Mehdi Bennani wins the first joker lap race of the WTCC in Portugal

Sébastien Loeb Racing’s Mehdi Bennani won the opening race at Vila Real, the first race to feature the all-new joker lap, while new championship leader Tiago Monteiro made his way from seventh to second at his home race for Honda.

The key to Bennani’s victory was in his start, as the Citroën driver leapt from fourth on the grid past the two battling Argentinians of Volvo driver Néstor Girolami and the Campos Chevrolet of Esteban Guerrieri, while Ryo Michigami held on to the lead in his Honda.

Michigami’s lead was short-lived however, with Bennani quickly passing the Japanese driver and began to build a lead over the Honda, who was now defending against Girolami’s Volvo S60, with Monteiro up to fourth from seventh on the grid.

The first driver to take a joker lap in the WTCC would be Bennani’s team-mate Tom Chilton, who pitted from fifth on lap three, with the Volvo of Nicky Catsburg, the Citroën of Rob Huff and Norbert Michelisz’s Honda following him through.

A lap later, and it was Tiago Monteiro’s and Thed Björk’s turn to take the joker lap, with Björk effectively gaining a place, passing Chilton in the process and moving up to fifth.

Bennani built up a five-second lead and took his joker lap on lap six, rejoining ahead of Michigami and Girolami, who both had now been caught by Monteiro and Björk.

This played against the pole-sitter, as he served his joker lap a lap later but dropped to fifth in the queue of cars, while Girolami came back on to the track in eighth, rejoining alongside the Citroën of Rob Huff and fighting through the final corner.

Volvo’s Nicky Catsburg and Huff then passed Michigami on track, before the Japanese driver suffered a puncture and was forced to head to the pits, joining Lada’s Kevin Gleason and Campos Chevrolet’s Esteban Guerrieri as the only retirements from the race.

Bennani won the race just under a second clear of Monteiro, with the Portuguese driver closing during the final laps of the race, with Björk finishing third.

Monteiro’s second place elevates him back into the lead of the championship, seven points ahead of Volvo’s Nicky Catsburg, with Björk one point further behind.

The main race follows, with Norbert Michelisz on pole position for Honda ahead of the Citroën of Rob Huff and the Volvo of Thed Björk.