Erstwhile FIA World Touring Car Cup (WTCR) points leader Yann Ehrlacher is unsure if his Honda can be repaired in time for Sunday’s races, after the Frenchman was involved in a big pile-up at the start of Saturday’s first race in Vila Real.
All five of the top cars on the grid were caught up in the big accident triggered by leading duo Rob Huff and Mehdi Benanni, with Ehrlacher one of those unable to take the restarted race due to damage on his Civic.
The Münnich Motorsport driver had to exit his car through the boot due to the number of cars involved and the damage sustained, and his failure to start the restarted race cost him the series lead.
Ehrlacher has dropped to 18 points behind his uncle, Yvan Muller, who went on to win the race and jump the 22-year-old in the standings.
“Well it hasn’t been the greatest day of my life, but I’m OK and that’s a huge testament to the strength of the Honda Civic Type R TCR,” said Ehrlacher. “I was in a very heavy accident and I still don’t know if my car will be repairable for tomorrow.
“On the plus side, I only lost championship points to one other driver and I’m still second in the drivers’ standings.”
Ehrlacher praised the Münnich Motorsport mechanics who fixed team-mate Esteban Guerrieri’s car, who was also heavily caught up in the shunt, given that the other Civic was not as damaged as Ehrlacher’s car.
“My mechanics did an amazing job to help Esteban’s crew get his car ready for the race; they’re an amazing team and I was proud to go to the podium to cheer on his second-place finish.”
Qualifying for races two and three gets underway at 09:00 BST (10:00 CEST) on Sunday.