Kristoffersson triumphs in Nordschleife second race
Reigning TCR Scandinavia champion Johan Kristoffersson claimed a triumphant victory in the WTCR’s second race at the Nürburgring. This was the Swede’s maiden victory in the championship and also the first of the season for the Volkswagen Golf that came only 90 minutes after the German car had taken its first win in TCR Japan.
It was a hot start, with Kristoffersson who sat on pole position of the top-ten reverse grid, making contact with Antti Buri’s Audi. This helped Frédéric Vervisch to pass Buri for second.
From that moment on, the two leaders pulled away while there was a lot of fighting behind them.
Gabriele Tarquini and Rob Huff overtook Buri in lap 1, moving up to third and fourth respectively, while Buri struggled to defend his fifth position. On his maiden appearance in the World Cup, the Finn got past by Augusto Farfus, Attila Tassi, Benjamin Leuchter and Esteban Guerrieri. Then on the third and final lap, Buri made a mistake and eventually finished 13th.
There was drama at the Karussell when Huff tried to overtake Tarquini for third. The two cars clashed and Huff’s Golf got the worst of it and stopped with a broken suspension. Delayed by the incident, Tarquini was chased by Farfus and Tassi. Eventually Farfus managed to overtake the Italian to finish third, his first podium result in the championship.
The first three drivers in the standings, Guerrieri, Norbert Michelisz and Thed Björk all managed to score in 7th, 8th and 14th positions respectively.
After the race, Tarquini was given a 30-second time penalty for the incident with Huff, that dropped him out of the points.
Race 3 will follow at 12:20 local time (CET).
Race 2
1. Johan Kristoffersson (Sébastien Loeb Racing, Volkswagen Golf GTI) 3 laps
2. Frédéric Vervisch (Comtoyou Racing, Audi RS 3 LMS), 5.108
3. Augusto Farfus (BRC Racing Team, Hyundai i30 N), 10.891
4. Attila Tassi (KCMG, Honda Civic FK7), 11.827
5. Benjamin Leuchter (Sébastien Loeb Racing, Volkswagen Golf GTI), 12.340
Championship points
1. Girolami 198 pts; 2. Michelisz 169; 3. Björk 159
