The evergreen Tom Coronel took his first WTCR win this afternoon in a lively Race 2 at the Slovakia Ring.
At the wheel of his Audi RS 3 LMS, the popular 48-year-old Dutchman opted for used tyres and displayed all his racing expertise to take the lead two laps from the end and offer, together with his young Belgian teammate Gilles Magnus, a magnificent 1-2 finish to Comtoyou Racing. It was also the second victory for the Belgian team this weekend, after Nathanaël Berthon’s in Race 1.
Esteban Guerrieri finished third, while his teammate Néstor Girolami escaped unscathed a massive crash during the last lap.
The race started with Girolami alone on the front row, as Luca Filippi’s Alfa Romeo had to be removed from the grid with a broken clutch. The start was thrilling, with both Girolami and Santiago Urrutia trying to keep at bay Vernay, who had had an excellent start.
There were contacts as they negotiated the first corner; Guerrieri benefitted from the situation and emerged as the leader while Urrutia went wide onto the gravel and Girolami dropped to fourth. At the back of the field, Attila Tassi and Gabriele Tarquini collided and finished their race stuck onto the gravel trap, which prompted the safety-car out.
When racing resumed, Guerrieri led from Coronel, Magnus, Girolami, Nicky Catsburg, Berthon, Yvan Muller and Vernay. Soon afterwards, Muller and Berthon came together and the latter retired.
Guerrieri saw his advantage reduced as the Audi cars of Coronel and Magnus showed superior pace and eventually they both passed the Honda two laps from the end. In the meantime, Mikel Azcona put up a show, passing with aggressive moves Norbert Michelisz, Vernay and Catsburg.
Still, Vernay managed to recover fifth and attacked Girolami for P4 during the last lap. The Argentine closed the door and contact was unavoidable; the Honda spun off and crashed violently against the wall, luckily with no personal damages for Girolami.
This dropped the Argentine from P2 to P3 in the standings, with Yann Ehrlacher (8th in Race 2) leading now over Coronel by 25 points.
Race 3 is due to start at 14:45 CEST.
Race 2
1. Tom Coronel (Comtoyou Racing, Audi RS 3 LMS), 11 laps
2. Gilles Magnus (Comtoyou Racing, Audi RS 3 LMS), 1.053
3. Esteban Guerrieri (Münnich Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R), 3.582
4. Jean-Karl Vernay (Team Mulsanne, Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce), 4.106
5. Mikel Azcona (Zengő Motorsport, CUPRA Leon Competición)
Championship points
1. Yann Ehrlacher 107 pts
2. Tom Coronel 82
3. Néstor Girolami 72