On a track more akin to a river than a circuit, Gabriele Tarquini won his first race in the World Touring Car Championship for SEAT in a race delayed by more than two hours thanks to a heavy thunderstorm that flooded Istanbul Park in just a few minutes.
It was an extraordinary race for SEAT overall, the Leon making up for its lack of speed in a straight line with impeccable handling in tricky conditions, the team claiming first, second, fourth and fifth after a sterling drive from a most of their drivers.
Still, Tarquini's win, which has vaulted him back into championship contention on the weekend he ironically claimed his title hopes were officially over, did not come without a bit of team manoeuvring.
Indeed, it had been a superb drive by Peter Terting, the young German mastering the conditions to lead much of the race before he had to begrudgingly concede to the more title involved Tarquini on the final lap.
Nicola Larini made the most of his front row starting position to first hold off the determined SEATs of Rickard Rydell and Jordi Gene, a rampant duo that has discarded most of their rivals laps before, while Rob Huff confirmed Chevrolet's pace in the wet with sixth.
Indeed, there had been doubts as to whether the race would even start after the menacing black clouds that threatened the first encounter dumped their load in spectacular style as the cars lined up for the second race, dropping several inches of water in just a few minutes, the race being delayed after even the safety car struggled to negotiate the circuit.
After hours of frantic draining to start just minutes before the 6.30pm curfew, the race did finally get away, with Larini getting the jump on pole sitter Tom Coronel, the Dutchman starting from the top slot for the first time this season but having the tough task of being the first driver to test the grip on the outside of the first corner at racing speed.
