Menu scores Chevrolet's first win

Menu, who started second on the grid, benefited from a mistake from reigning World Touring Car champion Andy Priaulx to inherit the lead early on, and he then set some impressive lap times to pull away from the previously dominant SEAT Leons and take victory.

Chevrolet's best result until this race was scored at this season's first round at Monza, when the Swiss driver finished third in race two. The win means that all four major manufacturers have now taken victory in the WTCC this season.

The weather conditions during the race were even worse than in race one, with hard rain falling throughout the race's 16 laps.

Rickard Rydell led home a quartet of SEATs in second, as the team continued their impressive weekend. The Swede was unable to match the pace of Menu, whose Lacetti seemed to suit the treacherous track conditions.

James Thompson took his second successive podium position having lost his power steering early on, fighting his way up from sixth on the grid to take third, ahead of Gabriele Tarquini in a third SEAT.

Race one winner Yvan Muller finished fifth, although the position could yet be called into question because it appeared as if he passed the BMW of Dirk Muller for fifth under yellow flags towards the end of the race.

Interestingly, all of the top five positions in the second race were held by former British Touring Car champions.

Gianni Morbidelli finished seventh in his Alfa Romeo and ahead of Priaulx, who collected one point for his championship defence.

Priaulx had looked like a good bet to take a famous victory in front of his home fans. Having started on pole position thanks to his eighth-place finish in the opening race of the day, he dominated the early going pulling out a comfortable two-second lead before that was naturalised when a safety car was called.

When the race restarted he ran wide into the gravel at Paddock Hill bend, dropping down the order and losing his shot at the win.

Countryman Robert Huff's superb weekend ended prematurely. Having finished a best-ever fourth in the first race, Huff locked up and slid off at the Druids Hairpin on the first lap.

Honda privateer Pierre-Yves Corthals went off in an almost identical accident on the tenth lap. The BMW of Marcel Costa spun out of seventh place at Surtees on the same lap.

Results:

Pos  Driver                Make                       Time
 1.  Alain Menu            Chevrolet Lacetti     30:02.722
 2.  Rickard Rydell        SEAT Leon               + 2.410
 3.  James Thompson        SEAT Leon               + 3.551
 4.  Gabriele Tarquini     SEAT Leon               + 5.521
 5.  Yvan Muller           SEAT Leon               + 9.388
 6.  Dirk Muller           BMW 320si               + 9.768
 7.  Gianni Morbidelli     Alfa Romeo 156         + 10.406
 8.  Andy Priaulx          BMW 320si              + 13.489
 9.  Alessandro Zanardi    BMW 320si              + 14.317
10.  Jordi Gene            SEAT Leon              + 14.836
11.  Augusto Farfus        Alfa Romeo 156         + 18.448
12.  Nicola Larini         Chevrolet Lacetti      + 19.866
13.  Ryan Sharp            Honda Accord Euro R    + 23.762
14.  Tom Coronel           SEAT Leon              + 33.455
15.  Luca Rangoni          BMW 320si              + 33.807
16.  Salvatore Tavano      Alfa Romeo 156         + 37.670
17.  Emmet O'Brien         BMW 320i               + 54.250
18.  Peter Terting         SEAT Leon            + 1:01.897
19.  Maurizio Ceresoli     SEAT Toledo Cupra    + 1:03.210

  Not Classified
     Marcel Costa          BMW 320si              D.N.F.
     Pierre-Yves Corthals  Honda Accord Euro R    D.N.F.
     Jorg Muller           BMW 320si              D.N.F.
     Diego Romanini        BMW 320i               D.N.F.
     Stefano D'Aste        BMW 320i               D.N.F.
     Robert Huff           Chevrolet Lacetti      D.N.F.