FIA WTCC - Curitiba, Race report and Results
ROUNDS 9 & 10 RACE REPORT
Weather: in the early morning a thick fog delayed the warm-up
by 15 minutes; later the sky cleared and the weather was sunny
and dry. Attendance: 34,000 over the weekend.
ANDY PRIAULX IS BACK ON SOLO LEAD
SEAT and BMW won a race apiece on the first visit paid by
the FIA World Touring Car Championship to Brazil. A successful
event that gathered 34,000 spectators on the grandstands of
the Curitiba racetrack.
The first race was enlivened by the fight between Alfa Romeo
local boy Augusto Farfus and SEAT Sport men Jordi Gené
and Peter Terting. Starting from the pole, Farfus managed
to maintain the lead for half of the distance in front of
his home crowd, but finally Gené and Terting succeded
in overtaking him, giving SEAT a 1- 2 finish.
Race 2 was full of drama. Andy Priaulx led all the way from
the green light to the chequered flag, but he was forced to
re-build his lead twice after two safety car periods. Behind
him there was a breathtaking fight for the second position,
with a number of clashes that involved Rydell, Gené
and Farfus. Finally Gianni Morbidelli and his Alfa Romeo managed
to claim second place beating Alessandro Zanardi by inches.
With these results, Andy Priaulx re-gained a solo lead in
the Drivers’ Championship, with a 3-point margin ahead
of James Thompson, while Gabriele Tarquini is third, one further
point adrift.
The SEAT vs BMW fight is also very close in the Manufacuters’
Championshp, with the Spanish make leading by one mere point.
The FIA WTCC will resume in Puebla-Amozoc, Mexico on July
29th and 30th.
RACE 1 – GENÉ BEATS FARFUS
The dream of winning on home soil was not to come true for
Farfus in Race 1 but all was not lost as he crossed the line
3rd securing a place on the podium. The victor of the race
was Jordi Gené for SEAT Sport and Peter Terting passed
the chequered flag in second position.
Farfus and Gené both got a great start from the front
row. The same could not be said for GR Asia driver, Ceresoli
however, as his car ended up along the wall of the start straight.
Lucas Molo who was making his WTCC debut also had troubles
on the first lap and after spinning, his car was stranded
on the track which resulted in the safety car being dispatched
for two laps.
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