Menu controls Suzuka race one ahead of Muller and Huff

Alain Menu controlled the first Suzuka race to win ahead of team mates Yvan Muller and Rob Huff. Muller tried on the outside of Menu in the first corner of the start, but had to settle behind and that was as close as anyone got to the Swiss driver in the race.

Gabriele Tarquini got the jump on top independent driver Alex MacDowall in the start. MacDowall seemed to have the pace on the SEAT driver towards the end of the race, but was unable to get past and said that the track is “impossible” to overtake on after the race. The duo finished fourth and fifth respectively.

Aleksei Dudukalo was second best independent driver in sixth but it was close that he had to retire from the race close before the finish. The SEAT driver was on hard pressure from Mehdi Bennani who tried to dive down the inside in one of the fast corners. But the move resulted in a big slide for Dudukalo while Bennani spun. Dudukalo managed to keep sixth while Bennani entered the pits with a punctured tyre.

Tom Coronel crossed the finishing line in seventh ahead of Pepe Oriola and Stefano D’Aste.

Tiago Monteiro fulfilled his goal of finishing in the top ten thanks to the incident between Dudukalo and Bennani. The Honda driver was under hard pressure during the race, but managed to score the final point in his first ever race with the all-new Honda Civic.

The victory for Menu means that he is 40 points behind leader Muller who is in his turn just four points ahead of Huff.