Priaulx storms to first win of 2009

The Briton started on the seventh row after failing to make it through to Q2 in changeable conditions during Saturday's qualifying session, but a tremendous first lap put him in position to challenge for the win today.

Predictably, there was an incident at the tight first chicane as the field tried to funnel through the narrow left-right. Alex Zanardi's BMW was spun around and then hit by Augusto Farfus. Priaulx, though, managed to avoid the trouble and came out of the first lap in fourth place.

He then picked off the SEATs of Tom Coronel and Rickard Rydell before passing pole-sitter Gabriele Tarquini for the lead on the inside of the final corner on lap six. Once in front, he controlled the race easily - setting a best lap more than half a second faster than anyone else's.

Second place was enough to give Tarquini the championship lead, thanks to another bad day for Yvan Muller. The Frenchman was passed by Farfus for 10th on the second lap and clipped the tyres at the first chicane, breaking his right front wheel and suspension.

Tarquini, Rydell and Coronel spaced out in second, third and fourth, so the main battle of the race was for fifth. Jaap van Lagen was slowly reeled in by a convoy with Nicola Larini and Augusto Farfus at the head. Van Lagen was holding on amiably until the last corner of the last lap where Larini gave the Lada a shove into the gravel.

Larini took fifth, narrowly ahead of Farfus at the line, while van Lagen could only rejoin and finish 11th. Larini was later handed a 30-second penalty for causing the incident, dropping him to 15th place.

Stefano D'Aste will share the front row of the grid for the day's second race with pole-sitter Franz Engstler, after the pair finished seventh and eighth in their BMWs.

Pos Driver                Car               Time/Gap
 1. Andy Priaulx          BMW             22m52.547s
 2. Gabriele Tarquini     SEAT                +3.939
 3. Rickard Rydell        SEAT                +6.350
 4. Tom Coronel           SEAT               +15.398
 5. Nicola Larini         Chevrolet          +22.502
 6. Augusto Farfus        BMW                +22.553
 7. Stefano D'Aste        BMW                +22.749
 8. Franz Engstler        BMW                +23.044
 9. Sergio Hernandez      BMW                +23.392
10. Tom Boardman          SEAT               +31.979
11. Jaap van Lagen        Lada               +32.059
12. Marin Colak           SEAT               +33.376
13. Kristian Poulsen      BMW                +33.596
14. Philip Geipel         BMW                +36.101
15. Jean-Marie Clairet    SEAT               +36.557
16. Kirill Ladygin        Lada              1:19.407
17. Alex Zanardi          BMW                 +1 lap
18. Alain Menu            Chevrolet          +2 laps
19. Tiago Monteiro        SEAT               +3 laps

Retirements

    Michel Nykjaer        Chevrolet           7 laps
    Yvan Muller           SEAT                4 laps
    Viktor Shapovalov     Lada                2 laps
    Jordi Gene            SEAT                2 laps
    Jorg Muller           BMW                 0 laps
    Felix Porteiro        BMW                 0 laps
    Rob Huff              Chevrolet           0 laps
    Jason Watt            SEAT                0 laps