Alain Menu leads Chevrolet 1-2-3 in race one

Alain Menu won his second straight 2012 FIA World Touring Car Championship race with team mates Rob Huff and Yvan Muller right behind, securing a Chevrolet 1-2-3.
“It is always easier to lead from the front. The car was really good and I was keeping a little bit of a margin, I am very happy,” said Menu.

The first lap saw drama after just a couple of corners with Franz Engstler tapping James Nash in to a spin and Mehdi Bennani spinning off at the same time.

A bit later in the first lap, Alex MacDowall braked too late, bumping in to Tom Coronel, resulting in a spin for Coronel and MacDowall forced to take the exit road. Both were able to rejoin the race and fight back up.

The first corner accident with Nash caused the safety car to enter the track as the battered Ford was recovered. It remains to be seen if the team is able to repair the car in order for Nash to get out on his pole position for the second race.

Tom Chilton was on a run in the first part of the race, getting past Stefano D’Aste for fifth. But Chilton’s pace dropped as the race progressed, allowing D’Aste to get back past, as well as Engstler getting sixth position. Chilton finished seventh in the end, scoring the team’s first ever WTCC points.

A man on the move was Pepe Oriola in fourth. The privateer driver set the fastest lap of the race and closed in on third placed Muller towards the end to finish fourth, claiming a superior Yokohama Trophy victory.
“It was a perfect race for me, I had a very good start. I managed to close the gap on Yvan [Muller] and perhaps I would have been able to challenge him with some more laps, but the Yokohama Trophy is more important to me,” said Oriola.

Coronel fought his way back up to eighth after his first lap incident with MacDowall, getting past Gabriele Tarquini who slowed down on the very last lap. The Italian was classified eleventh but stopped at the pit exit after taking the checkered flag. Norbert Michelisz and Darryl O’Young rounded off the top ten.