Gabriele Tarquini led fellow Honda drivers Tiago Monteiro and Norbert Michelisz in race one in Slovakia as they converted their qualifying dominance into a podium lockout in addition to their first WTCC race win.
Tarquini led from start to finish, closely followed by Montiero and Michelisz. Championship leader Yvan Muller pressured Michelisz early on but the Hungarian managed to shake him off and instead try to get by Monteiro. He and his Zengo Motorsport team had to make do with third though.
Muller was followed across the line by Tom Coronel, who got past James Nash near the end having spent much of the race behind him.
Tom Chilton found the gravel while running seventh on lap two, allowing Michel Nykjaer to take the place ahead of Alex MacDowall. Pepe Oriola and Mehdi Bennani completed the top ten. Fredy Barth denied Stefano D’Aste for 11th by 0.005s with James Thompson’s Lada just behind.
Rob Huff’s fight back from a grid penalty hit the rails when he went off into the gravel on lap four.