Victory for Guerrieri who is now ten points behind Michelisz
Esteban Guerrieri was victorious in the second race at Sepang and closed the gap from Norbert Michelisz to ten points. This means that they will fight for the WTCR title to the bitter end, sharing the front row of Race 3, with the Hungarian on pole position.
Yvan Muller finished the race in sixth position and dropped out of contention, 33 points behind the leader.
It was raining when the race started, Néstor Girolami took the lead from Kevin Ceccon, but Guerrieri passed both during the first lap. There was commotion in the middle of the field; Muller was sent into a spin by Nicky Catsburg who then went onto the grass and was followed by João Paulo De Oliveira and Michelisz.
The race was suspended during the second lap, when Catsburg’s Huyndai went on fire. A new start was given after more than one hour, behind the safety car with Girolami and Guerrieri on the front row ahead of Mikel Azcona and Ceccon, while Muller was 5th and Michelisz 13th.
Guerrieri passed Girolami immediately after the green flag and pulled away towards his fourth victory of the season. Behind him there was a tough fight for the other podium positions and eventually Azcona claimed second ahead of Johan Kristoffersson, Girolami, Ceccon and Muller, while Michelisz recovered to seventh behind Yann Ehrlacher. The last two laps of the race were behind the safety car because Attila Tassi’s Honda stopped on the track with a technical issue.
Race 3 will start at 20:55 local time (13:55 CET).
Race 2
1. Esteban Guerrieri (Münnich Motorsport, Honda Civic FK7), 11 laps
2. Mikel Azcona (PWR Racing, CUPRA), 1.023
3. Johan Kristoffersson (SLR, Volkswagen Golf GTI), 1.368
4. Néstor Girolami (Münnich Motorsport, Honda Civic FK7), 2.198
5. Kevin Ceccon (Team Mulsanne, Alfa Romeo Giulietta), 2.313
Championship points
1. Michelisz 359; 2. Guerrieri 349; 3. Muller 326
