Portugal WTCR: Azcona wins after Ma's joker lap error

The Spaniard started third and made his own joker on the fifth lap of 11 to keep the pressure on leader Ma.

Ma went too deep in the joker and lost out to Azcona after clumsily bouncing over the kerbs on entry.

Championship leader Esteban Guerrieri restored his points advantage over Norbert Michelisz with a well-deserved third place finish, as three of the four Hyundai drivers hit strife.

Race one winner Michelisz started a lowly 16th after trouble in qualifying, but was forced out following contact with the second Alfa Romeo of Kevin Ceccon.

The Hungarian received a drive through penalty for his part in this incident, but his race was ultimately run due to extensive damage on the front left hand corner.

Gabriele Tarquini and Augusto Farfus, who both started from the back of the grid following post-qualifying engine changes, also pulled out.

At the start, Ma got the jump on fellow front-row starter Guerrieri and Azcona as joker lap strategies dictated the pace of the majority of the pack.

The Cyan Racing Lynk & Co team was the first to implement ‘backing up” strategies, with Yann Ehrlacher making a gap for uncle Yvan Muller to fit in.

This tactic worked not only for Muller, but also for Ehrlacher as KCMG Honda duo Tiago Monteiro and Attila Tassi - who is set to start race three from pole - did likewise.

Monteiro and Tassi secured ninth and tenth place finishes as a result, with Ehrlacher ending up eighth, one place ahead of Guerrieri’s Munnich Motorsport teammate Nestor Girolami.

Having successfully jumped Guerrieri on the joker lap, Azcona then set a number of fastest lap times to close to within two-and-a-half seconds of Ma before the latter’s turn to go through the joker.

Ma locked up slightly on entry and lost a handful of time to the reigning TCR Europe champion, who eventually opened up a 4.832s winning margin at the finish.

Just off the podium, Jean-Karl Vernay finished fourth in his Leopard Racing Audi, nipping past the sole-remaining BRC Racing Hyundai of Nicky Catsburg, who tried in vain to hold up Guerrieri before his joker two laps from home.

Championship contender Thed Bjork salvaged two points in his Cyan Racing Lynk & Co after starting 15th.

The Swede attempted to get past the Audi of Fred Vervisch in the closing laps, and only just avoided the back of the Belgian after missing his braking point at the Turn 18 chicane.

Results:

Cla	Driver	Chassis	Gap
1	Mikel Azcona	CUPRA
2	Ma Qing Hua	Alfa Romeo	4.832
3	Esteban Guerrieri	Honda	5.538
4	Jean-Karl Vernay	Audi	6.812
5	Nick Catsburg	Hyundai	7.482
6	Yvan Muller	Lynk & Co	9.221
7	Rob Huff	Volkswagen	9.537
8	Yann Ehrlacher	Lynk & Co	11.374
9	Nestor Girolami	Honda	14.253
10	Tiago Monteiro	Honda	14.626
11	Attila Tassi	Honda	15.109
12	Frederic Vervisch	Audi	19.969
13	Thed Björk	Lynk & Co	20.988
14	Johan Kristoffersson	Volkswagen	22.388
15	Andy Priaulx	Lynk & Co	25.873
16	Aurelien Panis	CUPRA	26.825
17	Benjamin Leuchter	Volkswagen	27.787
18	Niels Langeveld	Audi	30.562
19	Tom Coronel	CUPRA	31.153
20	Mehdi Bennani	Volkswagen	31.255
21	Gordon Shedden	Audi	34.815
22	Daniel Haglof	CUPRA	35.585
	Gabriele Tarquini	Hyundai	4 Laps
	Norbert Michelisz	Hyundai	6 Laps
	Kevin Ceccon	Alfa Romeo	8 Laps
	Augusto Farfus	Hyundai	8 Laps
View full results