Nicola Larini emerged as the best Alfa Romeo driver in Magny-Cours; he was classified twice second and managed to move up to second in the Championship too; only one point ahead of his team-mate Gabriele Tarquini. Andy Priaulx (BMW Team Great Britain) and Duncan Huisman (Carly Motors) completed the podiums, finishing third in Race 1 and Race 2 respectively; the Dutchman was the first Independent driver so far capable to break into the top-three positions.

After a difficult weekend in Barcelona, Jordi Gené was classified sixth in Race Two and thus scored SEAT’s first FIA ETCC points on only the second appearance of the Spanish Manufacturer in the Championship. A crowd of 47,000 attended the races.
  
RACE 1

Dirk Müller managed to take the lead at the start, chased by Priaulx and Jörg Müller. During the first lap, Jörg Müller overtook Priaulx at the hairpin and soon afterwards he tried to outbrake his team-mate. The two Schnitzer BMWs clashed: Jörg took the lead, while Dirk slipped down to seventh after he drove on the grass. Behind the leaders, the Alfa cars of Colciago and Larini were fighting door-to-door for the third position. Cayrolle came back into the pit with transmission problems; Couto stopped three laps for repairs after a collision with Diefenbacher. On lap 2 Rydell went off and retired after a collision with García. On lap 3 Larini overtook Priaulx for second, while Giovanardi was chasing Tarquini who was in fifth position, right behind Colciago. The latter was closely following Priaulx, knocking on his rear bumper. On lap 4 Giovanardi managed to pass Tarquini at the hairpin, but the Championship leader struck back and recovered the fifth place. 

On lap 6 Balzan retired from tenth place, due to engine problems. By then Tarquini was closing on Colciago and finally took fourth place from him on lap 7; Giovanardi and Dirk Müller tried to benefit from the situation and dived inside Colciago. Giovanardi managed to pass through after a brief contact, while Dirk met with Colciago’s reaction. They clashed repeatedly and allowed Huisman to pass them both, moving to fifth. On lap 8, while chasing Giovanardi, Huisman hit his car and sent it into a spin. The 2002 ETCC champion came back to the pit and retired. While fights raged behind them, Jörg Müller and Larini were comfortably cruising in first and second. Priaulx was still third but he couldn’t relax, as Tarquini wasn’t far away. 

On lap 11 Ruberti missed a gear and slipped from seventh to tenth. Jörg Müller scored his first win of the season, from Larini and Priaulx. Tarquini was classified fourth, while Huisman managed to maintain the fifth place, despite Colciago’s last attack. Coronel and Ruberti finished seventh and eighth, collecting the final points. After the race the stewards inflicted to García a 25-second time penalty, due to his collision with Rydell; the Spanish driver, who had taken the flag in ninth position, was demoted to 14th.

RACE 2

Ruberti was on pole on the top-eight reversed grid; while Dirk Müller, Giovanardi and Rydell were placed at the back having asked dispensation from the parc-fermé for repairs. Diefenbacher’s SEAT took the start from the pit lane, due to a broken wheelhub. Balzan came back to the pit after the warm-up lap, his Alfa still suffering from engine problems. 

At the start, Coronel sprinted into the lead, followed by Huisman, García, Colciago and Ruberti. When the field arrived at the Hairpin, Priaulx was sent into a spin and Sardelli hit him; both cars were badly damaged. Tarquini, Dirk Müller and Ruberti were also involved in the accident and retired. On lap 2, Huisman took the lead from Coronel, who also lost second place to Jörg Müller. The latter jumped into the lead on the following lap, overtaking Huisman at the Lycée corner. Cayrolle retired with a suspension problem and Couto went off on the oil left by the first lap pile up, while García overtook Colciago for the fifth place. Meanwhile Larini managed to join the Carly Motors duo and overtook Coronel on lap 6. 

On lap 7 Diefenbacher pushed Rydell off, while they were fighting for the ninth position; for this manouevre the German driver received a 25-second time penalty. Larini passed Huisman for the second position. But by then, Jörg Müller had stretched his margin to five seconds and, despite Larini’s final rush, the German driver claimed his second win of the day. Huisman and Coronel gave Carly Motors a fantastic 3-4 finish, while Colciago recovered the fifth place from García, who lost two other positions to Gené and Giovanardi, slipping down to eighth.