Race 1 – Gené wins the first round in Puebla

Jordi Gené (SEAT) fought until the end to win the first race in Puebla, ahead of Rickard Rydell (SEAT). Yvan Muller is 6th. The BMWs, on the other hand, were disappointed as none of them finished in the points.

Without a hitch, Jordi Gené (SEAT Sport) secured his first victory of the season – the fourth of his career – during the first race of the Puebla meeting. The Spaniard fought till the end to triumph over his teammate, the Swedish driver Rickard Rydell. A victory achieved thanks to a good start and the events that disrupted the pack, notably the off-track excursions of the BMWs of Augusto Farfus and Jörg Müller. It was ultimately the German driver who suffered the most from this unsolicited outing. See the Live WTCC result

At the front, Gené takes off and gains up to four seconds advantage over his direct pursuers, Rydell and Nicola Larini (Chevrolet). The Italian, second on the grid, has to settle for third place as Rydell narrows the gap with Gené by tenths of a second towards the end of the race. However, the Swedish driver is unable to overtake his fellow racer who has decided to speed up again. “I got a very good start. Then I decided to be aggressive and later chose to pace myself. When I saw Rickard catching up, I accelerated again to secure my position,” notes the Spanish driver.

Behind, the battle was tough and intense for the minor places and, above all, to position well for the perspective of the reversed grid in the second race. During these contests, Alain Menu was one of the main losers. The Swiss driver, under pressure from Gabriele Tarquini, who finished 5th, Yvan Muller, 6th, Tiago Monteiro, 7th (SEAT Sport), and Augusto Farfus (BMW Team Germany), made a mistake two laps before the finish to only take eighth place. Tom Coronel (SEAT SUNRED), who had a solid race, inherited fourth place.

Sign that BMWs are not at all in the spotlight on the Mexican track. Not a single Bavarian managed to reach the top 8 in this race, with Augusto Farfus being the best placed in ninth. Neither Müller, nor Porteiro, nor Zanardi, and even less Priaulx, could join the fight for points. The Briton could only secure 10th place and will therefore not benefit from the reversed grid to try and collect some points. A huge challenge awaits them in the second race.

According to Eurosport – the site not being able to write until Thursday.

Course 1 – Pubela, Mexico – Results

See the WTCC Live Result