Honda’s Tiago Monteiro scored his first World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) win since China in November 2013, beating LADA’s Rob Huff and Zengő Motorsport’s Norbert Michelisz in the second race on the Moscow Raceway.
Monteiro started the race from pole position and was never headed, getting a strong start to lead into the first corner. The win is Honda’s first of the season as a works outfit, and Monteiro’s first since late 2013.
Huff came second after a fighting drive from seventh on the grid. The Brit got a strong start to be sixth by the end of lap one, and fifth on the following tour. The former champion made up almost a position a lap until lap six, when he passed team-mate Nicky Catsburg for third.
Slight contact with Michelisz came on lap 12 for second, although the move was forceful but fair. The LADA driver was unable to make further progress into Monteiro’s lead thereafter though, and Huff had to settle for taking the first podium for the Vesta WTCC car.
Catsburg was an impressive fourth in only his second race in the championship, despite contact with Honda’s Gabriele Tarquini on lap seven when the Italian tried to throw his car up the inside for fourth. The duo made contact, and damage to Tarquini’s left-rear wheel pitched him into the barriers and out of the race.
Ma Qing Hua finished in fifth, heading up a Citroën trio ahead of team-mates Yvan Muller and Sébastien Loeb. Muller made a further dent into José María López’s points lead after the Argentine was adjudged to have made a jump-start and was hit with a drive-through penalty, leaving him to finish in 12th position.
Campos Racing’s Hugo Valente was the top Chevrolet driver in eighth, despite defending heavily against the Citroën trio late in the race as they had an inter-team squabble for position.
ROAL Motorsport’s Tom Chilton was ninth, having also had close battles with Muller and López early in the race. Tom Coronel completed the top ten behind his team-mate to take a point away from Russia.
Having recovered from his illness, Rickard Rydell finished in 11th ahead of points leader López, with the Chevrolet trio of Craft-Bamboo Racing’s Grégoire Demoustier, Münnich Motorsport’s Stefano D’Aste and Campos Racing’s John Filippi completing the classified finishers.
There were two other retirements, along with Tarquini. LADA’s Jaap van Lagen pulled off the track of lap six with damaged left-rear suspension, whilst Sébastien Loeb Racing’s Mehdi Bennani retired in the pits after four laps with exhaust damage.