Matéo Herrero claims maiden TCR Spain win in safety car-affected Race 1

Cupra driver Matéo Herrero claimed his maiden TCR Spain victory in the first race of the weekend at Paul Ricard in France.

Herrero took the lead at the start from second place on the grid, but pole sitter Viktor Andersson (Cupra) fought back and overtook the Frenchman using the outside of the track.

The Swede was told to give the position back to Herrero, dropping back to second place.

As Herrero opened a gap at the front, Felipe Fernández (Honda) challenged Andersson for second place. The two made contact on lap six, allowing the Honda driver to slip past into second place.

Honda drivers Demir Eröge and Sten-Dorian Piirimagi suffered tyre issues on lap seven and headed into the pits.

The safety car was called into action on lap seven as Manuel Fernandes (Cupra) made a mistake and collected Victor Fernández (Honda).

The race was finished behind the safety car, with Herrero taking the victory ahead of Felipe Fernández and Andersson.

Erik Zabala finished fourth, followed by Tom Pussier (Cupra) and the Audis of Busian Fontan and Luke Sargeant.

René Povlsen (Honda) crossed the finishing line in eighth position, with Audi’s Mathieu Casalonga and Cupra’s Samuel Chaligne completing the top ten.

Andersson has extended his lead in the series to 94 points, 16 more than Zabala.

The TCR Spain field returns to the track on Sunday morning for Race 2 at 09:10 CEST.