Marco Butti secured his first career win in the TCR Europe series in the first race at Spa-Francorchamps, putting on an incredible drive from fifth on the grid to seal victory in Race 1, a result he dedicated to his MM Motorsport team after an all-night repair after Thursday’s testing session where he crashed heavily at Eau Rouge.

The Italian was able to work his way into the lead before the end of the first lap, his only real challenge being the rival Honda of Santiago Concepción, who did not concede position at Les Combes, with Butti having to wait until the ‘bus stop’ chicane to complete the move, from which he was able to control the pace, as well as the race after two safety car restarts.

“We did an amazing start, and then after Eau Rouge we were P2, and then tried to overtake Santi (Concepción),” said Butti. ”In Race 1, we had a very good car, and tried to not stress the car, the tyres. The team did a very good job to repair the car after the crash on Thursday, working through the night, and in the race the confidence had come back to me.”

Butti was on course for at least second place in Race 2 before a high-speed crash at Blancimont ended his race. The team now has three weeks to repair the car for the next round, while after a mixed race for his competitors, Butti is still in a good position in the standings, fifth overall, and also just 13 points away from the young drivers’ class lead.