Photo: PURE ETCR

Jean-Karl Vernay takes commanding Super Final win

Jean-Karl Vernay won the PURE ETCR DHL Super Final from pole position, which he inherited after Cupra’s Mattias Ekström was found to have breached parc fermé rules and therefore demoted to the back of the grid.

The Swede was the protagonist of a spectacular recovery, overtaking team-mate Daniel Nagy on lap 1 and Romeo Ferraris driver Oliver Webb on the following tour.

He then launched himself in pursuit of Luca and John Filippi, second and third respectively at that point.

Taking full advantage of a hard but fair battle between the two, the Cupra driver managed to overtake John Filippi’s Hyundai at turn 4-5 before pulling off a stunning move on the Alfa Romeo Giulia at the turn 6-7-8 complex, braking extremely late and launching the car sideways to complete the move without breaching track limits.

At this point Vernay was two seconds ahead and, despite all the efforts from his rival, the Frenchman withstood the pressure to win the Super Final.

Behind him there was a fierce battle for third, as Luca Filippi defended perfectly from John Filippi. The two were also attacked by Oliver Webb and Daniel Nagy, who had both decided to use the power up more towards the end of the race, which triggered a four-car battle for third.

The results mean that Mikel Azcona is the first PURE ETCR event winner on 77 points for Cupra, with Hyundai’s Jean-Karl Vernay in second on 72 and Mattias Ekström third, having amassed 69 points.