Nicky Catsburg secured his maiden WTCC victory in the Main Race at Moscow Raceway, as LADA clinched a double one-two on home soil. In another wet race, Catsburg led from start to finish ahead of his team-mate and Opening Race winner Gabriele Tarquini.
Catsburg led by more than three seconds at one stage, but as the track began to dry, he found himself under increasing pressure from Tarquini and the Italian cut the gap to just one second, but Dutch driver Catsburg held on.
Honda’s Norbert Michelisz looked as if he would offer up a challenge to LADA when he charged from fifth to third on the opening lap. After pressuring Tarquini for several laps, the Hungarian would finish up 12s behind. He was shadowed home by his team-mates Rob Huff and Tiago Monteiro.
Huff cleared James Thompson and Hugo Valente early on, and Monteiro would pass the same two drivers out of the final corner on consecutive laps before the end. Thompson overtook LADA driver Valente on the penultimate lap for sixth overall, as he completed a double WTCC Trophy triumph on his third appearance of the season in the ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport Chevrolet Cruze.
The Citroën drivers struggled for speed in the conditions, with championship leader José María López the best of them in eighth, with Mehdi Bennani P10 and Yvan Muller P11. Zengő Motorsport’s 20-year-old rookie Ferenc Ficza shone in the closing stages in his Honda, winning a great fight with Muller with a superb move around the outside of Turn 3, and then also passing Bennani for ninth soon afterwards.
As he pursued López, Ficza set the fastest lap of the race on the final tour to win the TAG Heuer Best Lap Trophy and his first WTCC points. Fredrik Ekblom bagged a weekend-best of P12 for Polestar Cyan Racing.
