Macau WTCR: Priaulx completes Lynk & Co hat-trick

Priaulx, who has two previous Guia Race wins from his BMW World Touring Car Championship spell, set up victory by passing polesitter Huff before the approach to the Reservoir kink at the start of the race.

While Huff's Sebastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen was able to close up in the second and third sectors on the mountain, Priaulx had superior drive off the Melco hairpin each time and was able to gap his compatriot through the final sector in preparation for the long run to Lisboa.

Huff set the fastest lap on the antepenultimate tour in one final bid to close in on Priaulx, but the Cyan Racing Lynk & Co driver went faster still on the following lap.

Huff closed up once more in the third and fourth sectors, but Priaulx held tight to clinch his first World Touring Car win in nine years - also denying Huff a record 10th win in Macau.

Jean-Karl Vernay jostled with Huff and his teammate Johan Kristoffersson at the start, settling into third place at Lisboa in his WRT Audi.

Some way behind the lead quartet, Thed Bjork had occupied fifth, but dropped two positions on the final lap to boost Cyan teammate Yvan Muller's points haul.

BRC Racing Hyundai driver Nicky Catsburg instead claimed the place, having kept Muller at bay, while the fourth Lynk & Co of Yann Ehrlacher came home eighth, ahead of Kevin Ceccon (Mulsanne Alfa Romeo) and title hopeful Esteban Guerrieri (Munnich Honda).

Points leader Norbert Michelisz was 12th in his BRC Racing Hyundai. He now has nine points in hand over Guerrieri, while Muller is two points further back in third.

Race results:

Cla	#	Driver	Chassis	Laps	Gap
1	111	Andy Priaulx	Lynk & Co	11
2	12	Rob Huff	Volkswagen	11	0.352
3	69	Jean-Karl Vernay	Audi	11	1.193
4	14	Johan Kristoffersson	Volkswagen	11	1.855
5	88	Nick Catsburg	Hyundai	11	20.030
6	100	Yvan Muller	Lynk & Co	11	21.096
7	11	Thed Björk	Lynk & Co	11	21.552
8	68	Yann Ehrlacher	Lynk & Co	11	22.194
9	31	Kevin Ceccon	Alfa Romeo	11	22.565
10	86	Esteban Guerrieri	Honda	11	23.506
11	50	Tom Coronel	CUPRA	11	23.884
12	5	Norbert Michelisz	Hyundai	11	24.597
13	10	Niels Langeveld	Audi	11	25.054
14	6	Luca Engstler	Hyundai	11	27.552
15	22	Frederic Vervisch	Audi	11	27.925
16	9	Attila Tassi	Honda	11	29.259
17	29	Nestor Girolami	Honda	11	30.140
18	25	Mehdi Bennani	Volkswagen	11	30.527
19	18	Tiago Monteiro	Honda	11	31.317
20	96	Mikel Azcona	CUPRA	11	31.500
21	33	Benjamin Leuchter	Volkswagen	11	32.319
22	55	Ma Qing Hua	Alfa Romeo	11	34.602
23	21	Aurelien Panis	CUPRA	11	37.051
24	2	Robert Dahlgren	CUPRA	11	39.756
25	36	Lo Kai	Audi	11	51.272
26	1	Gabriele Tarquini	Hyundai	3	8 Laps
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