Mikhail Grachev claimed a lights-to-flag victory – the fourth for him in the season so far – in a race that was shortened and finished under the safety-car.
The WestCoast Racing driver took the lead at the start and was able to create a small cushion between him and Dušan Borkovićwho eventually finished second, but was denied the chance to try an overtaking manoeuvre by the safety-car interventions.
The battle behind them was white-hot, with a bunch of drivers fighting for the positions. The incidents that resulted from this battle eliminated or demoted some key players such as Pepe Oriola (who was given a drive-through and dropped out of the points), Attila Tassi, Kevin Gleason and Gianni Morbidelli.
James Nash, Stefano Comini and Jean-Karl Vernay were able to avoid the carnage and achieved some valuable placements as far as the title fight is concerned.
Nash has re-taken the lead, two points ahead of Comini; P. Oriola has now to fill a gap of 16 points, while Vernay is 28 points behind the leader.
Petr Fulín managed to finish in the points as he crossed the line ninth in his Alfa Romeo.
The TCR International Series will resume in two weeks time at Sepang, in the frame of the F1 Malaysian Grand Prix, on September 30 and October 1.
Key facts
Start – Grachev makes good use of the pole and takes the lead from Borković, Afanasyev, Tassi, Nash, Morbidelli and P. Oriola
Lap 1 – Comini puts pressure on P. Oriola; Homola punts Gleason into a spin
Lap 2 – Hezemans stops and retires with electronics issues; Fulín overtakes Cao for 12th
Lap 3 – the fight for positions heats up; there is a contact between Afanasyev and Tassi and the former spins and crashes into the wall; Comini tries to overtake P. Oriola who hits Morbidelli; Comini takes advantage and moves up to fourth; the safety car is deployed
Lap 6 – the race resumes; Grachev leads from Borković, Nash, Comini, Homola and Vernay; Tassi drops down from 7th, returns to the pits and retires with steering problem
Lap 7 – P. Oriola is given a drive-through for the contact with Morbidelli; Galiana and Wei make contact while fighting for 14th position; the safety-car is deployed for the second time
Lap 9 – as the 30 minutes expire, the race finishes behind the safety car one lap before the scheduled distance; Grachev wins from Borković, Nash, Comini, Homola and Vernay
