WTCR Vallelunga: Girolami and Magnus win as Lynk & Co pull out

Doubts over the participation of the five Lynk & Cos had lingered since Saturday when Cyan warned after qualifying that it would withdraw without action being taken on its problems with the spec tyre.

Sure enough, the drivers all received an order to pull in to the pits at the end of the warm-up lap for race one and they did not take the start.

As the Lynk & Cos departed, Girolami and Azcona ran door to door through the first three corners, before the Honda driver took a decisive lead into Turn 4.

Azcona chased Girolami until a safety car interruption to clear debris gave them a breather in sweltering conditions, setting up a two-lap dash to the finish. Girolami fended off Azcona to secure his second win of 2022.

Azcona was told on his team radio before the safety car to hold station, following a series of punctures for rivals that put every driver on alert – especially in the wake of Cyan’s withdrawal.

Comtoyou Audi’s Nathanael Berthon was the one to lose the most, dropping out of third place when a left-front puncture sent him off at the fast Turn 2. He pitted and recovered to finish ninth.

A fast-starting Gilles Magnus inherited the final podium spot in third. Having started seventh, the Belgian passed team-mate Mehdi Bennani, Esteban Guerrieri and Norbert Michelisz on the opening lap to be perfectly placed to benefit from Berthon’s bad luck.

Benanni and Tiago Monteiro’s Engstler Honda both suffered punctures on the same lap, while Rob Huff was also forced to pit.

The Briton, who struggled to qualify 14th with a differential problem, went off course when Berthon had his moment and picked up an advertising hoarding, which stuck briefly to the front of his Zengo Motorsport Cupra. He recovered to finish eighth.

Mikel Azcona, BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse, Hyundai Elantra N TCR

Photo by: WTCR

In the partially reversed-grid race two, reigning double champion Yann Ehrlacher and title rival Santi Urrutia had been due to start from the front row. But as all five Lynk & Cos once again pulled into the pits at the end of the warm-up lap, that effectively left Magnus on pole position, with Comtoyou Audi team-mate Mehdi Bennani alongside him.

The pair ran side by side to Turn 4, where Attila Tassi and Berthon took advantage of their duel to demote Bennani. The Moroccan later ran wide at Turn 2 and was forced to pit for fresh Goodyears, on a day when tyre management became the defining factor.

Tassi was also forced to pit with apparent tyre trouble, which elevated Berthon to complete an Audi 1-2 and make up for the podium he’d lost in the first race. Azcona also benefitted to claim his second podium of the day in third, to leave him with a commanding points lead.

Azcona now holds a 36-point lead over Girolami, who finished fifth in race two, with Huff rising to third, 52 points behind the championship favourite. From second and third in the points pre-weekend, Urrutia and Ehrlacher now slip to fourth and fifth, 63 and 67 points respectively off the top.

WTCR Vallelunga - Race Results

Race 2

Cla	Driver	Chassis	Laps	Time	Gap	Interval
1	Gilles Magnus	Audi	21	27'10.386
2	Nathanael Berthon	Audi	21	27'11.795	1.409	1.409
3	Mikel Azcona	Hyundai	21	27'12.169	1.783	0.374
4	Norbert Michelisz	Hyundai	21	27'22.243	11.857	10.074
5	Nestor Girolami	Honda	21	27'23.154	12.768	0.911
6	Rob Huff	CUPRA	21	27'23.752	13.366	0.598
7	Tom Coronel	Audi	21	27'30.677	20.291	6.925
8	Attila Tassi	Honda	21	28'05.479	55.093	34.802
9	Mehdi Bennani	Audi	21	28'14.398	1'04.012	8.919
10	Esteban Guerrieri	Honda	21	28'23.379	1'12.993	8.981
11	Tiago Monteiro	Honda	20	27'24.348	1 Lap	1 Lap
	Yann Ehrlacher	Lynk & Co	0
	Santiago Urrutia	Lynk & Co	0
	Ma Qing Hua	Lynk & Co	0
	Yvan Muller	Lynk & Co	0
	Thed Björk	Lynk & Co	0
View full results

Race 1

Cla	Driver	Chassis	Laps	Time	Gap	Interval
1	Nestor Girolami	Honda	22	31'21.344
2	Mikel Azcona	Hyundai	22	31'21.592	0.248	0.248
3	Gilles Magnus	Audi	22	31'23.132	1.788	1.540
4	Norbert Michelisz	Hyundai	22	31'23.443	2.099	0.311
5	Attila Tassi	Honda	22	31'28.050	6.706	4.607
6	Tom Coronel	Audi	22	31'33.496	12.152	5.446
7	Esteban Guerrieri	Honda	22	32'20.348	59.004	46.852
8	Rob Huff	CUPRA	21	31'25.327	1 Lap	1 Lap
9	Nathanael Berthon	Audi	21	31'26.967	1 Lap	1.640
10	Mehdi Bennani	Audi	21	31'28.466	1 Lap	1.499
11	Tiago Monteiro	Honda	20	31'26.038	2 Laps	1 Lap
	Santiago Urrutia	Lynk & Co	0	22 laps
	Yann Ehrlacher	Lynk & Co	0	22 laps
	Ma Qing Hua	Lynk & Co	0	22 laps
	Yvan Muller	Lynk & Co	0	22 laps
	Thed Björk	Lynk & Co	0	22 laps
View full results