Having burst on to the scene at the 2014 Electric Touring Car World Championships in Florida finishing runner-up, then dominating the 2016 Worlds in China up until A2 and again finishing runner-up, Bruno Coelho is finally World Champion. Widely acknowledged as the bench mark in touring car, the World title is the one to elude him but after a rocky start in South Africa it all came together for the Portuguese ace as he again found a way passed the defending champion to win A2 and the status of the No.1 driver in the World. Having found a way passed the Top Qualifier in A1 despite Volker’s best efforts to make his Yokomo wide, this time round Coelho set-up an impressive pass on his rival to go to the front after just 3-laps. Unfortunately any chances of Volker recovering to force the decider to go to A3 evaporated a lap later as the Welkom RC Arena’s curbing claimed another victim, Volker. In the end Volker would finish last with Viktor Wilck coming home second ahead of Freddy Sudhoff, all three now set to fight for the final two podium places in A3.
'No words. Amazing. Finally’, was a somewhat stunned Coelho’s reaction after his title winning final, this the 10th running of the championships. He continued, ‘I missed it 4-years ago. I missed it again 2-years ago and now I finally got it when things didn’t look so good. In China everything was perfect but it wasn’t to be, it proves in racing anything can happen. To win at this amazing place is also extra special’. On the A2 final, the 25-year-old said, ‘In the warm-up I immediately felt the car was good. Before every time the car was different (set-up) so I didn’t know what it was going to do but this time I could feel it was good. I lost the rear two times on the first lap but I knew this was the because the tyre were cold from the grid and once they came in I made very high pressure on Ronald but I was just looking to get the points and not make a mistake. The overtake I made was a very good move. I made a dummy pass and then braked but Ronald thought I was coming down his inside and made a mistake and then I could got through. Qualifying was very bad. Ok it was 2nd but for me that is bad but now I’m really happy. There are no words for the feeling’.
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