Norbert Michelisz wins at home in Hungary

Norbert Michelisz has taken his second career win in the FIA World Touring Car Championship in the second race at the Hungaroring. Michelisz led from start to finish to take the victory at a packed circuit.

Franz Engstler had started from pole in the Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW, but a slow start compared with an exceptional start from fifth on the grid for Michelisz saw the Hungarian drive into the lead into the first corner, with Engstler forced out wide, dropping to fourth.

Pepe Oriola in the SUNRED SEAT León also managed to pass Mehdi Bennani’s Proteam BMW for second into the corner, whilst Menu was the Chevrolet driver on the move, up to sixth from eighth on the grid whilst Huff and Muller held station in ninth and tenth.

Michelisz began to pull away from Oriola, who had to defend from Bennani, whilst Engstler slid down the order, and would eventually finish in ninth position after passing Yvan Muller on the final lap. The Frenchman had been forced out wide whilst fighting with Stefano D’Aste’s Wiechers-Sport BMW, after being unable to make further progress through the order caught in a battle with Monteiro, Tarquini and team-mate Rob Huff.

James Thompson’s Lada was out on the second lap, with Michelisz’s team-mate Gábor Wéber judged to have been responsible by the stewards and was given a drive through penalty.

Menu was up to fourth past Monteiro’s SR León on lap four, but was stuck behind Bennani who in turn was held up by Oriola for the next five laps, before Bennani locked up whilst passing Oriola into Turn 1 on lap nine, which gave the Swiss driver the opportunity to take second place, but with three laps remaining was unable to do anything about Michelisz’s lead.

Michelisz went on to take his second WTCC victory, his first since Macau 2010 with the SEAT León TDI, with Menu and Bennani completing the podium, and the first BMW win of the 2012 WTCC season.