The 2022 WTCR season has experienced its grayest moment in Vallelunga. And the truth is that the bar was very high after the cancellation of the two Nürburgring races. Once again with the tires as the protagonists, the weekend of racing on the Italian track has been marked by the withdrawal of Cyan Racing and Lynk & Co from their five cars in protest. In sports, victories for Néstor Girolami and Gilles Magnus, with a double podium for Mikel Azcona that allows him to consolidate his leadership.
As soon as the weekend began in Vallelunga, the problems with the tires and punctures began. Lynk & Co threatened to withdraw their cars and finally the five TCRs that are under the management of Cyan Racing did not contest any of the two races. They did participate in the classification for being ‘short efforts’, but the structure decided not to take risks in the race due to tire blowouts. In fact, Santiago Urrutia, Yann Ehrlacher, Ma Qing Hua, Yvan Muller and Thed Björk returned to the pits after doing the two formation laps.
Among those who were on track, Néstor Girolami got the victory in the first race after achieving poleall avoiding the punctures that affected several of the Honda riders. It seemed that the Argentine could put pressure on Mikel Azcona with this result, but the Spaniard responded with a second place both in qualifying and in the race. Also, The Navarrese improved the performance of his rival in the reverse grid race by being third, for Girolami’s fifth place. The victory in this sleeve went to Gilles Magnus.
With the results that have occurred in Vallelunga, Mikel Azcona is 36 points ahead of Néstor Girolami, notable income in the absence of the two races that will be held in France and the two additional ones that should be in a scenario to be determined. For its part, Rob Huff remains third with 148 points after completing a survival exercise in Italy and reinforce his leadership in the WTCR Trophy. They complete the ‘top 5’ with 142 and 137 units Gilles Magnus and Santiago Urrutia, although the latter was not in the game in Vallelunga.
Although these are not ideal conditions, Azcona has seen how Vallelunga has served so that the Lynk & Co pilots are not a threat in the fight for the title. Similarly, the BRC Hyundai N team has also stepped up its title aspirations by teams and adds 298 points, which draws a difference of 45 units with Münnich Motorsport. The two teams in which Cyan Racing is divided remain with 211 points each by not competing in the sixth round of the championship, at least in their races.
Photos: FIA WTCR