Yann Ehrlacher was crowned 2025 Kumho FIA TCR World Tour champion at the end of the first race in Macau in which Néstor Girolami claimed his first win at the Guia circuit leading a BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse 1-2 with teammate Mikel Azcona charging through from seventh to second.
The third place was enough to secure Ehrlacher the title with one race still to go.
Girolami held the lead at the start, covering off Thed Björk who tried to squeeze around the outside at the first corner. Björk lost momentum and found himself under attack exiting Mandarin from both Azcona and Esteban Guerrieri, and he dropped to fifth as his two rivals went past him at Lisboa.
Guerrieri had made light contact with the side of Norbert Michelisz’s car at the start as he swerved to avoid his own teammate Ignacio Montenegro into the first turn, which had caused damage to Michelisz’s Hyundai. Last year’s champion would then pit and retire at the end of lap 1. Ehrlacher kept on defending against Azcona, who was on the warpath after his mistake in yesterday’s qualifying, and knowing he just needed to stay ahead of Björk to secure the title, the French driver backed off and allowed Azcona through with four laps to go.
The driver to watch was Santiago Urrutia; with a new turbo and engine, the Uruguayan had started down in 16th position following a grid penalty. He made quick work of the first few drivers, but had a tough battle with Aurélien Comte, passing the CUPRA driver for 12th at Lisboa on lap 4, and then began a with Pepe Oriola.
Oriola clearly had less pace, but he was able to smartly reject Urrutia’s attacks by covering off the inside at Lisboa and then San Francisco for three laps, but on lap 8 Urrutia squeezed through at San Francisco and grabbed 11th, which became tenth on the final lap when Montenegro went straight at Lisboa.
Girolami held on to win by half a second over Azcona, with the two Hyundai drivers holding station ahead of Ehrlacher.
Quotes from podium finishers
Néstor Girolami, 1st
“I knew that if I could survive the slow section and build a gap, the race would come to me. The car was strong on the straights, so I didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks. I want to congratulate everyone at BRC Hyundai and thank them for their hard work. And regarding Mikel coming through into P2, that was a team order from the start. We know how to play it smart. Bringing the cars home 1–2 was the main goal, and once I saw Mikel behind me, I was happy because this result is fantastic for the team.”
Mikel Azcona, 2nd
“I’m happy with P2, especially after yesterday. I touched the wall in qualifying, lost my chance for a proper lap, and felt terrible about it. So, to come back today with a podium feels amazing. The key was the start. I knew that if I could launch well, I had a small chance to attack into T1, and I did it. After Mandarin I had the run to go inside, and that’s the best place to be. From that moment, once I was already on the podium, the focus was on managing the tyres.”
Yann Ehrlacher, 3rd and 2025 champion
“It has been a good season. We were leading very early, and we just kept the lead until the end. There was quite a lot of pressure in the last part of the season, but we kept doing a very good job every weekend, scoring podiums in almost all the races. Today was about surviving. At one point I thought maybe I should try something, because winning in Macau is still winning in Macau… but following Bebu overheated the front tyres. And when Mikel came back at me, I preferred to let him go because it was too risky to start defending. In the end, we got what we needed. I’m happy and proud of the job we did this year. This third world title feels really deserved!”
Race 1 (Full Results)
- Néstor Girolami (BRC Hyundai Squadra Corse, Hyundai Elantra N), 10 laps
- Mikel Azcona (BRC Hyundai Squadra Corse, Hyundai Elantra N), 0.562
- Yann Ehrlacher (Lynk & Co Cyan Racing, Lynk & Co 03 FL), 1.260
Championship points (Full Standings)
- Y. Ehrlacher, 478 pts; 2. T. Björk, 438; 3. E. Guerrieri, 367
