Mat’o Homola scores his first career win in Vila Real Race 2
Mat’o Homola has taken DG Sport Compétition’s second World Touring Car Cup victory, and the first of his career in Race 2 in Portugal, defeating four-time WTCC champion Yvan Muller, with Pepe Oriola taking his second straight podium for Campos Racing.
Gordon Shedden started from pole position in the Team WRT Audi RS 3 LMS and led Muller and Homola at the start. Further on the lap, Muller had a run on Shedden, but the Scotsman defended down the inside which allowed Homola to sneak through and up into second.
There was drama at the chicane down the hill, as Shedden cut the chicane to avoid hitting the wall, while Homola made light contact with the wall and knocked off a wing mirror.
Further behind there was drama between the two Comtoyou Audis of Frédéric Vervisch and Nathanael Berthon, the Boutsen Ginion Honda of Benjamin Lessennes and the Münnich Honda of Esteban Guerrieri, with Vervisch sideswiping Guerrieri’s car and taking it out of the race, with both Vervisch and Lessennes given drive-throughs.
A few laps later and it was confirmed that Shedden was given a five second time penalty for cutting the chicane which ruled out any chance of a victory.
Shedden took his joker lap on lap six and dropped to fourth behind Homola, Muller and the fast-starting Audi of Aurélien Panis.
Homola served his joker lap on lap eight and just dropped to second, with Muller tasked with pulling out a gap to be able to stay ahead.
Panis’s joker lap on lap nine dropped him to P8, while Muller waited until lap ten, but hadn’t done enough and rejoined behind Homola, with the Slovakian going on to take the victory.
Muller finished second less than a second behind, with Shedden crossing the line third, but dropped to sixth after his time penalty with Oriola promoted to third in his place.
Yvan Muller now leads the championship by 30 points over Yann Ehrlacher, with Race 3 of the weekend scheduled for 17:10 WEST (18:10 CEST).
