Felipe Fernández has taken his first TCR Europe victory after leading from start to finish at Spa-Francorchamps, while Mike Halder slipped to fourth but has taken the lead of the standings following the withdrawal of previous points leader Alex Ley from the weekend.

Following Ley's high-speed accident at Raidillon earlier in the day during qualifying, the BRC Racing Team had begun repairs on his car, but the team eventually confirmed it could not be repaired before either of the weekend's races and the entry was withdrawn.

Fernández led the way into Turn 1 and controlled the race throughout, holding a slight margin over the chasing pack behind him. The pack was led by Viktor Andersson, after the Swedish driver made a strong start in his Monlau Motorsport CUPRA to pass ALM Motorsport’s Halder.

An even stronger (and perhaps more questionable) start was made by Ruben Volt, who bolted from eighth on the grid and was up to fourth by the first corner; the start is being investigated post-race by the stewards.

Andersson was fighting to keep Halder at bay throughout the race, with the German driver applying pressure and getting the nose of his Honda ahead on multiple occasions, but Andersson was able to reclaim the position each time.

On lap five, Gabriele Covini’s Hyundai began leaking oil and he pulled into the pits to retire, marking a second disaster for the BRC Racing Team. Oil from Covini’s car, combined with light rain, caused hazardous conditions at Eau Rouge, with Volt running wide on the sixth lap and falling behind the CUPRA of Marco Butti.

Making the most of the wet conditions, Butti closed up on the battling pair of Andersson and Halder, while Volt struggled with his set-up and found himself passed by both Nicolas Taylor’s Audi and Adam Shepherd’s CUPRA before the end of the race.

On the final lap, Butti charged past Halder for third at Les Combes, ensuring two of Monlau’s CUPRAs finished on the podium. Halder was forced to settle for fourth, but the points scored ensured he took the lead of the standings from the absent Ley.

Up front, there was no stopping Fernández, who cruised to the finish to take a long-overdue first victory in the series, just under a second clear of Andersson.

The second race is due to get underway at 10:35 CEST tomorrow morning, with Covini due to start from pole position.