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Autosport
Autosport
Damien Smith

WTCR Vallelunga: Girolami and Magnus win as Lynk & Co pull out

Doubts over the participation of the five Lynk & Cos had lingered since Saturday when Cyan warned after qualifying that it would withdraw without action being taken on its problems with the spec tyre.

Sure enough, the drivers all received an order to pull in to the pits at the end of the warm-up lap for race one and they did not take the start.

As the Lynk & Cos departed, Girolami and Azcona ran door to door through the first three corners, before the Honda driver took a decisive lead into Turn 4.

Azcona chased Girolami until a safety car interruption to clear debris gave them a breather in sweltering conditions, setting up a two-lap dash to the finish. Girolami fended off Azcona to secure his second win of 2022.

Azcona was told on his team radio before the safety car to hold station, following a series of punctures for rivals that put every driver on alert – especially in the wake of Cyan’s withdrawal.

Comtoyou Audi’s Nathanael Berthon was the one to lose the most, dropping out of third place when a left-front puncture sent him off at the fast Turn 2. He pitted and recovered to finish ninth.

A fast-starting Gilles Magnus inherited the final podium spot in third. Having started seventh, the Belgian passed team-mate Mehdi Bennani, Esteban Guerrieri and Norbert Michelisz on the opening lap to be perfectly placed to benefit from Berthon’s bad luck.

Benanni and Tiago Monteiro’s Engstler Honda both suffered punctures on the same lap, while Rob Huff was also forced to pit.

The Briton, who struggled to qualify 14th with a differential problem, went off course when Berthon had his moment and picked up an advertising hoarding, which stuck briefly to the front of his Zengo Motorsport Cupra. He recovered to finish eighth.

Mikel Azcona, BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse, Hyundai Elantra N TCR (Photo by: WTCR)

In the partially reversed-grid race two, reigning double champion Yann Ehrlacher and title rival Santi Urrutia had been due to start from the front row. But as all five Lynk & Cos once again pulled into the pits at the end of the warm-up lap, that effectively left Magnus on pole position, with Comtoyou Audi team-mate Mehdi Bennani alongside him.

The pair ran side by side to Turn 4, where Attila Tassi and Berthon took advantage of their duel to demote Bennani. The Moroccan later ran wide at Turn 2 and was forced to pit for fresh Goodyears, on a day when tyre management became the defining factor.

Tassi was also forced to pit with apparent tyre trouble, which elevated Berthon to complete an Audi 1-2 and make up for the podium he’d lost in the first race. Azcona also benefitted to claim his second podium of the day in third, to leave him with a commanding points lead.

Azcona now holds a 36-point lead over Girolami, who finished fifth in race two, with Huff rising to third, 52 points behind the championship favourite. From second and third in the points pre-weekend, Urrutia and Ehrlacher now slip to fourth and fifth, 63 and 67 points respectively off the top.

WTCR Vallelunga - Race Results

Race 2

Cla Driver Chassis Laps Time Gap Interval
1 Belgium Gilles Magnus Audi 21 27'10.386    
2 France Nathanael Berthon Audi 21 27'11.795 1.409 1.409
3 Spain Mikel Azcona Hyundai 21 27'12.169 1.783 0.374
4 Hungary Norbert Michelisz Hyundai 21 27'22.243 11.857 10.074
5 Argentina Nestor Girolami Honda 21 27'23.154 12.768 0.911
6 United Kingdom Rob Huff CUPRA 21 27'23.752 13.366 0.598
7 Netherlands Tom Coronel Audi 21 27'30.677 20.291 6.925
8 Hungary Attila Tassi Honda 21 28'05.479 55.093 34.802
9 Morocco Mehdi Bennani Audi 21 28'14.398 1'04.012 8.919
10 Argentina Esteban Guerrieri Honda 21 28'23.379 1'12.993 8.981
11 Portugal Tiago Monteiro Honda 20 27'24.348 1 Lap 1 Lap
  France Yann Ehrlacher Lynk & Co 0      
  Uruguay Santiago Urrutia Lynk & Co 0      
  China Ma Qing Hua Lynk & Co 0      
  France Yvan Muller Lynk & Co 0      
  Sweden Thed Björk Lynk & Co 0      

Race 1

Cla Driver Chassis Laps Time Gap Interval
1 Argentina Nestor Girolami Honda 22 31'21.344    
2 Spain Mikel Azcona Hyundai 22 31'21.592 0.248 0.248
3 Belgium Gilles Magnus Audi 22 31'23.132 1.788 1.540
4 Hungary Norbert Michelisz Hyundai 22 31'23.443 2.099 0.311
5 Hungary Attila Tassi Honda 22 31'28.050 6.706 4.607
6 Netherlands Tom Coronel Audi 22 31'33.496 12.152 5.446
7 Argentina Esteban Guerrieri Honda 22 32'20.348 59.004 46.852
8 United Kingdom Rob Huff CUPRA 21 31'25.327 1 Lap 1 Lap
9 France Nathanael Berthon Audi 21 31'26.967 1 Lap 1.640
10 Morocco Mehdi Bennani Audi 21 31'28.466 1 Lap 1.499
11 Portugal Tiago Monteiro Honda 20 31'26.038 2 Laps 1 Lap
  Uruguay Santiago Urrutia Lynk & Co 0 22 laps    
  France Yann Ehrlacher Lynk & Co 0 22 laps    
  China Ma Qing Hua Lynk & Co 0 22 laps    
  France Yvan Muller Lynk & Co 0 22 laps    
  Sweden Thed Björk Lynk & Co 0 22 laps    
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