Rio Hondo WTCC: Yvan Muller leads wild pack behind in race one
Yvan Muller claimed victory in the World Touring Car Championship's first race in Argentina with a serene drive that contrasted starkly with the rest of the field
Having protected his advantage from the start, poleman Muller's task was instantly made easier when Tom Chilton and Norbert Michelisz squabbled at Turn 1, allowing the Frenchman breathing space at the front.
Untroubled by traffic, and free of the endless fights happening behind, RML Chevrolet driver Muller was able to pull away by around one second per lap, and with three to go had a commanding 10s lead.
That allowed him to drop his pace considerably over the final laps and still triumph by almost five seconds, despite Pepe Oriola's late charge in the Tuenti Chevrolet.
The Spaniard won a fierce battle for second that at times encompassed seven cars.
It was Michelisz who had initially held the advantage following his move on Chilton, but the Briton managed to eventually pick him off on lap five after the pair traded blows through the back section.
Michelisz had been able to temporarily get back in front, but in refusing to cede position he also compromised his exit onto the main straight and was helpless as Oriola, Gabriele Tarquini and Michel Nykjaer drove past.
Oriola then set about hounding Chilton, eventually picking him off three laps later to set a podium order that would last to the flag.
Michelisz's woes were not finished however: after losing three spots down the main straight, he lost two more when James Nash went too deep into Turn 1 and hit him, allowing the Briton and home favourite Jose Maria Lopez through.
The Argentine, starting from 10th on the grid, would then pass Nash for sixth and, one lap from the end, pull off a great move on Nykjaer to seal a top five finish on his WTCC debut.
Behind Nykjaer in sixth, a fading Nash fell victim to Michelisz and then a charging Rob Huff, who incredibly came through from the back of the grid to take eighth.
His progress was almost matched by Tiago Monteiro.
Like Huff forced to start from the back of the grid due to an engine change, the Honda driver came through to clinch one point for 10th.
Results - 12 laps: Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap 1. Yvan Muller RML Chevrolet 22m56.896s 2. Pepe Oriola Tuenti Chevrolet +4.924s 3. Tom Chilton RML Chevrolet +7.813s 4. Gabriele Tarquini Honda +7.989s 5. Jose Maria Lopez Wiechers BMW +8.846s 6. Michel Nykjaer Nika Chevrolet +10.214s 7. Norbert Michelisz Zengo Honda +12.833s 8. Rob Huff Munnich SEAT +13.960s 9. James Nash Bamboo Chevrolet +14.636s 10. Tiago Monteiro Honda +14.870s 11. Alex MacDowall Bamboo Chevrolet +15.743s 12. Marc Basseng Munnich SEAT +16.619s 13. Hugo Valente Campos SEAT +17.333s 14. Stefano D'Aste PB BMW +19.858s 15. Darryl O'Young ROAL BMW +20.247s 16. Fernando Monje Campos SEAT +23.563s 17. Charles Ng Engstler BMW +23.782s 18. Rene Munnich Munnich SEAT +30.675s 19. Franz Engstler Engstler BMW +33.536s 20. Mehdi Bennani Proteam BMW +36.459s Retirements: James Thompson Lada 8 laps Tom Coronel ROAL BMW 7 laps Mikhail Kozlovskiy Lada 2 laps
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