Photo: WTCR Media

Yvan Muller back into the points lead after dramatic second race at Ningbo

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Yvan Muller has retaken the lead of the 2018 World Touring Car Cup drivers’ standings after an easy victory in a disastrous race for many of his title rivals, including BRC’s Gabriele Tarquini, WRT’s Jean-Karl Vernay and Honda-driving nephew Yann Ehrlacher.

Muller catapulted into the lead into Turn 1 ahead of the pole-sitting Sébastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen of Mehdi Bennani, and from then on it was plain sailing for the four-time champion in his Hyundai i30 N TCR.

Bennani kept a close brief in second, while on the first lap there was much drama as the cars jumped across the kerbs, with the BRC Racing Team Hyundai of Gabriele Tarquini running into the rear of Esteban Guerrieri’s Münnich Honda, causing terminal front-end damage, and with Team WRT Audi driver Jean-Karl Vernay run wide in an incident with the DG Sport Peugeot 308TCR of Aurélien Comte, also damaging the Frenchman’s car.

Guerrieri was on a charge in the car which set the lap record this morning, and was battling his way through the order despite the rear-end damage, passing Rob Huff’s Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR on lap two and then caught and passed the Comtoyou Racing Audi RS 3 LMS of Denis Dupont on lap eight.

The drama was to unfurl during the closing laps, as Münnich Honda driver Yann Ehrlacher continued to defend against the Comtoyou Audi of Frédéric Vervisch for third position, with the Belgian briefly moving ahead on lap ten.

With two laps to go, Vervisch errantly ran into the side of Ehrlacher, with both drivers running out wide, handing the final podium position easily to Guerrieri, while Vervisch rejoined in seventh and Ehrlacher tenth after a trip through the gravel trap.

Ehrlacher’s race took one final negative turn as he was speared by the rival Boutsen Ginion Honda of Ma Qing Hua, as Ma lined up a move on the Campos Cupra of Pepe Oriola.

Ehrlacher’s car failed to make the finish, with Oriola picking up the final podium position.

Ma is under investigation, as is Vervisch for the incidents with Ehrlacher.

Muller went on to win by 2.6 seconds over Bennani, with Guerrieri securing the podium and is now just six points behind his Münnich Honda team-mate in the standings, both fifth and sixth in the championship.

Muller now has a 14-point lead over Tarquini heading into Race 2 which starts at 15:40 CST (09:40 CEST).