Thed Björk had made a good start and was up to fifth, and was able to take fourth from Filippi at the end of the first lap.
Citroën’s Yvan Muller followed the Swede past the Chevrolet driver one lap later and was up to fifth, with Nicky Catsburg also making his way past in his Lada Vesta, with Filippi now down to seventh.
Filippi’s race ended on lap three, when champion elect José María López in the Citroën and Fredrik Ekblom in the Volvo both sandwiched the Chevrolet at Turn 3. Hugo Valente also made a move down the inside of all three, and four-wide into the corner didn’t work, with López and Filippi making contact at the exit, with Filippi’s car terminally damaged with broken front-left suspension.
The race was suspended behind the safety car for two laps while the Campos Chevrolet was recovered, and restarted on lap six. The next race-changing incident occurred on lap nine as second-placed Chilton ran deep into Turn 3 and was hit by Gabriele Tarquini’s Lada, with both cars forced to retire with damage, promoting Björk to second and Muller to third.
Björk then reeled in Michelisz for the lead and made his move with three laps to go at the end of the back straight, but Michelisz forced the Swede wide at the exit and received a driving standards warning.
The Swede had one last go on the final lap, taking his ballast-free Volvo S60 past Michelisz on the back straight. The two would make contact again at the end of the straight at Turn 14, but Björk was able to wrestle his Volvo around the final turns and cross the finish line to score their first victory in the championship, with Michelisz second and Muller third.
José María López also passed Nicky Catsburg for fourth on the final lap, with the Lada driver grinding to a halt after the chequered flag due to overheating from damage after earlier contact with López.
The stewards are investigating a number of incidents, including Michelisz’s contact with Björk on the final lap, Tarquini’s incident with Chilton, and two incidents involving champion López, after contact with both Catsburg and Filippi earlier in the race.
“It was absolutely amazing to drive the car today,” said Björk. “(Michelisz) didn’t make life easy, but it was a really nice fight. My only focus was to chase him and do the best I can, and went I got close I thought about overtaking.”
The opening race follows with López set to start from pole, though the Argentinian was complaining about a vibration all race after the lap three incident, with question marks over whether Catsburg will be able to make his front row grid spot.
bron; http://www.touringcartimes.com
