Photo: SEAT Sport

Muller leads SEAT 1-2-3 train at Valencia

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Yvan Muller has won the first race in Valencia, Spain. The SEAT driver took the lead on the first lap, after he started from second on the grid. Fellow SEAT driver Tiago Monteiro finished in second, whereas pole man Gabriele Tarquini had to settle for third place.

At the start Augusto Farfus got off to a firing start, only to find Jordi Gene pushing him onto the grass. As the cars enter the first corner, the SEATs of Gene and Rydell cause problems, as Gene pushes Farfus and Rydell taps Menu on the back. Rydell, Menu and Farfus go off, while Gene has to retire on the spot with a broken front suspension.

BMW drivers Jörg Müller and Sergio Hernandez as well as privateer driver Tom Coronel take advantage most of the situation. Müller takes fourth position, Coronel is fifth ahead of Hernandez.

On lap two the second casualty of the race is Kristian Poulsen. He get’s tapped on the back and spins off into the gravel trap. Another drama for the Danish driver, who hasn’t had much luck so far this season.

On lap three Robert Huff tries to overtake SEAT privateer Bennani, but does not succeed. As he puts Bennani into a spin, Farfus and Priaulx get through and Huff has to get back to the pits with a punctured tire. A little later he also receives a drive through penalty for pushing Bennani.

Meanwhile, Augusto Farfus keeps hunting for points. On lap 4 he passes Nicola Larini for nineth, and two laps later he passes Stefano D’Aste and Sergio Hernandez to take seventh. Andy Priaulx tries to keep up with Farfus and passes D’Aste for eighth. A lap later he passes Hernandez as well.

On lap eleven Farfus gets passed Coronel as well for fifth, and Priaulx follows him a lap later, pushing Coronel down to seventh.

On the last lap Jörg Müller let’s himself drop down to sixth, in a late effort to take pole position for race two. However, he crossed the line earlier than he wanted, giving him third place on the grid for race two. Now Sergio Hernandez will start from pole position for race two, alongside Tom Coronel in second.