Girolami leads an Argentine 1-2-3 in Race 2 at The Bend

after his teammates Norbert Michelisz and Mikel Azcona had finished 1-2 in yesterday’s Race 1.

GOAT Racing teammates Esteban Guerrieri and Ignacio Montenegro drove their Honda Civic cars to second and third, making an all-Argentine podium, while Josh Buchan finished fifth behind Aurélien Comte and so snatched the TCR Australia Cup awarded to best scorer among the local drivers.

The Lynk & Co Cyan Racing team completed a trouble-free race, with Yann Ehrlacher and Thed Björk settling in sixth and seventh positions as they were focusing on the points. Ehrlacher continues to lead the standings, 36 points ahead of Guerrieri, with Björk 17 further points behind.

Comte and Girolami shared the front row of the top ten reversed grid; at the start, Girolami managed to take the lead outside of T1 and immediately began to build a gap, while Comte was under pressure in defending the second place. In lap 2, Guerrieri overtook Comte, Montenegro and Buchan tried to follow and there was contact between the three of them. Montenegro advanced to third, while Comte kept Buchan at bay.

The race became processional, with Girolami controlling the pace until the end, while Björk let Ehrlacher pass for P6 in lap 7. The only thrill came in lap 10, when Mikel Azcona made a move on Ma Qing Hua for P8, but Ma rejected the attack and so Azcona opened the door for Michelisz for P9.

The series will resume on October 17/19 at Inje Speedium in South Korea, where TCR Asia will join the grid.

Race 2

1. Néstor Girolami (BRC Squadra Corse, Hyundai Elantra N), 13 laps
2. Esteban Guerrieri (GOAT Racing, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 0.0024
3. Ignacio Montenegro (GOAT Racing, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 0.8301

Championship points

1. Y. Ehrlacher, 296 pts; 2. E. Guerrieri, 260; 3. T. Björk, 243

Picture: WSC/Jun Qian Motorsport