2007 FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC)
WTCC - Rounds 7 and 8 - Pau - Race
BMW celebrates one-two win in Pau - Farfus takes
second victory in 2007.
Augusto Farfus (BRA) of BMW Team Germany is the winner of
the eighth round of the FIA World Touring Car Championship.
At the "Circuit de Pau", the 23-year-old claimed
the second win of the season ahead of BMW Team UK's Andy Priaulx
(GBR) and Tiago Monteiro (POR/SEAT). In Sunday's morning race,
Farfus had taken chequered flag in seventh position. Porteiro
was the best-placed BMW national team driver, crossing the
line in fifth place, directly followed by Priaulx.
The race win marked the crowning finale of an eventful weekend
for Farfus. His spectacular qualifying accident had forced
the Schnitzer crew to perform a nightshift, in order to repair
the heavily damaged BMW 320si WTCC. Additionally, Farfus was
relegated from third to 13th position on the first race's
grid due to a penalty after the Valencia weekend. Despite
these imponderabilities the BMW works driver delivered two
flawless races, thus rewarding the team for their exceptional
work in Pau.
Farfus's team-mate Jörg Müller (GER), who had held
the championship lead prior to the races at the 2.760-kilometre
track, left Pau empty-handed after finishing 11th and 10th
respectively. Therefore, Priaulx is now the sole leader of
the Drivers' Championship. The 32-year-old is the only WTCC
driver who managed to win points in each of the eight rounds
held this year. The reigning champion has 42 points under
his belt, just two points ahead of runner-up Farfus. Müller
follows in third place, lying 11 points behind Priaulx. BMW
consolidated its lead in the Constructors' Championship. The
brand increased its tally to a total of 106 points.
The crowds in Pau witnessed an almost incident-free first
race. Only five drivers were forced to retire on the twisty
street circuit. Unfortunately, Alessandro Zanardi (ITA) of
BMW Team Italy-Spain was one of them. On lap 12, he hit the
barriers and had to pit in with a damaged front suspension.
At the start, the 40-year-old had gained several positions.
His fellow BMW drivers did just the same. Farfus performed
the biggest leap forward: At the end of lap 1, he was already
running in ninth place, putting SEAT's Jordi Gené (ESP)
under pressure. Porteiro also delivered an excellent "rolling"
start and improved from eighth to sixth place. Seventh-placed
Priaulx, who got passed by the Spaniard, remained in Porteiro's
rear mirror for the remaining 19 laps. From 16th grid position,
Müller gained two places at the start.
Overtaking manoeuvres remained a rarity in the narrow streets
of Pau. However, Farfus proved that it is possible though.
His patience paid off on lap 16, when he succeeded in overtaking
Gené. Due to the retirement of Chevrolet's Nicola Larini
(ITA) three laps earlier, the BMW drivers had already gained
one place each without a struggle. Farfus was now running
in seventh position, defending it until the end of the race.
Larini's retirement also meant an improvement for Porteiro
and Priaulx. Running in fifth place, Porteiro withstood the
pressure of the two-time World Champion, thus securing his
best result of the season. Müller crossed the line in
11th position. With three cars within the first two rows,
the BMW national teams had made perfect use of the reversed
grid order and were in a promising position for race two.
Pole-sitter Farfus and Priaulx laid the foundation for the
third BMW one-two of the year already at the start, when they
both overtook Gené. Until the very end of the race
the pairing remained in close range to each other. Nevertheless,
Priaulx did not get tempted to try a dangerous overtaking
move. At the end of the day, the two BMW drivers crossed the
line with a gap of almost five seconds to Monteiro. Porteiro
also was on his way to secure a place on the podium. At the
start, he defended fourth position and even passed Gené
for third place on lap 11. During this overtaking manoeuvre,
however, both cars touched and Porteiro's left front wing
suffered considerable damage. Only a few corners later, he
retired with a broken wheel rim.
Zanardi executed a remarkable start from the back of the
field and was already running in 13th place, when the safety
car came out on lap 3. A total of four cars crashed out of
the race in this massive carom at the end of the start-finish
straight. When the green flags were waved again on lap seven,
Zanardi continued his catch up. After Müller had a brief
off-track moment when launching an attack against Tom Coronel
(NLD/SEAT), the Italian seized the opportunity and overtook
the BMW Team Germany driver. In the end, however, both narrowly
missed out on a points finish. Zanardi finished ninth, Müller
crossed the line in tenth place.
Reactions:
Augusto Farfus (BMW Team Germany):
"It's not possible for me to understand completely what
happened this weekend. Until Saturday night it was not even
sure if I could start at all here. But the team did a fantastic
job. This win belongs the Schnitzer guys! In the first race,
I laid worked my way up to seventhplace. The start for race
two worked perfectly well, and I was able to find my rhythm
in the lead. Andy put me under pressure, but in the end it's
extremely difficult to overtake here. This has been an incredible
weekend for me."
Andy Priaulx (BMW Team UK):
"With 55 kilograms of handicap weight, it was far from
easy on this track. Therefore, I'm ecstatic about my 11 championship
points. In the first race, I had no chance to attack Félix
due to the weight difference. So I focussed not to make any
mistake. I was in the same situation in race two, this time
with Augusto. It's true, I haven't won a race so far this
year. But the championship is far more important. The first
win will come."
Charly Lamm (Team Manager, BMW Team Germany):
"It looks as if we were providing most of the headlines
this weekend. Following Augusto's accident the team gave their
all to fix the car and give him the chance to start. Therefore,
this is a truly special win for us. The driver and the mechanics
proved their moral. I'm really proud of the team. On many
other tracks Jörg probably still would have had the chance
to score points. However, in Pau it's almost impossible to
overtake."
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