Thompson scores landmark Honda win
James Thompson and the N.Technology team took their first WTCC win of the season, and the Honda Accord's first victory on the global stage, with a commanding performance in the second race at Imola this afternoon
The Englishman, who started the race from fifth on the grid, took the lead from BMW's Jorg Muller on lap seven and never looked threatened from thereon, eventually crossing the line 1.1s clear of the German.
But Thompson survived an early scare when Gabriele Tarquini stalled his SEAT right in front of him as the field took off at the start.
Thompson was able to avoid the stricken Leon, but BMW driver Felix Porteiro was less fortunate and plowed straight into Tarquini's rear. Both cars were retired on the spot, and the field gathered behind the safety car while the debris was swept off the straight.
Thompson had already made his way up to third before the safety car came out, and shortly after the restart he passed the Chevrolets of Rob Huff and Nicola Larini before setting off in pursuit of Muller.
Huff made it past his teammate in the closing laps to claim third and hustled Muller through the last few corners in the hope of gaining one more spot, but the BMW was too wide and Huff settled for the final podium place.
Yvan Muller added further padding to his championship lead by finishing fifth behind Larini, with Rickard Rydell close behind in sixth. Andy Priaulx dived inside the sister BMW of Augusto Farfus at Acque Minerali on the final lap to pick up a couple of points for seventh.
In the Independents' Trophy, Sergio Hernandez capped off a perfect weekend in his Proteam BMW and took his second win of the day.
Pos Driver Car Time
1. James Thompson Honda 30:20.607
2. Jorg Muller BMW +1.120
3. Robert Huff Chevrolet +1.858
4. Nicola Larini Chevrolet +3.353
5. Yvan Muller SEAT +4.034
6. Rickard Rydell SEAT +4.378
7. Andy Priaulx BMW +5.142
8. Augusto Farfus BMW +6.029
9. Alex Zanardi BMW +6.179
10. Sergio Hernandez BMW +6.349
11. Tiago Monteiro SEAT +7.016
12. Alain Menu Chevrolet +11.521
13. Pierre-Yves Corthals SEAT +12.393
14. Franz Engstler BMW +13.757
15. Tom Coronel SEAT +14.437
16. Stefano D'Aste BMW +14.850
17. Jordi Gene SEAT +20.103
18. Jaap van Lagen Lada +20.504
19. George Tanev BMW +31.190
20. Andrey Romanov BMW +33.742
21. Ibrahim Okyay BMW +34.731
22. Kirill Ladygin Lada +40.905
Not classified
Driver Car Laps
Gabriele Tarquini SEAT 0 laps
Felix Porteiro BMW 0 laps
Fastest lap, Tiago Monteiro 1:55.592 on lap 11
Share Or Save This Story
The Indy 500 poleman who didn't live to raceday
Fast Failures: American heartbreak at the Indianapolis 500
Indy Lights champion Spencer Pigot gets three race IndyCar deal
The ambition behind an ‘insane’ racing opportunity
Tanak involved in Toyota's development of its WRC 2027 car
The area Bezzecchi must improve upon to become MotoGP world champion
Neuville vows to bounce back from costly Rally Croatia error
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments