Mikel Azcona drove to a faultless victory for BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse in the opening race of the Kumho FIA TCR World Tour at Paul Ricard after constant pressure from Yann Ehrlacher.
Azcona lined up on pole position and was able to beat fellow front-row starter Ehrlacher to T1. Further back, a collision between Damiano Reduzzi, Manuel Fernandes and Raphaël Fournier left Fournier’s Hyundai needing retrieval, prompting a brief period under the safety car, while Fernandes retired a few laps later.
Once the race resumed, Ehrlacher never relented in his pressure of Azcona, but the leader built a small gap and made no mistakes on his way to victory. Azcona’s teammate Norbert Michelisz emerged in third place from a frantic battle over the opening half a lap with Thed Björk and Jenson Brickley. Michelisz, carrying extra Compensation Weight in comparison with Azcona and Ehrlacher, managed his race well to take third.
Björk and Brickley lay fourth and fifth until two laps from the end when both pitted with flat front tyres. This promoted the battle between Aurélien Comte and Teddy Clairet as they finished fourth and fifth, while Brickley and Björk rejoined and were classified 11th and 13th.
Another fight further back ended with Santiago Urrutia beating Geely Cyan teammate Ma Qing Hua for P6; both had started from the back of the grid due to penalties. They struggled to get past Julien Briché who held on to the sixth position until the final stages of the races. Eventually, the Frenchman finished eighth and won the ETS Guest Star Trophy for his efforts in his JSB Compétition Hyundai Elantra N. Completing the top 10 were Damiano Reduzzi and Tom Pussier.
Sadly, Victor Weyrich did not make the Sunday races due to his engine problems in qualifying.
The second race is scheduled to take place at 16:35 CEST.
Race 1
- Mikel Azcona (BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse, Hyundai Elantra N EV), 18 laps
- Yann Ehrlacher (Geely Cyan Racing, Geely Preface), 2.949
- Norbert Michelisz (BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse, Hyundai Elantra N EV), 4.865
Fastest lap: 1:32.667 Mikel Azcona
ETS Guest Star Trophy: Julien Briché (JSB Compétition, Hyundai Elantra N)
Championship points
- S. Urrutia, 160 pts.; 2. M. Azcona, 156; 3. N. Michelisz, 136
Picture: WSC/Fastclick-AvensImages
