Mikel Azcona lined up on pole position and was able to beat fellow front-row starter Yann Ehrlacher to T1. Further back, a collision between Damiano Reduzzi, Manuel Fernandesand Raphaël Fournier left Fournier’s Hyundai needing retrieval, prompting a brief period under the safety car, while Fernandes retired a few laps later.
Once the race resumed, Ehrlacher never relented in his pressure of Azcona, but the leader built a small gap and made no mistakes on his way to victory. Azcona’s teammate Norbert Michelisz emerged in third place from a frantic battle over the opening half a lap with Thed Björk and Jenson Brickley. Michelisz, carrying extra Compensation Weight in comparison with Azcona and Ehrlacher, managed his race well to take third.
Björk and Brickley lay fourth and fifth until two laps from the end when both pitted with flat front tyres. This promoted the battle between Aurélien Comte and Teddy Clairet as they finished fourth and fifth, while Brickley and Björk rejoined and were classified 11th and 13th.
Another fight further back ended with Santiago Urrutia beating Geely Cyan teammate Ma Qing Hua for P6; both had started from the back of the grid due to penalties. They struggled to get past Julien Briché who held on to the sixth position until the final stages of the races. Eventually, the Frenchman finished eighth and won the ETS Guest Star Trophy for his efforts in his JSB Compétition Hyundai Elantra N. Completing the top 10 were Damiano Reduzzi and Tom Pussier.
Race 1 (full results)
1. Mikel Azcona (BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse, Hyundai Elantra N EV), 18 laps
2. Yann Ehrlacher (Geely Cyan Racing, Geely Preface), 2.949
3. Norbert Michelisz (BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse, Hyundai Elantra N EV), 4.865
Quotes from the podium – Race 1
Mikel Azcona, 1st: “The start was the key. My main goal was to keep the first position on the first corner, and from this point it was not easy because Yann was pushing. His pace was brilliant, especially in the last sector, where he was way faster than me. But in the first sector I was faster, so I was trying to maintain the distance. I was afraid of the front-left tyre because there were some punctures behind me and I was jumping over the kerb because Yann was pushing.”
Yann Ehrlacher, 2nd: “It was a good race. We knew that starting from P2, expecting a win was only possible if something happened to Mikel. He did a very good job. We know that we have a speed deficit in the straights compared to the Hyundai, so we are happy to finish this race and score big points again.”
Norbert Michelisz, 3rd: “A difficult first lap and a very difficult race, because of the heat and because of the extra weight. I know that from the outside it looks like a steady pace, but we had to do our best to save the front-left tyre through the race distance. The target was to maximise qualifying in terms of points in race one. I think we managed to do that.”
Teddy Clairet fends off Ma Qing Hua for maiden victory
Teddy Clairet started from third on the reversed grid. Him and Ma Qing Hua went either side of polesitter Manuel Fernandes on the run to T1, then Clairet swept around the outside of Ma and emerged in the lead. Contact between Ma and his teammate Santiago Urrutia at the chicane resulted in the Uruguayan moving up into second place, before Ma got back in front on lap 2.
Clairet was setting a blistering pace in the lead, but it was to the cost of his tyres in the high temperatures. Ma was able to come back at him over the final few laps, but Clairet positioned his CUPRA perfectly to hold on for victory by less than two tenths.
Urrutia came under attack from race one winner Mikel Azcona, who tried an outside move at T1 with five laps remaining. Azcona was forced wide and Urrutia held on for P3. Just behind Azcona were Yann Ehrlacher and Thed Björk; the rear of Björk’s car had been hit by Aurélien Comte on the first lap, costing him some time, but the Swede moved ahead of Ehrlacher just before the finish line for fifth.
Norbert Michelisz was seventh, while Jenson Brickley made his way from the back of the grid, due to a penalty for three reprimands this season, to eighth. The retirement of Julien Briché with a puncture meant that Fernandes claimed ETS Guest Star Trophy honours in ninth, while Damiano Reduzzi was 10th.
Race 2 (full results)
1. Teddy Clairet (Team Clairet Sport, CUPRA Leon VZ), 16 laps
2. Ma Qing Hua (Geely Cyan Racing, Geely Preface), 0.153
3. Santiago Urrutia (Geely Cyan Racing, Geely Preface), 5.374
Quotes from the podium – Race 2
Teddy Clairet, 1st: “The launch was good, and it’s the key in TCR to make a good start, because a lot of things can happen. I could overtake Fernandes before the first turn, and I could go side by side with Ma on the outside. It’s a tricky manoeuvre, but I knew that with this kind of driver we can do it because he fights with respect. It was fair, and we gave each other the necessary space. After that maybe I pushed a bit too hard on the first laps, because I was suffering in the final five laps. Ma was quicker and joined me for the last two laps. In the end I could get it, but it was good for me that it was the end of the race…”
Ma Qing Hua, 2nd:“Teddy’s pace was really good. He did a good job to manage a gap to me. I was trying to catch, but he was very fast. I don’t know what he did after race one! I think I did a better tyre management so in the end I had a bit more potential to push, so I put the pressure, but he did a really good defending, and my tyres were also gone. I tried to survive and at the same time gain a position, not easy.”
Santiago Urrutia, 3rd: “It was a good weekend. I’m very happy with my team, as they gave me a very good car and we handled the heat well. After the FIA gave me the penalty I had to start last for race one, I ended up P6, and now P3, so I am very happy. I really enjoyed race two. It was difficult to fight with Mikel [Azcona] because he was quicker than me, but once we got to T5, the quick one, he was losing a bit of downforce so I could build it back
Briché and Fernandes clinch the ETS Trophy
The ETS Guest Star Trophy was awarded to Julien Briché in Race 1 and Manuel Fernandes in Race 2.
Briché drove his JSB Compétition Hyundai Elantra to finish eighth in the first race, after defending the sixth position until the final few laps from the attacks of Santiago Urrutia and Ma Qing Hua.
“It was a difficult race,” the Frenchman said. “But I had fun in fighting with Ma and Urrutia. I had a good start, but after a few laps I was under pressure from Ma. I have tried my best to resist, but the Geely cars are very fast and finally they both passed me. It was a good result for the team, we always try to aim for better, but it was encouraging because we are getting closer.”
Briché was set to encore in Race 2, but a flat tyre forced him to pit with three laps to go and so it was ManuelFernandes who emerged as the trophy winner, finishing ninth in the Vannin Motorsport Audi RS 3 LMS.
“I did a good start, but they got in front and I was behind Ma Qing Hua. I don’t know who, but another driver hit me two times and I lost a lot of positions. We pushed hard to catch Briché, and when I saw he had a puncture I just kept in my rhythm, to finish and win the ETS Trophy. Let’s go to Vila Real now!” Fernandes said.
| 2026 Kumho FIA TCR World Tour – calendar 2/4 October – Rounds 10, 11 & 12 @ Inje Speedium 16/18 October – Rounds 13, 14 & 15 @ Chengdu Tianfu International Circuit 23/25 October – Rounds 16, 17 & 18 @ Hunan International Circuit, Zhuzhou 19/22 November – Rounds 19 & 20 @ Guia Circuit, Macau |
| Text Credits: Kumho FIA TCR World Tour Photo Credits: WSC/Fastclick-Avensimages/TCR Spain/Carlos Casimiro Video Credits: ICARUS Sports |
