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Red Bull team principal Christian Horner says he won’t let the squad get complacent about this year’s campaign,…
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Nathanaël Berthon claimed his first WTCR – FIA World Touring Car Cup victory of the year with a commanding performance in Race 1 of the WTCR Race of Alsace GrandEst earlier today.
The Comtoyou DHL Team Audi Sport driver used the superior straightline speed of his Audi RS 3 LMS to out-drag the pole-sitting ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport Honda of Néstor Girolami at the start and was never headed afterwards, although he remained under intense pressure throughout the 30-minute counter.
Home hero Berthon maintained a 0.5s lead for most of the race to secure his second career victory – and his first since the WTCR Race of Slovakia in October 2020.
It was also the third win of 2022 for the Audi RS3 LMS and the second in a row after fellow Comtoyou driver Gilles Magnus triumphed last time out at Vallelunga.
“To get my first win of the season in France is very cool,” Berthon said following his Anneau du Rhin triumph. “I had to push to the maximum whle also trying to manage the tyres and everything else.
“I’m very happy for the team, for all the energy we’ve put in over this season and last season. It’s paid off today.”
Argentine Girolami finished second, ahead of Gilles Magnus’s Comtoyou Audi and BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse’s Mikel Azcona, cutting the gap to the Spaniard in the Goodyear #FollowTheLeader battle.
Girolami’s team-mate Esteban Guerrieri ran fourth during the early stages, but contact at Turn 1 from Magnus sent the Argentinian into a lurid slide across the grass and gravel on lap five.
Guerrieri pitted immediately for new tyres and resumed at the back of the field. He finished 10th and set the fastest lap to underline his potential.
While Comotyou Audi driver Magnus took third on the road, race officials declared that the incident would be investigated post-race and promptly handed the Belgian a five-second penalty, which demoted him to seventh and Azcona to third. Azcona’s provisional title advantage is 28 points ahead of Race 2.
BRC’s Norbert Michelisz was fifth on the road, passing Tom Coronel’s Comtoyou Audi with five laps to go; the Dutchman sliding wide and losing sixth spot – plus the WTCR Trophy victory – to the Zengő Motorsport CUPRA of Rob Huff at the next turn.
Zengo’s Dániel Nagy made up three spots in the closing laps to finish eighth with LIQUI MOLY Team Engstler’s Tiago Monteiro ninth. His team-mate Attila Tassi had looked set for seventh when he suffered a left-front damaged tyre due to contact with three laps left.
Mehdi Bennani’s Comtoyou Audi finished a lap down in 11th after pitting with a damaged tyre of his own, again due to contact, shortly after a clash with Tassi that sent the Honda driver into a wild slide at quarter-distance.
Race 2 at Circuit l’Anneau du Rhin is due to begin at 16h15 CET with live coverage online and on television around the world.
WTCRWTCR
SEASON 2022SportCircuit1SportWorld Touring Car CupCircuitWTCRSEASON 2022WTCR00Sunday, August 7, 2022 – 3:49pmSunday, August 7, 2022 – 3:49pm
After announcing his retirement from Formula 1 at the end of the current season, four-time world champion has…
The post Vettel says ‘biggest challenge’ is still ahead of him appeared first on F1i.com.
Ott Tänak, navigated by Martin Järveoja, has secured Secto Rally Finland victory on Sunday afternoon with a precision-perfect drive to give Hyundai Motorsport its first-ever Finnish win.
The Hyundai i20 N driver led from Friday morning onwards to triumph at the four-day gravel fixture ahead of Toyota GR Yaris driver Kalle Rovanperä.
“The Toyota guys gave me some hope on Friday in the beginning and since then we saw our chance. We were pushing from there, but all I want to say in these difficult times is that it’s really all down to my wife. She has been supporting me so much and I am really proud of her – I love you so much.”, the Estonian said.
Rovanperä’s team-mate Esapekka Lappi completed the podium despite rolling his car in the penultimate stage.
Teemu Suninen/Mikko Markkula clinched their first WRC2 victory of the season, having led pretty much from start to finish here on home soil.
“It was a really good rally for us and we are feeling great. I think we have done a very good job of developing the car and now it’s on the winning pace, so that’s the most important thing.”
More news to follow…
WRCRally FinlandWRC
SEASON 2022SportRallies1SportWorld Rally ChampionshipRalliesWRCSEASON 2022WRCRally Finland00Sunday, August 7, 2022 – 1:49pmSunday, August 7, 2022 – 1:49pm
Former f1 driver turned commentator Martin Brundle has backed two-time world champion Fernando Alonso to push his new…
The post Brundle expects Alonso to give Aston Martin a big push appeared first on F1i.com.
Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has hinted that next year’s calendar will feature 24 races, more than any…
The post Domenicali hints at expansion to 24 races for 2023 appeared first on F1i.com.
Stjørdal is no stranger to rallycross fever, but this year the popular free-to-attend pre-event ‘warm-up’ in the town will carry extra significance – as it will be the first time that anybody outside of the drivers and teams will get a glimpse of the new cars, which will hit the track in Hell over the following weekend (13-14 August) and kick-start an 11-round campaign that will culminate in the coronation of FIA World Rallycross’ inaugural electric champion.
Beginning at 19:00 CEST, the World RX cars will be presented to the public, media and VIPs in front of Stjørdal’s striking Kimen Kulturhus, with drivers taking to the stage to offer insights into what fans can expect from the sport’s exciting new all-electric generation.
The launch will similarly feature the FIA RX2e Championship and superstar skier Aksel Lund Svindal, who will make his rallycross debut in Hell in the electric support series.
The presentation – which will be live-streamed on RX+, on World RX’s Facebook and YouTube channels and by championship media partners – will be followed by an autograph session and parade through the streets of Stjørdal, before the cars return to the track for final preparations ahead of the race weekend.
The driver/team/car line up for the opening round of the 2022 FIA World Rallycross Championship at Hell in Norway (13/14 August) is:
#1 Johan Kristoffersson (SWE)….Kristoffersson Motorsport VW RX1e
#12 Klara Andersson (SWE)….Construction Equipment Dealer Team PWR RX1e
#17 Gustav Bergström (SWE)….Gustav Bergström VW RX1e
#21 Timmy Hansen (SWE)….Hansen World RX Team Peugeot 208 RX1e
#52 Ole Christian Veiby (NOR)….Kristoffersson Motorsport VW RX1e
#68 Niclas Grönholm (FIN)….Construction Equipment Dealer Team PWR RX1e
#71 Kevin Hansen (SWE)….Hansen World RX Team Peugeot 208 RX1e
#77 Rene Münnich (DEU)….ALL-INKL.COM Muennich Motorsport SEAT Ibiza RX1e
World RXWorld RX
SEASON 2022SportOff-Road1SportWorld Rallycross ChampionshipOff-RoadWorld RXSEASON 2022World RX00Sunday, August 7, 2022 – 10:58amSunday, August 7, 2022 – 10:58am
Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer says that Alpine will be able to stay ahead of Aston Martin next…
The post Szafnauer convinced Alpine will still beat Aston in 2023 appeared first on F1i.com.
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc has been talking about some of the mental strategies he’s adopted this year to…
The post Leclerc says ‘boring moments’ help ‘put me exactly in the zone’ appeared first on F1i.com.