Race 2 – Huff is back on top

05.05.13
Reigning World Champion Rob Huff returned to the winner’s circle claiming his first WTCC victory in a SEAT car and also giving the first win to the ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport.

Huff performed a masterful manoeuvre at the end of the safety car period, overtaking Mehdi Bennani on the outside at Turn 1. It was a ‘now or never’ move, as the Briton knew that the BMW car would have been more consistent in the final laps. However, Bennani never gave up and shadowed Huff for the whole race trying to force him into a mistake. Although this did not happen, the Moroccan driver scored a brilliant second place and another victory in the Yokohama Trophy.

Alex MacDowall completed the podium, with his team-mate James Nash in fourth position, completing a great result for the bamboo-engineering that placed both their drivers in front of Yvan Muller.

Local hero Norbert Michelisz excited the crowd with some spectacular overtaking manoeuvres in his attempt to recover. However he eventually had to settle for eighth.

The race was disrupted by a dramatic crash that involved Gabriele Tarquini and Franz Engstler. Both drivers suffered from bruises and pains to the chest and neck and were transported to the hospital for medical checks.

Key moments

Warm up lap – JAS mechanics work on Monteiro’s car until the last minute

Start – Bennani sprints from pole and takes the lead from Huff; MacDowall, Coronel and Nash fight for third place; Monteiro starts from the pitlane

Lap 1 – Muller and Tarquini make contact at Turn 3; Tarquini’s car crashes into the barrier and bounces back, landing on the front of Engstler’s car; safety car deployed

Lap 5 – the race resumes, Huff takes the lead overtaking Bennani on the outside at Turn 4

Lap 5 – Muller overtakes Chilton for sixth and chases Coronel

Lap 6 – Michelisz overtakes D’Aste for eighth

Lap 7 – Muller overtakes Coronel for fifth

Lap 9 – Nash defends fourth place from Muller and Coronel

Lap 11 – Chilton and Coronel clash at Turn 2, Chilton moves up to sixth

Lap 12 – Barth is given a drive-through for causing a collision with Oriola

Lap 13 – Coronel retakes sixth from Chilton

Lap 14 – Huff wins from Bennani and MacDowall