Last lap chaos hands BMW Monza 1-2

Tarquini and Huff had spent every lap of the race in first and second places after Huff passed pole-sitter Farfus at the start and Tarquini launched from seventh on the grid to second at the first chicane.

Huff's Chevrolet remained on the bumper of Tarquini's SEAT right up until the final two laps, when the reigning champion began to edge away.

But on the approach to the Ascari chicane on the last lap - just two corners from home - Tarquini sprung a left-front puncture. Huff leapt on the opportunity to dive up the inside of the SEAT, but he too found a left-front punture when he hit the brakes.

Both cars scrabbled around Ascari and set off up the back straight with Andy Priaulx, Farfus, Michel Nykjaer's SEAT and Yvan Muller's Chevrolet closing fast.

What was left of Huff's tyre blew out half way up the straight, while Tarquini took a slightly more cautious approach. The pack caught Tarquini on the way into the turn but Priaulx had to wait to clear the yellow flag for the debris from Huff's blow out before diving inside the SEAT half way round Parabolica, closely followed by Farfus.

Huff was already out of the corner and making a desperate break for the line, but the BMWs quickly swept around his outside to clinch an unexpected one-two. He held on to third though, with Yvan Muller making the most of the madness to jump up to fourth.

Tom Coronel was next along in fifth - from 13th on the grid after an electrical problem ruined his qualifying session - with Fredy Barth sixth. Tarquini crawled over the line seventh, with Nykjaer taking pole for race two in eighth after a puncture of his own on the last lap.

Elsewhere, Alain Menu had to pit for a new bonnet after hitting the back of Norbert Michelisz's SEAT at the first chicane. Michelis carried on with half of his rear splitter missing, but he was eventually shown the black and orange flag and then suffered a puncture, forcing him to retire in the pits.

Pos Driver              Car              Time/Gap
 1. Andy Priaulx        BMW            18m32.008s
 2. Augusto Farfus      BMW                +0.248
 3. Robert Huff         Chevrolet          +1.653
 4. Yvan Muller         Chevrolet          +1.820
 5. Tom Coronel         SEAT               +2.271
 6. Fredy Barth         SEAT               +2.308
 7. Gabriele Tarquini   SEAT               +2.375
 8. Michel Nykjaer      SEAT               +2.726
 9. Tiago Monteiro      SEAT               +3.243
10. Mehdi Bennani       BMW                +3.972
11. Harry Vaulkhard     Chevrolet          +9.032
12. Stefano D'Aste      BMW               +10.000
13. Sergio Hernandez    BMW               +11.575
14. Andrey Romanov      BMW               +30.320
15. Fabio Fabiani       BMW               +59.155
16. Jordi Gené          SEAT              + 1 lap
17. Alain Menu          Chevrolet         + 1 lap

Not classified

    Leonel Pernia       Chevrolet          7 laps
    Norbert Michelisz   SEAT               7 laps
    Franz Engstler      BMW                3 laps
    Darryl O'Young      Chevrolet           1 lap
    Kristian Poulsen    BMW                 1 lap


Fastest lap, Tarquini 2m01.590s