There were two more dramatic FIA World Touring Car Championship races on a wet day at the Hungaroring, with Mehdi Bennani and José María López triumphing in slippery conditions.

Moroccan Bennani scored his second ever outright WTCC victory in the Opening Race, leading from start to finish as many big names including Citroën’s López and Yvan Muller and Honda’s Tiago Monteiro and Rob Huff were caught out by the difficult weather and made incorrect tyre choices, with all four finishing outside of the points on slick tyres.

Tom Chilton made it a one-two finish for Sébastien Loeb Racing from 10th on the grid ahead of LADA driver Nicky Catsburg. Fredrik Ekblom was fourth for Volvo Polestar ahead of Gabriele Tarquini, whose decision to pit for wet tyres at the end of the two formation laps paid off, and Hugo Valente.

Grégoire Demoustier scored a best-ever of seventh, John Filippi was eighth despite a drive-through while Hungarian teenager Ferenc Ficza delighted the local fans with his first points in ninth. René Münnich made a late pass on Huff for the final point.

Argentine López was lapped in that first race but later on claimed his third Main Race win from as many events. He was pressured by Huff and a fast-starting Muller, who made contact when fighting over second place that led to a penalty for the Briton. Monteiro completed the podium despite pressure from Thed Björk, bidding for Volvo Polestar’s first podium. After a turbo failure forced him out of the Opening Race, home hero Norbert Michelisz produced a stunning comeback drive from the back of the grid in the Main Race and was challenging Chilton for fifth before a suspension failure late on dropped him to 10th behind Huff, Tom Coronel, Bennani and Valente.

López’s victory gives him a 12-point lead in the standings over Monteiro. Citroën has reclaimed the lead of the Manufacturers’ championship with a 40-point margin to Honda.