type R TCR | 14 | 5.255 | 1:46.852 | 1 |
| 4 | 74 | Pepe ORIOLA |  |
Team Oscaro by Campos Racing | CUPRA TCR | 14 | 6.657 | 1:46.975 | 3 |
| 5 | 25 | Mehdi BENNANI |  |
Sébastien Loeb Racing | Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR | 14 | 7.120 | 1:47.062 | 4 |
| 6 | 52 | Gordon SHEDDEN | |
Audi Sport Leopard Lukoil Team | Audi RS3 LMS | 14 | 7.458 | 1:47.218 | 8 |
| 7 | 86 | Esteban GUERRIERI |  |
ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport | Honda Civic Type R TCR | 14 | 8.086 | 1:46.960 | 6 |
| 8 | 12 | Rob HUFF | |
Sébastien Loeb Racing | Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR | 14 | 9.198 | 1:47.279 | 9 |
| 9 | 22 | Frédéric VERVISCH |  |
Audi Sport Team Comtoyou | Audi RS3 LMS | 14 | 9.567 | 1:47.509 | 7 |
| 10 | 27 | John FILIPPI | |
Team Oscaro by Campos Racing | CUPRA TCR | 14 | 9.988 | 1:47.385 | 10 |
| 11 | 20 | Denis DUPONT | |
Comtoyou Racing | Audi RS3 LMS | 14 | 10.557 | 1:47.659 | 12 |
| 12 | 63 | Benjamin LESSENNES | |
Boutsen Ginion Racing | Honda Civic Type R TCR | 14 | 10.887 | 1:47.401 | 13 |
| 13 | 10 | Gianni MORBIDELLI |  |
Team Mulsanne | Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR | 14 | 11.561 | 1:47.649 | 16 |
| 14 | 9 | Tom CORONEL |  |
Boutsen Ginion Racing | Honda Civic Type R TCR | 14 | 12.855 | 1:47.888 | 22 |
| 15 | 23 | Nathanaël BERTHON | |
Comtoyou Racing | Audi RS3 LMS | 14 | 13.656 | 1:47.401 | 14 |
| 16 | 11 | Thed BJÖRK |  |
YMR | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 14 | 13.729 | 1:47.799 | 18 |
| 17 | 66 | Zsolt Dávid SZABÓ |  |
Zengő Motorsport | CUPRA TCR | 14 | 13.798 | 1:47.881 | 24 |
| 18 | 70 | Mat’o HOMOLA |  |
DG Sport Compétition | Peugeot 308 TCR | 14 | 16.508 | 1:48.504 | 19 |
| 19 | 30 | Gabriele TARQUINI | |
BRC Racing Team | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 14 | 16.961 | 1:48.370 | 20 |
| 20 | 8 | Norbert NAGY | |
Zengő Motorsport | CUPRA TCR | 14 | 17.493 | 1:48.147 | 21 |
| 21 | 2 | Bernhard VAN ORANJE NASSAU | |
Bas Koeten Racing | Audi RS3 LMS | 14 | 19.996 | 1:48.357 | 23 |
| 22 | 3 | Michael VERHAGEN | |
Bas Koeten Racing | Audi RS3 LMS | 14 | 23.897 | 1:48.830 | 25 |
| 23 | 5 | Norbert MICHELISZ | |
BRC Racing Team | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 14 | 25.146 | 1:48.158 | 26 |
| R | 48 | Yvan MULLER | |
YMR | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 9 | DNF | 1:48.100 | 17 |
| R | 21 | Aurélien PANIS | |
Comtoyou Racing | Audi RS3 LMS | 4 | DNF | 1:47.740 | 11 |
| R | 88 | Fabrizio GIOVANARDI | |
Team Mulsanne | Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR | 4 | DNF | 1:47.871 | 15 |
| R | 69 | Jean-Karl VERNAY | |
Audi Sport Leopard Lukoil Team | Audi RS3 LMS | 4 | DNF | 1:46.328 | 27 |