Yvan Muller Storms To Race 2 Victory At Monza In Treacherous Conditions

Yvan Muller stormed to a sensational victory in the second World Touring Car Championship race at Monza, starting his 2013 campaign in sensational style with two consecutive race victories. Michel Nykjær finished a competitive 2nd, as Gabriele Tarquini only just hung on for 3rd ahead of rookie Marc Basseng.

Despite taking place several hours after the first race around Italy’s legendary Autodromo Nazionale Monza, the weather conditions had failed to improve as the rain continued to lash down upon the circuit. However, the race stewards elected not to start the race under safety car conditions, unlike the first race. This saw proceedings get underway in the traditional standing-start format. Both Robert Huff and Tom Boardman started the race from the pits, with Darryl O’Young and Marc Basseng starting the race on the front row of the grid.

At the start Gabriele Tarquini enjoyed another of his absolutely sensational starts. scything his way through the order from 5th to the lead by the opening three corners. Franz Engstler ran straight on and through the escape road at Turn 1, as the field tip-toed their way through the opening lap in almost undriveable conditions. With visibility absolutely atrocious, it was no surprise that several drivers made minor mistakes on the opening lap including Fredy Barth who spun through the Ascari chicane.

After starting from 22nd and last on the grid after crashing out of the opening race, many were surprised when Stefano D’Aste had worked his way up to 12th by Lap 2. Alex MacDowall suffered a disastrous end to the second lap, after running extensively wide through the gravel at the final corner. At the start of Lap 3, many drivers ran down the escape road after striking an almighty puddle which was forming at Turn 1, including both Jean-Philippe Dayraut, Mehdi Bennani and Alex MacDowell.

By Lap 4, opening race winner Yvan Muller was already up to 2nd position after starting 9th and was clearly catching the Honda of Gabriele Tarquini. Towards the end of the lap, Muller had muscled his way around the Italian driver for the lead, whereas rookie Marc Basseng was impressing many by holding onto 3rd position. Mehdi Bennani was issued with a drive-thru penalty for exceeding track limits, just as Marc Basseng’s luck ran out as he ran down the escape road at Turn 1 and lost 3rd position to Michel Nykjær.

As the race entered its closing stages, the Danish driver began to reel in Gabriele Tarquini for 2nd. The duo battled hard for the position throughout Lap 8, before Nykjær managed to make the move stick through the Ascari chicane. Further down the order saw Tom Boardman spin at Turns 4 and 5, whereas Gabriele Tarquini began to come to under severe pressure from Marc Basseng. As Yvan Muller crossed the line to secure his second consecutive race victory of the day, with Michel Nykjær 2nd, Gabriele Tarquini only just managed to hold on for 3rd ahead of the charging Marc Basseng by less than a tenth of a second.

Despite the utterly treacherous weather conditions, the opening race weekend of the new World Touring Car Championship season was one of pure excitement, and should remain an enthralling spectacle throughout the entire season. The paddock will reconvene in several weeks time for the Race of Morocco, around the tight and twisty confines of Marrakech’s Circuit International Automobile Moulay El Hassan.

Results - 10 laps:

Pos  Driver                 Team/Car                Time/Gap
 1.  Yvan Muller            RML Chevrolet         23m27.254s
 2.  Michel Nykjaer         NIKA Chevrolet          + 2.482s
 3.  Gabriele Tarquini      Honda                   + 4.994s
 4.  Marc Basseng           Munnich SEAT            + 5.081s
 5.  Tom Chilton            RML Chevrolet           + 5.612s
 6.  Pepe Oriola            Tuenti SEAT             + 6.755s
 7.  James Nash             Bamboo Chevrolet       + 14.445s
 8.  Tiago Monteiro         Honda                  + 20.573s
 9.  Stefano d'Aste         PB BMW                 + 23.722s
10.  Rob Huff               Munnich SEAT           + 25.442s
11.  Tom Coronel            ROAL BMW               + 37.126s
12.  Darryl O'Young         ROAL BMW               + 41.394s
13.  Franz Engstler         Engstler BMW           + 43.904s
14.  Fredy Barth            Wiechers BMW           + 45.921s
15.  Fernando Monje         Campos SEAT            + 50.678s
16.  Tom Boardman           Special Tuning SEAT    + 53.591s
17.  Charles Ng             Engstler BMW           + 59.157s
18.  Jean-Philippe Dayraut  Anome BMW            + 1m06.537s
19.  Mehdi Bennani          Proteam BMW          + 1m26.721s
20.  Alex MacDowall         Bamboo Chevrolet         + 1 lap
21.  Rene Munnich           Munnich SEAT             + 1 lap
22.  Norbert Michelisz      Zengo Honda              + 1 lap

Picture Copyright © WTCC