Leopard Racing’s Stefano Comini took victory in the opening TCR International Series race at the Sochi Autodrom in Russia, ahead of Craft-Bamboo Racing’s Pepe Oriola.
Comini scored his second win of the season in unusually hot conditions at the Russian circuit, with the reigning champion never really being challenged around the temporary race track.
His nearest rival was Spaniard Oriola, who couldn’t catch the Swiss racer and had to settle for his third second-place finish of the season, having got past Gianni Morbidelli for the place on lap two.
WestCoast Racing’s Morbidelli enjoyed a return to form and took third, making it three different manufacturers in the top three positions. It was also the first podium for the Honda driver since the second meeting of the season back in April.
The second Craft-Bamboo SEAT of James Nash took fourth, keeping him close to new championship leader Oriola, the duo having gone into the race weekend tied at the top of the drivers’ standings.
Dušan Borković had a relatively quiet race to fifth and was the leading B3 Racing SEAT, ahead of local racer Mikhail Grachev in sixth, who had battled with Borković earlier in the race.
The second Leopard Racing Volkswagen of Jean-Karl Vernay took seventh, although the Frenchman had been running as high as fifth before contact with Nash dropped him to tenth. He then got past the Mulsanne Racing Alfa Romeo of Petr Fulín late in the race, leaving the Czech racer to settle for eighth, the best result yet for the Romeo Ferraris-developed car.
Liqui Moly Team Engstler’s Davit Kajaia and B3 Racing’s Mat’o Homola completed the top ten.
Race two poleman Attila Tassi just missed out on the points in 11th, taking the chequered flag just behind his B3 Racing team-mate.
After the race, however, Nash was handed a 10-second penalty for contact with Vernay, promoting Grachev to fourth and dropping the Brit to eighth.
Liqui Moly Team Engstler’s Vladimir Sheshenin, who had been running briefly in the points in tenth, was the only retirement from the race when he picked up a front-right puncture in his Volkswagen which shredded the corner of his car.
UPDATE: Borković was subsenquently handed a post-race 30-second penalty for repeatedly exceeding the track limits, handing the final points position to Tassi and demoting the Serbian driver to 14th position.
Race result
| POS | NO | DRIVER | NAT | ENTRANT | CAR | LAPS | TIME/GAP | BEST | GD |
| 1 | 1 | Stefano COMINI |  |
Leopard Racing | Volkswagen Golf Gti TCR | 11 | 26:08.805 | 2:21.315 | 1 |
| 2 | 74 | Pepe ORIOLA |  |
Team Craft-Bamboo LUKOIL | SEAT León TCR | 11 | 1.915 | 2:21.912 | 2 |
| 3 | 10 | Gianni MORBIDELLI |  |
West Coast Racing | Honda Civic TCR | 11 | 8.078 | 2:22.701 | 4 |
| 4 | 8 | Mikhail GRACHEV |  |
West Coast Racing | Honda Civic TCR | 11 | 16.704 | 2:23.022 | 8 |
| 5 | 2 | Jean-Karl VERNAY |  |
Leopard Racing | Volkswagen Golf Gti TCR | 11 | 17.718 | 2:22.541 | 3 |
| 6 | 22 | Petr FULÍN |  |
Mulsanne Racing | Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR | 11 | 20.396 | 2:22.898 | 5 |
| 7 | 7 | Davit KAJAIA |  |
Liqui Moly Team Engstler | Volkswagen Golf Gti TCR | 11 | 21.173 | 2:23.209 | 12 |
| 8 | 54 | James NASH |  |
Team Craft-Bamboo LUKOIL | SEAT León TCR | 11 | 22.867 | 2:22.853 | 7 |
| 9 | 70 | Mat’o HOMOLA |  |
B3 Racing Team Hungary | SEAT León TCR | 11 | 23.08 | 2:23.115 | 9 |
| 10 | 9 | Attila TASSI |  |
B3 Racing Team Hungary | SEAT León TCR | 11 | 23.995 | 2:23.132 | 10 |
| 11 | 18 | Ildar RAKHMATULLIN | |
West Coast Racing | Honda Civic TCR | 11 | 38.89 | 2:24.074 | 13 |
| 12 | 88 | Michela CERRUTI | |
Mulsanne Racing | Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR | 11 | 40.382 | 2:24.331 | 15 |
| 13 | 77 | Sergey AFANASYEV | |
Team Craft-Bamboo LUKOIL | SEAT León TCR | 11 | 41.097 | 2:23.007 | 11 |
| 14 | 62 | Dušan BORKOVIĆ |  |
B3 Racing Team Hungary | SEAT León TCR | 11 | 44.735 | 2:22.785 | 6 |
| R | 19 | Vladimir SHESHENIN | |
Liqui Moly Team Engstler | Volkswagen Golf Gti TCR | 4 | 7 Laps | 2:24.597 | 14 |