Menu leads Chevy 1-2 in race two
Alain Menu took his first World Touring Car Championship race win of the season after passing defending champion Andy Priaulx for the lead in race two at Valencia
The Chevrolet driver, who had earlier charged from the back of the grid to take eighth in race two, slipped to second behind the rear-wheel-drive BMW off the line, but on lap three he took a lead he would never lose.
"I didn't expect to be able to win today after where I started in race one," said Menu. "I knew Andy would get ahead of me even though I had a good start but I was able to reel him in and get past him."
Menu's teammate Rob Huff made it a Chevy one-two after climbing from eighth to second, completing a remarkable day after taking his first win of the season in race one. He fought his way through a gaggle of SEATs before passing first BMW's Jorg Muller and then Priaulx to complete a Chevy sweep.
"My championship started today and 18 points is the perfect way to do it," said Huff. "We knew the car was quick and had to take advantage of the fact that we didn't have much weight."
Priaulx held on to third ahead of Jorg Muller, with Gabriele Tarquini retaining the lead in the championship by taking fifth ahead of teammates Jordi Gene, Rickard Rydell and Yvan Muller.
BMW's Augusto Farfus was set to score points after starting from the back of the grid, but dropped back after being hobbled in a clash with Yvan Muller.
Pos Driver Car Time
1. Alain Menu Chevrolet 22:47.994
2. Robert Huff Chevrolet + 2.441
3. Andy Priaulx BMW + 3.952
4. Jorg Muller BMW + 5.403
5. Gabriele Tarquini SEAT + 16.332
6. Jordi Gene SEAT + 19.171
7. Rickard Rydell SEAT + 19.662
8. Yvan Muller SEAT + 20.459
9. Nicola Larini Chevrolet + 21.312
10. Felix Porteiro BMW + 27.753
11. James Thompson Honda + 28.183
12. Sergio Hernandez BMW + 28.819
13. Pierre-Yves Corthals SEAT + 30.758
14. Jose Perez Aicart SEAT + 36.35
15. Stefano D'Aste BMW + 47.009
16. Franz Engstler BMW + 48.737
17. Alexander Lvov Honda + 52.805
18. Alex Zanardi BMW +1:36.653
19. Ibrahim Okyay BMW +1:37.412
20. Augusto Farfus BMW +1:39.479
21. Andrey Smetsky Honda + 1 Lap
Retirements:
Driver Car Laps
Tiago Monteiro SEAT 6
Andrey Romanov BMW 3
Jaap van Lagen Lada 3
Olivier Tielemans BMW 2
Viktor Shapovalov Lada 2
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