Photo: TCR World Tour

Mikel Azcona claims first 2026 win in Paul Ricard opener

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Mikel Azcona headed the field from lights to flag in the first race of the weekend at Paul Ricard to claim his first FIA TCR World Tour win of 2026.

Reigning champion Yann Ehrlacher seemed to make a better start than Azcona as the lights went out from second on the grid, but slotted in behind the Hyundai driver heading into Turn 1.

Raphael Fournier went hard into the side of Damiano Reduzzi while braking for Turn 1 on the opening lap and came to a halt with suspension damage, triggering a short safety car session.

The field was released by the start of lap three and BRC Racing driver Norbert Michelisz made a move on Thed Björk for third place a lap later.

Geely Cyan Racing drivers Santiago Urrutia and Ma Qing Hua moved up through the field after starting from the back of the grid following grid penalties.

The two caught up with independent Hyundai driver Julien Briche on lap 12 of 18 in the fight for eighth place, with Ma first to pass the Frenchman.

Urrutia managed to get past four laps later after a tough fight with some contact between the two.

Disaster struck Björk on the same lap, suffering a front-left puncture which saw him pit and drop from fourth down to 13th place.

ALM Honda driver Jenson Brickley was running fifth earlier in the race but headed for the pits with a puncture on the same lap as Björk, dropping him to eleventh.

Azcona won the race by close to three seconds ahead of Ehrlacher while Michelisz was a distant third, just below eight seconds behind his winning team-mate.

Cupra rivals Aurélien Comte and Teddy Clairet followed each other throughout the race to finish fourth and fifth respectively.

Urrutia, who started 14th, finished sixth ahead of Cyan Racing team-mate Ma, while Briche rounded off the top eight.

Urrutia is still leading the championship, but only by four points ahead of Azcona and 24 points ahead of Michelisz who has moved up to third. Björk meanwhile has dropped from second to fourth, 31 points adrift.

Victor Weyrich was a non-starter in the race due to engine issues after qualifying.

The second and final race starts at 16:35 CEST.