Mikel Azcona took a commanding race win in the second World Touring Car Cup (WTCR) race of the day at Motorland Aragón, sealing victory at his home event.
Sadly, neither Bence Boldizs nor Aurélien Comte would be able to make the start of this one after technical issues hit their two cars. Norbert Michelisz, meanwhile, would start from the pit-lane after a late engine change.
Boldizs’ Zengő Motorsport team-mate Azcona would be thankful not to have suffered from the same issues however, as the Spaniard was set to start his home race from pole position.
It was a good start for Azcona who retained the lead into turn one, but his partner on the front row of the grid Luca Engstler had a torrid time. After bogging down, the young German was swamped by the pack and soon found himself down in seventh.
This opened the door for Yvan Muller who would slot into second ahead of Santiago Urrutia in third.
But then, disaster struck for Jean-Karl Vernay. Having won race one and closed up to the leaders in the title battle, his Alfa Romeo suddenly seemed to lose power as he crossed the line at the end of lap one.
Vernay’s rollercoaster weekend had therefore taken another downwards turn, but by lap five, he was back out of the pits again. At the very least, his car looked like it would be ready for use in race three.
Also suffering from some sort of mechanical issue, Tom Coronel’s cockpit was filling up with smoke. Eventually the Dutchman would have to concede defeat and retired to the pit lane on lap six.
Out in front, Azcona was striding away in the lead of the race, with Muller and Urrutia either unable to match his pace, or simply content with second and third.
But, with just two laps left, Azcona would be holding his breath as his second team-mate Gàbor Kismarty-Lechner dropped out of contention with an apparent mechanical failure.
Luckily, the Spaniard’s CUPRA held together, and so Azcona was able to take his maiden victory of the year.
Muller and Urrutia likewise held onto the two remaining podium positions in a strong result for Cyan Racing, while Nathanaël Berthon crossed the line in fourth.
In truth the race was a relatively calm affair, with little changes to position after the first couple of laps.
Gabriele Tarquini was next up in fifth, while fellow Hyundai driver Engstler recovered to sixth after his terrible start.
Championship leader Yann Ehrlacher extended his points advantage in seventh, with team-mate Thed Björk acting as rear-gunner behind him in eighth.
Gilles Magnus, who will be starting race three from pole position, finished this one in ninth ahead of Ehrlacher’s main title rival Esteban Guerrieri in tenth.
Race result
| POS | NO | DRIVER | NAT | ENTRANT | CAR | LAPS | TIME | BEST | GD |
| 1 | 96 | Mikel AZCONA |  |
Zengő Motorsport | CUPRA Leon Competición | 10 | 21:23.600 | 2:07.194 | 1 |
| 2 | 100 | Yvan MULLER |  |
Cyan Racing | Lynk & Co 03 TCR | 10 | 2.990 | 2:07.235 | 4 |
| 3 | 12 | Santiago URRUTIA |  |
Cyan Performance | Lynk & Co 03 TCR | 10 | 3.499 | 2:07.272 | 7 |
| 4 | 17 | Nathanaël BERTHON | |
Comtoyou DHL Team Audi Sport | Audi RS3 LMS TCR | 10 | 4.613 | 2:06.881 | 5 |
| 5 | 30 | Gabriele TARQUINI |  |
BRC Hyundai N LUKOIL Squadra Corse | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 10 | 5.949 | 2:07.214 | 3 |
| 6 | 8 | Luca ENGSTLER |  |
Engstler Hyundai N Liqui Moly Racing Team | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 10 | 6.926 | 2:07.672 | 2 |
| 7 | 68 | Yann EHRLACHER | |
Cyan Racing | Lynk & Co 03 TCR | 10 | 9.362 | 2:07.956 | 12 |
| 8 | 11 | Thed BJÖRK |  |
Cyan Performance | Lynk & Co 03 TCR | 10 | 11.538 | 2:07.484 | 11 |
| 9 | 16 | Gilles MAGNUS |  |
Comtoyou Racing | Audi RS3 LMS TCR | 10 | 13.770 | 2:07.735 | 8 |
| 10 | 86 | Esteban GUERRIERI |  |
ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport | Honda Civic Type-R FK8 TCR | 10 | 21.563 | 2:09.287 | 18 |
| 11 | 29 | Néstor GIROLAMI | |
ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport | Honda Civic Type-R FK8 TCR | 10 | 22.128 | 2:09.020 | 9 |
| 12 | 40 | Josh FILES |  |
Engstler Hyundai N Liqui Moly Racing Team | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 10 | 23.449 | 2:09.297 | 16 |
| 13 | 18 | Tiago MONTEIRO |  |
ALL-INKL.DE Münnich Motorsport | Honda Civic Type-R FK8 TCR | 10 | 27.486 | 2:09.562 | 13 |
| 14 | 9 | Attila TASSI |  |
ALL-INKL.DE Münnich Motorsport | Honda Civic Type-R FK8 TCR | 10 | 28.067 | 2:09.471 | 19 |
| 15 | 1 | Norbert MICHELISZ | |
BRC Hyundai N LUKOIL Squadra Corse | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 10 | 31.219 | 2:07.055 | 21 |
| 16 | 15 | Nicolas BAERT | |
Comtoyou Racing | Audi RS3 LMS TCR | 10 | 37.109 | 2:10.220 | 15 |
| R | 99 | Gábor KISMARTY-LECHNER | |
Zengő Motorsport | CUPRA Leon Competición | 8 | DNF | 2:10.106 | 20 |
| R | 31 | Tom CORONEL |  |
Comtoyou DHL Team Audi Sport | Audi RS3 LMS TCR | 5 | DNF | 2:08.979 | 17 |
| R | 69 | Jean-Karl VERNAY | |
Team Mulsanne | Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce TCR | 5 | DNF | 2:07.661 | 6 |
| R | 34 | Aurélien COMTE | |
Vuković Motorsport | Renault Mégane RS TCR | 3 | DNF | 2:09.520 | 14 |
| R | 55 | Bence BOLDIZS | |
Zengő Motorsport | CUPRA Leon Competición | 0 | DNF | N/A | 10 |
