Priaulx leads BMW 1-2 after eventful last lap

Andy Priaulx has won the first round at Monza, taking the lead on the final corner as race leaders Gabriele Tarquini & then Rob Huff’s cars suffered punctures on a dramatic final lap.

Tarquini had assumed the lead on lap two, powering past Rob Huff who had a great start to move ahead of pole man Farfus – but on the final lap Gabriele’s SEAT developed a puncture, and then as Rob Huff dived inside for the lead he immediately suffered a puncture as well.

As both cars continued around the lap, the BMW’s of Priaulx and Farfus, who were three seconds back, immediately closed up but caught the pair only on the final corner where there were waived yellows for the recovery of Leonel Pernía’s Chevrolet.

On the exit to the corner where the green was waived, the two BMW’s darted through as the tyres exploded on Huff and Tarquini’s cars.

Huff still managed to crawl across the line in third, whilst Tarquini fell to seventh, but assuming the damage can be repaired, will start on the front row in lap two.

Also in the race, Norbert Michelisz was given a drive through penalty for cutting the chicane at the start, and then again when for gaining a further advantage on lap 3 when the Hungarian was hit by Alain Menu. Menu’s bonnet then flew up to block the windscreen, and the swiss driver slowly recovered to the pits for repair.

The top finishing SEAT was therefore Tom Coronel, who had started 13th after problems in qualifying. Jordi Gené retired early in the race, whilst Monteiro finished just outside the top eight reverse grid group in ninth, after starting 15th after copping a penalty in qualifying.

Mehdi Bennani was the top finishing independent, after Darryl O’Young was caught up in a first corner incident. Bennani was announced as being under investigation after contact with Barth on the first lap.

Fredy Barth still finished first in the Rookie Challenge category however, and sixth overall place. Team mate Michael Nykjaer will start from pole position in race two after finishing eight, the two SUNRED Engineering drivers will be split by Gabriele Tarquini for race two.

A very emotional Andy Priaulx was delighted to grab the win, after judging the caution flags perfectly, and dedicated the victory to his late grandmother.