WTCC - Rounds 9 and 10 - Brno (CZE) - Race
Dominant performance by BMW in Brno - Porteiro and
Müller claim wins.
All the places on the podium were reserved for the BMW national
team drivers for rounds nine and ten of the FIA World Touring
Car Championship in Brno (CZE). In front of 52,000 spectators,
Félix Porteiro from BMW Team Italy-Spain secured his
maiden WTCC victory in the morning race.
At the "Automotodrom Brno", the 23-year-old won
ahead of BMW Team Germany driver Jörg Müller (GER)
and his team-mate Alessandro Zanardi (ITA), who finished second
and third respectively. In race two, BMW Team Germany celebrated
its first one-two finish of the season: Müller crossed
the line as winner ahead of Augusto Farfus (BRA), who finished
fourth in the first race of the day. Porteiro rounded off
his perfect weekend by finishing third.
Farfus succeeded in regaining the championship lead from
Andy Priaulx (GBR). The defending champion, who is racing
for BMW Team UK, retired from the race shortly after the start,
but fought his way back up from 22nd to seventh place in the
second round, despite carrying 60 kilos of handicap weight.
Having 53 points under his belt, Farfus is the new leader,
with Müller lying in second place, who is trailing his
team-mate by four points. Priaulx is ranked third and has
44 points to his tally. In the Manufacturers' Championship,
BMW successfully increased the gap to the competition and
is in the lead with 142 points.
In the morning, Porteiro made perfect use of his pole position
and claimed a start to finish win. However, the young gun
had the BMW 320si WTCC of Müller, who had improved from
seventh to second place at the start, in his rear mirror over
the complete race distance. Farfus gained more places when
the red lights went off, jumped from ninth to third place
and exited the first corner ahead of Zanardi. Priaulx's race,
however, was over before it had even really started. In turn
one, the two-time world champion was hit by SEAT's Pierre-Yves
Corthals (BEL), spun and got stuck in the gravel.
Following a brief safety car period, the four BMW drivers
opened up a gap. Having the maximum ballast of 60 kilograms
on board his car, Farfus fended off the attacks from Zanardi,
who was running without any extra kilos. On lap seven, however,
Zanardi finally managed to overtake the BMW works driver.
In the front, Müller closely followed Porteiro, but there
was no chance for an attack due to his 45 kilograms of ballast.
Therefore, Porteiro was able to record the biggest success
in his still young career in touring car racing.
The Spaniard also delivered in fine style in race two. From
eighth place on the grid he gained many positions and finally
took over third place from Gabriele Tarquini (ITA/SEAT) on
lap seven, which he kept until the end of the race. Zanardi's
chances for scoring another podium result, however, were diminished
before the start.
Between the two races, the mechanics had started working
on his car seconds too early, which was regarded as an infringement
of the Parc Fermé regulations. The consequence was
a stop-and-go penalty. Even before he had the chance to serve
the sentence, Zanardi was forced to pit in for a new tyre,
which was damaged during a collision with Chevrolet's Alain
Menu (SUI). Zanardi finished in 20th position.
Meanwhile, Priaulx was ploughing through the field and gained
one position after another. On lap eight, he passed SEAT drivers
Jordi Gené (ESP) and Tiago Monteiro (POR, who got off
the racing line while fighting each other. Now Priaulx was
running in seventh place - and stayed there until the chequered
flag was waved. At the top, Farfus and Müller delivered
a gripping duel.
Just like Mülller, Farfus performed an excellent start
and took the lead from Tarquini on lap three. However, this
time Müller was determined to seize the opportunity to
score his second win of the season with his 15 kilos lighter
car. On lap four, he launched the attack and took the lead.
After ten laps, he crossed the line 0.812 second ahead of
his team-mate.
Reactions:
Jörg Müller (BMW Team Germany):
"It's just fantastic to score a win and a second place
with 45 kilos in the car. The whole team worked exceptionally
well as we focussed on improving my qualifying performance.
This was the key for today's result. BMW Team Germany is now
leading the championship with both drivers. That's the most
important thing."
Félix Porteiro (BMW Team Italy-Spain):
"It was about time that we got rewarded for our work.
Not only my victory, but also Alessandro's third place in
race one and my second podium result prove how competitive
our car has been. I knew that I had to put in a flawless performance
if I wanted to have a chance for the win. And I did just that.
With this success behind me, it was just about having a lot
fun in race two."
Augusto Farfus (BMW Team Germany):
"This has been a nice weekend for me. Despite carrying
60 kilos of ballast, I was able to jump into the championship
lead again. In race one, I gained many positions and had an
exciting duel with Jörg in the second race. He was a
bit faster than me and I had to let him go."
Alessandro Zanardi (BMW Team Italy-Spain):
"It's a great result for our team. Unfortunately Félix
and I were together on the podium after race one, and still
had to do a second round, but if not I'm sure we would have
started celebrations straight away. My team-mate and the whole
team did a fantastic job today."
Roberto Ravaglia (Team Principal BMW Team Italy-Spain):
"Following Félix's performances in the practice
sessions and in qualifying this victory was somehow in the
air. However, when he finally crossed the line, it took a
load off our minds. This success will give the team a big
boost and motivation."
Charly Lamm (Team Manager BMW Team Germany):
"Brno has always been good to BMW - and this also was
the case today. For our team this has been a fantastic weekend.
Jörg and Augusto managed to be in the right place at
the right time during the races and delivered a perfect performance.
If two team-mates fight for victory with each other, it always
makes the heart of the team manager go faster. But they both
coped well with this situation."
Drivers' Championship: 1st Farfus (53 points),
2nd Müller (49), 3rd Priaulx (44), 4th Larini (32), 5th
Muller (31), 6th Tarquini (28), 7th Thompson (26), 8th Menu
(22).
Manufacturers' Championship: 1st BMW (142), 2nd SEAT (104),
3rd Chevrolet (85), 4th Alfa Romeo (51).
Race Calendar:
11th March - Curitiba (BRA), 6th May - Zandvoort (NLD), 20th
May - Valencia (ESP), 3rd June - Pau (FRA), 17th June - Brno
(CZE), 8th July - Porto (POR), 29th July - Anderstorp (SWE),
26th August - Oschersleben (GER), 23rd September - Brands
Hatch (GBR), 7th October - Monza (ITA), 18th November - Macau
(CHN).
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