Photo: WTCC Media

Tiago Monteiro claims championship lead with Slovakiaring opening race win

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Tiago Monteiro won the Opening Race at the Slovakiaring for Honda after a race-long fight with Mehdi Bennani, who finished second in his Sébastien Loeb Racing Citroën C-Elysée, with Rob Huff completing the podium in his Honda Civic.

At the start, pole-sitter Hugo Valente dropped back, leaving Bennani in the lead ahead of Monteiro and Lada’s Gabriele Tarquini, with team-mate Valente in fourth. Rob Huff soon made third place his and got in Monteiro’s slipstream, as Bennani started defending from the charging Honda duo.

Meanwhile Valente and Tarquini made contact, with the former dropping down the order to ninth as the Italian retained fourth ahead of José María López and Yvan Muller in the works Citroëns. Thed Bjork was ahead of Norbert Michelisz in the Polestar Cyan Racing Volvo, but the Honda driver managed to pass the blue car and started following the Citroëns very closely.

A mistake by López allowed Muller through, the Frenchman starting to attack Tarquini. A great move from the defending World Champion allowed him back ahead of his team-mate, though, with López now determined to pass Tarquini but failing to find a way through.

With just a few miles to go Michelisz pulled off an impressive move on Muller around the outside and almost overtook López at the same time, but couldn’t make the move on the Argentinian stick.

Zengo Motorsport’s engine woes continued as this time Ferenc Ficza’s Honda Civic caught fire, with the driver hurrying out of his car covered in black smoke.

With two laps to go, Monteiro managed to overtake the weighed down Citroën of Bennani as the Moroccan’s tyres began to fade. The race finished with the Portuguese driver celebrating his first win of the year ahead of Bennani, with Huff completing the podium.

Tarquini had a very good defensive race and finished fourth ahead of López, with Michelisz in sixth splitting the Citroëns by taking the flag ahead of Muller.

Björk was eighth ahead of Sébastien Loeb Racing’s Tom Chilton, who was also second in the independents’ trophy behind team-mate Bennani, with Fredrik Ekblom taking the last top ten spot, claiming a point despite starting from the back.

Monteiro’s win elevates him to the lead of the championship, with the Main Race next up, scheduled for 14.15, with Yvan Muller starting on pole position.