Shanghai, Race 1: Chilton wins on drying track

Tom Chilton claimed his second WTCC victory on a drying track, overtaking his team-mate Yvan Muller on the last lap.

The shower that hit the track a few minutes before the start puzzled the drivers on the tyre choice. Some went for wets – like Pepe Oriola and Rickard Rydell – some other for slicks – like the RML duo and James Nash.

Rain stopped after a few laps and it was clear that the gamble of going for the slick tyres was the winning one.

Oriola and Rydell tried to take advantage on the first laps, but then they had to give up position after position, which gave the RML pair and Nash to move at the front.

Key moments
Grid – following a shower and to avoid the risk of finishing the second race in the dark, the Stewards decided to shorten both races from 13 to 10 laps for safety reasons
Start – the field takes the start behind the safety car on a drying track
Lap 3 – the safety car pits and the fight begins
Lap 3 – Oriola overtakes Chilton and Muller to take the lead
Lap 3 – Valente and Charles Ng make contact; Valente pits for repairs
Lap 4 – Rydell overtakes MacDowell and Nash to move up to fourth
Lap 5 – MacDowall and Huff swap sixth position a couple of times
Lap 7 – Muller and Chilton overtake Oriola
Lap 7 – Tarquini overtakes Huff for eighth
Lap 8 – Rydell slips to from 4th to 7th behind Nash, MacDowall and Tarquini
Lap 9 – Rydell drops further down to 11th
Lap 10 – Thompson overtakes Monteiro for ninth
Lap 12 – Boardman overtakes Monteiro for tenth
Lap 12 – Chilton overtakes Muller and wins
Lap 12 – Nash and MacDowall overtake Oriola to finish third and fourth