José María López scored victory in the main World Touring Car Championship race in Slovakia in a scintillating late-race duel with LADA’s Nicky Catsburg and Honda’s Tiago Monteiro.
López had originally taken the lead from team-mate Yvan Muller at the start thanks to a good getaway from the lights, but the Argentine double champion was almost immediately complaining of a vibration with his car.
Muller lost out further at turn one to the LADA of Nicky Catsburg, who then benefitted on lap four when López went slightly wide and allowed him to close in. The two went side-by-side over the line, with Catsburg emerging as the leader after turn one on the following tour.
Catsburg then led the majority of the race, but never by much more than a second, helped in part by Honda’s Tiago Monteiro keeping the pressure on López for second.
Things came to a head on the penultimate lap when a mistake by Catsburg allowed López to close in, and ultimately take the lead, with the LADA slipping to third a couple of corners later.
That handed López just enough of a margin to win, ahead of new championship leader Monteiro in second and Catsburg in third, who claimed his first WTCC podium in the process.
Polestar Volvo’s Thed Björk made it four different manufacturers in the top four, ahead of Honda’s Norbert Michelisz in fifth, who he had passed at the final corner of the final lap.
The second works’ Citroën of Muller ended up sixth, having earlier been forced wide when Rob Huff passed him on the third lap. Huff would later fail to finish the race after putting his Civic in the gravel whilst running in fourth.
Sébastien Loeb Racing’s Mehdi Bennani was seventh, ahead of team-mate Tom Chilton in eighth.
The second Volvo of Fredrik Ekblom, who came through from the back of the grid, was ninth, with ROAL Motorsport’s Tom Coronel finishing as the top Chevrolet driver in tenth.
Aside from a maiden podium for Catsburg, LADA’s other two drivers had a poor race, with Hugo Valente retiring in the gravel after four laps and Gabriele Tarquini finishing down in 14th position.
Race result
| POS | NO | CL | DRIVER | NAT | ENTRANT | CAR | LAPS | TIME/GAP | BEST | GD |
| 1 | 37 | José María LÓPEZ |  |
Citroën Total WTCC | Citroën C-Elysée WTCC | 12 | 25:44.212 | 2:06.669 | 3 | |
| 2 | 18 | Tiago MONTEIRO |  |
Honda Racing Team JAS | Honda Civic WTCC | 12 | 0.700 | 2:07.324 | 7 | |
| 3 | 10 | Nicky CATSBURG |  |
LADA Sport Rosneft | LADA Vesta WTCC | 12 | 3.260 | 2:07.271 | 2 | |
| 4 | 62 | Thed BJÖRK |  |
Polestar Cyan Racing | Volvo S60 WTCC | 12 | 3.868 | 2:07.240 | 6 | |
| 5 | 5 | Norbert MICHELISZ |  |
Honda Racing Team JAS | Honda Civic WTCC | 12 | 4.620 | 2:07.281 | 4 | |
| 6 | 68 | Yvan MULLER |  |
Citroën Total WTCC | Citroën C-Elysée WTCC | 12 | 4.737 | 2:07.501 | 1 | |
| 7 | 25 | Y | Mehdi BENNANI |  |
Sébastien Loeb Racing | Citroën C-Elysée WTCC | 12 | 5.262 | 2:07.453 | 9 |
| 8 | 3 | Y | Tom CHILTON |  |
Sébastien Loeb Racing | Citroën C-Elysée WTCC | 12 | 5.950 | 2:08.013 | 11 |
| 9 | 61 | Fredrik EKBLOM | |
Polestar Cyan Racing | Volvo S60 WTCC | 12 | 7.551 | 2:07.565 | 17 | |
| 10 | 9 | Y | Tom CORONEL | |
ROAL Motorsport | Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 | 12 | 18.969 | 2:08.654 | 15 |
| 11 | 27 | Y | John FILIPPI | |
Campos Racing | Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 | 12 | 19.345 | 2:08.773 | 12 |
| 12 | 15 | Y | James THOMPSON | |
ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport | Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 | 12 | 20.045 | 2:08.599 | 14 |
| 13 | 11 | Y | Grégoire DEMOUSTIER | |
Sébastien Loeb Racing | Citroën C-Elysée WTCC | 12 | 21.675 | 2:09.149 | 13 |
| 14 | 2 | Gabriele TARQUINI |  |
LADA Sport Rosneft | LADA Vesta WTCC | 12 | 1:38.571 | 2:07.834 | 8 | |
| 15 | 12 | Rob HUFF | |
Honda Racing Team JAS | Honda Civic WTCC | 10 | 2 Lp. | 2:07.110 | 5 | |
| R | 7 | Hugo VALENTE | |
LADA Sport Rosneft | LADA Vesta WTCC | 4 | 8 Lp. | 2:07.349 | 10 | |
| R | 55 | Y | Ferenc FICZA | |
Zengő Motorsport | Honda Civic WTCC | 0 | – | – | 16 |