Four drivers will have to serve a starting grid penalty in the first of Sunday’s World Touring Car Cup (WTCR) races at Motorland Aragón.
Yann Ehrlacher, who comes into the weekend with a 22-point lead in the drivers’ standings, will start the opening race of the weekend from the back row of the grid following an engine change.
Title rival Esteban Guerrieri will need to capitalise on this in order to keep his own championship hopes alive, though up until this point his pace has been somewhat lacking during practice.
Joining Ehrlacher on the back row of the grid will be Comtoyou Racing’s Nathanaël Berthon. Unlike Guerrieri, Berthon has looked rapid throughout practice, only being bettered by stablemate Gilles Magnus in either of the morning’s sessions. He too will have to serve an engine change penalty in race one.
Néstor Girolami, meanwhile, will be handed a five-place grid drop for the Spanish opener as a legacy of the crash he instigated in race two last time out at the Hungaroring. On that occasion, Girolami made contact with Mikel Azcona on the very first lap which led to both of them retiring from the race.
Finally, Aurélien Comte will also serve a five-place grid penalty for failing to adhere to red flag protocol during free practice one.