His hopes of pulling away though were dashed a lap later when the safety car was deployed to clear up the mess from Miguel Freitas' Racing for Belgium Alfa Romeo 156, heavily damaged when he ran wide and swiped the wall, ripping the front wheel of his car and spraying the tarmac with debris.
Although the SEAT road car could be attributed for leading the majority of the races this weekend, it was thankfully only needed for a relatively meagre three laps as marshals worked to clear the stricken car.
From the restart, Priaulx immediately got the hammer down, leaving Muller behind him, who in turn was able to hold back Coronel, the Dutchman now with his mirrors full of Chevrolets.
However, after a relatively composed event, it seemed the drivers were beginning to lose their concentration somewhat in the final couple of laps, including Huff who, having battled his way up to sixth, got his Lacetti out of shape at the first turn and slapped the barriers head-on.
Even worse was to follow for Chevrolet though on the last lap when Larini threw away a podium finish just seconds after passing Coronel when he got out of shape into Turn Seven and parked his car at an angle that left him with no option but to vacate – the rather bewildered Italian rather manhandled from the car by an overzealous Marshall to make matters worse.
Nonetheless, Menu spared their blushes somewhat by also finding a way past Coronel and onto the podium for the second time today, albeit a fair distance off the race winning BMWs of Priaulx and Muller.
Indeed, a much needed first win of the season has gratefully aided Priaulx's championship cause, even if it Muller who now leads the championship again on 58 points, Priaulx and Farfus tied on 56 in second.
Menu's 16 point haul sees him jump from eighth to joint fifth in the standings alongside the luckless Larini and one point behind Yvan Muller, who recorded another double points finish in fifth, the Frenchman finishing behind Coronel.
![Andy Priaulx - BMW Team UK BMW 320si [pic credit: FIA WTCC]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/347151.jpg)
