Race 2 : Huff wins after carnage

17.11.13

Rob Huff claimed an amazing victory in a race that saw the field decimated by two massive pile-ups.

Tom Coronel was able to benefit from pole position and lead for most of the race, but the double red-flag and the two restarts behind the safety car gave an advantage to the SEAT and Chevrolet cars that were faster than the BMW on the straight. Eventually Huff jumped into the lead with only two laps left, while Pepe Oriola also managed to strip Coronel of second position.

For most of the race James Thompson and LADA cherished the dream of claiming the Russian manufacturers’ first podium, as the Briton was second behind Coronel. However Thompson lost two positions to Huff and Nash after the second restart and eventually was punted off by Oriola.

James Nash finished fourth ahead of his team-mate Alex MacDowall, and the pair gave bamboo-engineering a 1-2 finish in the Yokohama Trophy.

Among those who survived the carnage, Henry Ho finished in tenth position, claiming his first WTCC point and winning the Asia Trophy race.

Key moments

Grid – Tarquini takes the start from the pit lane

Start – Michelisz hits the barrier at Reservoir bends, bounces back in the middle of the pack causing a pile-up that involves Boardman, D’Aste, O’Young, Calko, Valente, Bennani, Kozlovskij and MacDowall

Lap 1 – the race is suspended by the red flag

Restart – seven cars are missing; only MacDowall’s among those involved in the pile up is able to make the grid

Lap 2 – the field takes the start behind the safety car

Lap 3 – Coronel leads from Thompson; Chilton overtakes Nash for third

Lap 3 – Muller hits the barrier at San Francisco bend and rejoins

Lap 4 – Thompson, Chilton, Nash and Huff fight for second

Lap 4 – Monteiro pits with a broken brake disc after being hit by Muller

Lap 5 – Chilton stops on the track; De Jesus crashes into Chilton’s car

Lap 6 – the safety car is deployed

Lap 6 – the back markers do not slow down enough and cause another pile-up on the site of the crash; the race is red-flagged once again

Lap 7 – for the second time the race resumes behind the safety car

Lap 8 – Huff and Nash overtake Thompson for second and third

Lap 8 – Oriola pushes Thompson into the wall at Maternity bend

Lap 9 – Engstler and de Souza are given a drive through for grid infringements

Lap 9 – Huff overtakes Coronel and jumps into the lead

Lap 10 – Oriola overtakes Nash for third

Lap 11 – Oriola overtakes Coronel for second; Muller overtakes Basseng for sixth

Lap 11 – Huff wins from Oriola and Coronel

Race 2 : Huff wins after carnage

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