Starting from pole position in race one, Urrutia led Ehrlacher away and the pair quickly opened a gap to the Munnich Motorsport Honda of Nestor Girolami.
Then on lap three Urrutia took his ‘joker lap’, the rallycross-inspired alternative and longer route at a roundabout that is unique to the Vila Real street track in the WTCR.
Ehrlacher pushed hard, then took his own joker a lap later and emerged in the lead – only to receive an order on the radio to hand the lead back to Urrutia.
He waited until lap 11 before doing so, and after the race tensions emerged over the order.
Before the race, Urrutia said there was a “strategy” between the pair, but refused to be drawn further. Ehrlacher said he was surprised to receive the order.
Girolami finished third ahead of BRC Squadra Corse’s Nobert Michelisz and Cyan Lynk & Co’s Ma Qing Hua, with Huff sixth for Zengo Motorsport.
Points leader Mikel Azcona was classified eighth where he started after a difficult race in his Hyundai.
He was hit at a right-hander by both Attila Tassi’s Honda and Thed Björk’s Lynk & Co on two separate occasions, lost two places when he ran wide at the chicane, recovered one position by passing home hero Tiago Monteiro and another when Tassi was docked five seconds for cutting the chicane.
Yvan Muller led away from the partially reversed-grid pole position in race two until a safety car period interrupted the action when Estenban Guerrieri’s Munnich Motorsport Honda slammed into home hero Tiago Monteiro’s Civic.
When racing resumed, Huff moved up to second as Tassi and Azcona – second and third on the grid – took their jokers.
Muller dived down the alternative route on lap eight, but outbraked himself and made a mess of the section, dropping from first to fourth. That meant Huff was now leading.
The Cupra driver delayed taking his own joker as he built a gap to Tassi and Azcona, waiting until lap 12 before running into the loop.
He resumed still leading, just before his team-mate Daniel Nagy slammed into a wall on the exit of the chicane, leaving Nathanael Berthon’s Audi with nowhere to go.
The incident triggered a second safety car interruption. Had it occurred a lap earlier, Huff would have been ‘jokerless’ and it would have cost him the race.
Tassi claimed second place for Team Engstler, with Azcona third to maintain his points lead, which had been eroded by Urrutia and Erhlacher in race one. He now leads Urrutia by 16 points, with Ehrlacher a further four behind. Huff is up to fourth in the standings.
WTCR Vila Real: Race results
Race 2
| Cla | Driver | Laps | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
 Rob Huff | 15 | |
| 2 |
 Attila Tassi | 15 | 0.388 |
| 3 |
 Mikel Azcona | 15 | 0.935 |
| 4 |
 Yvan Muller | 15 | 1.474 |
| 5 |
Norbert Michelisz | 15 | 2.644 |
| 6 |
 Mehdi Bennani | 15 | 3.435 |
| 7 |
 Ma Qing Hua | 15 | 3.916 |
| 8 |
Yann Ehrlacher | 15 | 5.125 |
| 9 |
 Nestor Girolami | 15 | 7.000 |
| 10 |
 Santiago Urrutia | 15 | 7.305 |
| 11 |
 Thed Björk | 15 | 8.249 |
| 12 |
 Tom Coronel | 15 | 1'13.714 |
| 13 |
 Gilles Magnus | 15 | 1'16.367 |
|
Daniel Nagy | 11 | ||
|
Nathanael Berthon | 11 | ||
|
Esteban Guerrieri | 2 | ||
 Tiago Monteiro | 1 | ||
| View full results | |||
Race 1
| Cla | Driver | Laps | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Santiago Urrutia | 16 | |
| 2 |
Yann Ehrlacher | 16 | 0.264 |
| 3 |
Nestor Girolami | 16 | 5.236 |
| 4 |
Norbert Michelisz | 16 | 5.911 |
| 5 |
Ma Qing Hua | 16 | 6.651 |
| 6 |
Rob Huff | 16 | 7.103 |
| 7 |
Mehdi Bennani | 16 | 14.495 |
| 8 |
Mikel Azcona | 16 | 14.693 |
| 9 |
Attila Tassi | 16 | 16.463 |
| 10 |
Nathanael Berthon | 16 | 22.489 |
| 11 |
Tiago Monteiro | 16 | 32.676 |
| 12 |
Daniel Nagy | 16 | 35.053 |
| 13 |
Tom Coronel | 15 | |
| 14 |
Yvan Muller | 15 | |
|
Thed Björk | 10 | ||
|
Esteban Guerrieri | 10 | ||
|
Gilles Magnus | 8 | ||
| View full results | |||
