Dušan Borković made a late move at the Curbe des Signes on the final lap of a dramatic second TCR Europe race at Paul Ricard to pass Jean-Karl Vernay and claim victory.
Daniel Nagy completed the podium in third, with the top five separated by less than 2 seconds at the chequered flag.
Rain hit the 3.6 mile Le Castellet circuit in the final few moments before the start, though despite the race being declared wet the teams elected to stick with slick Yokohama tyres.
Jens Reno Møller made a clean getaway in the Honda Civic Type R FK7, leading Francisco Mora’s Hyundai i30 into the first turn without issue, though further back Britain’s Josh Files claimed third from 2016 ETCC Champion Kris Richard with a bold move to the outside.
An error shortly after pitched the Hell Energy Racing with KCMG driver off circuit in a half-spin and out of the points, though he rejoined without damage.
Møller, meanwhile, was powerless to prevent Vernay’s Audi RS 3 LMS from taking the lead at the end of the opening tour, and though he set the fastest lap the Danish racer wilted from thereon in.
Both Borković and the Subaru WRX STI of double TCR International Champion Stefano Comini used the chaos to make progress, running second and sixth respectively after the opening exchanges.
The action was halted shortly after as Igor Stefanovski, attempting to pass Møller on the Mistral Straight, ran wide over the kerbs, lost the car and crashed into the tyre barrier opposite, necessitating a red flag.
Twenty minutes later the action resumed, with Vernay making a perfect restart to fend off the Hyundai i30 duo behind of Borković and Nagy along with Mikel Azcona’s CUPRA.
The other CUPRA of Stian Paulsen was forced to pit shortly after in need of repairs.
Further back, contact between Target Competition’s Reece Barr and the Autodis Racing machine of Loris Cencetti forced both to stop, the latter with a damaged right-front on the Hyundai.
Heading into the penultimate lap, the top five were barely separable, lapping within tenths of one another and running line-a-stern.
Only Borković could make a move stick, however, braving out a thrilling dice on the final lap with Vernay to claim his second win of the weekend, and take maximum points to Zandvoort in a fortnight.
Azcona lost out to Mora by running wide and eventually finished fifth, with Attila Tassi, Møller, Danny Kroes, Cencetti and Comini rounding out the top ten.
Race result
| POS | NO | DRIVER | NAT | ENTRANT | CAR | LAPS | TIME | BEST | GD |
| 1 | 62 | Dušan BORKOVIĆ |  |
Target Competition | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 10 | 46:08.760 | 2:16.076 | 10 |
| 2 | 69 | Jean-Karl VERNAY |  |
Leopard Lukoil Team | Audi RS3 LMS TCR | 10 | 1.068 | 2:17.395 | 4 |
| 3 | 999 | Dániel NAGY |  |
M1RA | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 10 | 1.315 | 2:16.961 | 8 |
| 4 | 26 | Francisco MORA |  |
M1RA | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 10 | 1.516 | 2:16.656 | 2 |
| 5 | 25 | Mikel AZCONA |  |
PCR Sport | CUPRA TCR | 10 | 1.961 | 2:16.729 | 9 |
| 6 | 9 | Attila TASSI | |
Hell Energy Racing with KCMG | Honda Civic Type R FK7 TCR | 10 | 3.711 | 2:16.052 | 17 |
| 7 | 11 | Jens Reno MØLLER |  |
Reno Racing | Honda Civic Type R FK7 TCR | 10 | 4.295 | 2:16.159 | 1 |
| 8 | 38 | Danny KROES |  |
PCR Sport | CUPRA TCR | 10 | 9.432 | 2:17.120 | 15 |
| 9 | 14 | Loris CENCETTI |  |
Autodis Racing by Piro Sports | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 10 | 19.74 | 2:18.730 | 13 |
| 10 | 42 | Stefano COMINI |  |
Race Republic | Subaru WRX STi TCR | 10 | 21.473 | 2:19.813 | 25 |
| 11 | 20 | Márk JEDLÓCZKY | |
JLG Sport | CUPRA TCR | 10 | 22.991 | 2:20.517 | 18 |
| 12 | 88 | Maxime POTTY |  |
Comtoyou Racing | Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR | 10 | 29.706 | 2:21.712 | 14 |
| 13 | 63 | Giovanni ALTOÈ |  |
Pit Lane Competizioni | Audi RS3 LMS TCR DSG | 10 | 30.568 | 2:19.452 | 20 |
| 14 | 94 | Kris RICHARD | |
Target Competition | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 10 | 36.452 | 2:24.929 | 3 |
| 15 | 99 | Josh FILES |  |
Hell Energy Racing with KCMG | Honda Civic Type R FK7 TCR | 10 | 45.44 | 2:22.726 | 6 |
| 16 | 23 | Francisco ABREU | |
Sports & You | Peugeot 308 TCR | 10 | 58.641 | 2:26.139 | 16 |
| 17 | 8 | Reece BARR |  |
Target Competition | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 8 | 2 Laps | 2:21.247 | 5 |
| 18 | 16 | Nicola BALDAN | |
Pit Lane Competizioni | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 8 | 2 Laps | 2:21.051 | 12 |
| R | 66 | Andrea LARINI | |
Pit Lane Competizioni | CUPRA TCR | 6 | DNF | 2:31.515 | 21 |
| R | 13 | Cedric PIRO |  |
Autodis Racing by Piro Sports | Honda Civic Type R FK7 TCR | 5 | DNF | 2:35.104 | 19 |
| R | 71 | Enrico BETTERA | |
Pit Lane Competizioni | Audi RS3 LMS TCR | 4 | DNF | 2:47.052 | 22 |
| R | 34 | Stian PAULSEN |  |
Stian Paulsen Racing | CUPRA TCR | 3 | DNF | 2:35.138 | 7 |
| R | 10 | Viktor DAVIDOVSKY |  |
PSS Racing Team | Honda Civic Type R FK7 TCR | 2 | DNF | 2:34.964 | 24 |
| R | 24 | Gustavo MOURA | |
Speedy Motorsport | Audi RS3 LMS TCR | 2 | DNF | 2:34.371 | 23 |
| R | 7 | Igor STEFANOVSKI | |
Stefanovski Racing Team | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 2 | DNF | 2:32.869 | 11 |