Masse wins after Celárek's long spell in front
The pole-sitter lost ground on the opening lap, then took the lead after halfway to win round two. Jayden HW and Adam Celárek completed the podium.
The lead changes hands
Florian Masse started from pole, but his Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth was only fourth at the end of the opening lap. Jayden HW led in his Holden, before Adam Celárek put another Holden ahead by the end of lap two. Celárek held the lead through the first half of the 31-lap race, making this a victory that Masse had to retrieve rather than one he could control from the start.
The decisive change came on lap 18, when Masse moved ahead of Celárek. He remained in front to take his first win of the Championship. HW reached the flag second and Celárek third, the two Holdens following home the Ford. Celárek nevertheless had the fastest lap, his 1:55.088 just 0.054 seconds quicker than Masse's best. The result gave the winner the greater prize, but not a monopoly on the afternoon's pace.
Ground recovered
Kasperi Sirén's fourth place was another result shaped by the early laps. His Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16 Evolution II stood only 11th at the end of lap two; over the remaining distance he worked back into the leading four. That recovery put him immediately behind the podium trio without obscuring how much ground had been lost at the outset.
The opening exchanges were less kind to the Championship's existing leader, Ayrton Titos. An incident at the Texaco Schikane on lap two accompanied a fall from fifth to eighth. He completed the full distance in seventh. There is no need to make more of that episode than the order shows: he lost places early, recovered one in the eventual classification, and saw a new winner emerge ahead of him.
Four cars in company
Behind the principal contest, a compact group gave the later laps much of their character. From lap 18 through lap 31, meisterJaeger, SDH-M ~ HappyKojot, Potatohedron and DJMD19 ran within five seconds of one another. The group had changed its composition as the race developed, with meisterJaeger and DJMD19 already closely engaged before the other two joined them.
HappyKojot and DJMD19 repeatedly traded their order in the closing stages. DJMD19 moved ahead by the end of lap 27, HappyKojot reclaimed the advantage on the next lap, and there was another exchange before HappyKojot was back ahead on lap 31. HappyKojot took ninth, with Potatohedron between him and the 11th-placed DJMD19 in the classification. Their contest did not decide the podium, but it ensured that the race behind it remained unsettled.
A shared Championship lead
Masse's win has an immediate consequence beyond the result. Having stood 16th before this race, he now shares the Championship lead with Titos on 40 points after two of six rounds. The one-result discard already in force leaves Titos's earlier score as his Championship total despite his seventh place here; Masse's winning score brings him level, not clear.
That distinction matters at this early stage. Titos remains at the head of the table, but he now has company there from a driver who began the day well down it. Masse's route from fourth at the end of lap one to the victory is the reason the picture looks different tonight.
The second round offered two measures of a racing afternoon: Celárek's long tenure in front and Masse's timely answer to it. With four races still to run, neither the shared lead nor the finishing order settles the wider question.