Santiago Urrutia took his fourth win of the 2026 Kumho FIA TCR World Tour in the first race of the weekend at the Chengdu Tianfu International Circuit, thanks to teammate Yann Ehrlacher relinquishing the lead after the opening lap.
The two Geely Preface cars finished 1-2, while SP Compétition’s Jean-Karl Vernay made up for a disappointing qualifying and muscled his way up to complete the podium in his CUPRA Leon VZ.
Points leader Mikel Azcona and BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse teammate Norbert Michelisz were classified fourth and fifth, which helped the Spaniard to stay on top of the standings, 41 points over Urrutia who moved ahead of Michelisz by six points.
The Ecuadorian driver Diego Moran finished ninth and won both the TCR Asia and the Guest Star Trophy in his ATE Racing by DM23 Honda Civic.
Ehrlacher made a perfect launch from the pole, while Urrutia went from third to second, passing Azcona’s into the first corner. Ma Qing Hua made a great start from fifth, passing both of the BRC Hyundai cars to move up to third.
The change for the lead came at the start of lap 2, with Ehrlacher allowing Urrutia past into T1. At the end of the lap, Azcona came under attack from Vernay who overtook the Spanish driver at the final corner and was then involved in a battle with Ma for third. In lap 6, Ma rejected a first attack but then Vernay dived down the inside at T10, forcing them both wide. Ma dropped to eighth, while Vernay rejoined just ahead of Azcona in third position.
The next battle was between Thed Björk and Aurélien Comte for fifth place; Comte pushed Björk at the final corner on lap 7. Both drivers lost ground to Michelisz, who snuck through into fifth. Comte passed Björk on lap 16 but was eventually demoted behind the Swede by a five-second penalty.
Urrutia and Ehrlacher managed the gap up front to Vernay, with Urrutia crossing the line 0.7 seconds ahead of his teammate.
Race 2 gets underway at 09:30 local time (03:30 CEST).
Race 1
- Santiago Urrutia (Geely Cyan Racing, Geely Preface), 22 laps
- Yann Ehrlacher (Geely Cyan Racing, Geely Preface), 0.707
- Jean-Karl Vernay (SP Compétition, CUPRA Leon VZ), 2.749
Fastest lap: 1:26.721 Yann Ehrlacher
Guest Star Trophy: Diego Moran (ATE Racing by DM23, Honda Civic Type R FL5)
Championship points
- M. Azcona, 339 pts.; 2. S. Urrutia, 298; 3. N. Michelisz, 292
Picture: WSC/Paddocker
