Muller might have had distraction to blame for his slow getaway, the Frenchman initially lining up in the wrong grid slot after the formation lap, forcing organisers to send the cars around again. Though he would be allowed to start, his indiscretion is being investigated post-race.
Though he didn’t make the most of his front row grid slot as he came into turn one in fifth place, Hugo Valente made the most of Sebastien Loeb tipping team-mate Ma Qing Hua into a half-spin on the exit of the righer-hander, allowing the Campos Chevrolet to nip back past.
It was a position he would maintain to the chequered flag to claim his first podium of 2015, holding off the advances of Hua and Tiago Monteiro, while Loeb was the big loser from his boisterous turn one antics as he slipped to a sixth he would stay to the end.
A fairly uneventful race, Tom Chilton planted one of the few passes during the race with a pass on home hero Norbert Michelisz to finish seventh, while Rob Huff and Tom Coronel completed the points’ paying positions in the top