Tomas Engstrom claimed a comfortable lights-to-flag victory in the first of two European Touring Car Cup races at Adria, the Swede avoiding a number of dramas behind him to claim the early advantage.
Getting away well from pole position, Engstrom made the most of the tight and twisty nature of the Italian circuit to keep his rivals at bay, but the battle for second place proved to be the most entertaining battle of the race.
Initially, it was GR Asia driver Maurizio Ceresoli that ran second after moving ahead of Jens Reno Moller at the start, the Dane getting shuffled off the circuit at the first left hander to drop down the order. He was followed closely by Pontus Morth and Michel Nykjaer, the trio circulating closely over the next few laps.
Just behind in sixth place, Morth's Chevrolet team-mate Henrik Lundgaard was heading towards retirement when he collided with Cesar Campanico, the Portuguese driver also being forced out with mechanical damage.
At the midway point, Engstrom in his Honda Accord had a solid lead over Ceresoli, who by now was feeling the pressure from Morth behind him, culminating in the Dane nudging the SEAT. Although Ceresoli held onto the position, he ran wide one corner later, allowing Morth and Nykjaer through into second and third.
Worse was to come for Ceresoli though when he attempted to take back the position but managed to bout-brake himself and slide into the gravel. The battle for second wasn't over yet though when Nykjaer finally managed to get past the Lacetti with four laps remaining.
That was how the top three stayed, Engstrom winning by just over a second from Nykjaer, while Morth followed even closer in third place to make it three different manufacturers on the podium.
Emmet O'Brien claimed a strong, if lonely, fourth place in his Poulsen Motorsport
BMW, while Alexander Lvov fought his way to a strong fifth place in his Golden Motors Honda after overtaking Philip Geipel's Toyota and Kristian Poulsen's BMW in the latter stages.
![Tomas Engstrom - Engstrom Motorsport Honda Accord Euro R [pic credit: FIA ETCC]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/393440.jpg)
