FIA WORLD TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP
ROUNDS 17 & 18 RACE REPORT
Weather: sunny and hot, with a dry track.
Crowd: 59,000 over the two days
AUGUSTO FARFUS JUMPS TO THE TOP OF THE POINTS After two breathtaking
races the FIA WTCC now looks at its final meeting with nine
drivers still involved in the fight for the World title and
covered by only 12 points.
Augusto Farfus of N.technology-Alfa Romeo emerged victorious
in the first race at Valencia. This result, as well as a 5th
place in Race 2, meant that he jumped to the top of the classification,
one point ahead of Andy Priaulx and Jörg Müller,
and three points in front of Gabriele Tarquini.
Victory in the second race was therefore a big boost for
Jörg Müller’s hopes to become world champion,
while Priaulx, Tarquini and Rydell – who is still 5th,
6 points off the lead – were all involved in collisions
that cost them valuable points. The Manufacturers championship
underwent another major change, with BMW recovering a 9-point
gap and taking a 10-point lead ahead of SEAT.
The Independents’ Trophy saw Proteam Motorsport’s
Luca Rangoni putting in two fantastic performances, which
resulted in as many podium finishes. An historical result
for a privateer. However, GR Asia’s Tom Coronel managed
to clinch the title even before the last meeting that will
award double points.
Both, BMW Team Italy-Spain and Chevrolet had reasons to rejoyce
as Duncan Huisman and Nicola Larini claimed one podium apiece.
On the contrary, SEAT faced their blackest weekend of the
season, with a total of only 7 points scored by their seven
works drivers. A greatly disappointing result for their home
race.
The 2006 FIA WTCC will come to an end in Macau, on November
18th and 19th.
PENALTIES FOR THOMPSON AND ZANARDI
James Thompson and Alessandro Zanardi were penalised by the
Stewards after the warm up. Thompson was demoted ten positions
on the grid for Race 1 due to an engine change. This resulted
in the Briton dropping from seventh to 17th. Zanardi, who
improved his lap time while the yellow flags were deployed,
was also given a ten-position penalty; however this sanction
remains suspended until the end of the season and it will
only be applied only if the Italian driver commits the same
infringement again.
RACE 1 – FARFUS SURVIVES AND WINS
In a spectacular race Augusto Farfus managed to keep out
of trouble and secured his third win of the season. Luca Rangoni,
a Proteam Motorsport independent driver, crossed the line
second after jumping from 9th to 4th in the first lap. The
final podium position was claimed by Nicola Larini of Chevrolet.
It was the second consecutive podium for him.
At the start Farfus tried to keep Gené at bay but
the Spaniard went through at turn one. Disappointment was
to follow on lap 4 however, because the SEAT man was imposed
a drive through penalty for a jump start.
The first lap also saw the end for Andy Priaulx and Rob Huff.
Priaulx tried to enter turn one but Tarquini had the line
and the BMW was sent spinning. Unfortunately for Huff, he
was collected as Priaulx bounced off the barriers and strayed
back onto the track. As a consequence of the accident the
safety car was deployed for two laps.
On lap 5 Rangoni overtook Menu for 3rd while Terting overtook
Huisman for 8th and Dirk Müller overtook Yvan Muller
for 11th. Over the subsequent laps Menu dropped to 8th and
therefore began Race 2 from pole. Lap 8 saw Terting overtake
Coronel to promote himself to 7th but his charge didn’t
end there as on the next lap he passed Menu, and then Jörg
Müller on the last lap to finish 5th.
SEAT team-mates Rickard Rydell and Yvan Muller were shuffling
for position on lap 9 and contact was made between them. A
further SEAT Sport man, James Thompson and Dirk Müller
were also involved in the tight-pack battle. Thompson came
out the best as he finished 9th followed by Yvan and Dirk
directly behind. Rydell did not finish because on the penultimate
lap he retired. His team-mate Gabriele Tarquini was also unable
to finish. On lap 12 he and Tom Coronel clashed with Tarquini
sent flying into the pit wall.
RACE 2 – BMW DRIVERS MAKE 1-2-3
BMW claimed a dominant 1-2-3 in Race 2. Jörg Müller
was the victor for BMW Team Germany followed by Duncan Huisman
from BMW Team Italy–Spain and Luca Rangoni. Rangoni
is the first independent competitor in WTCC history to finish
in the top 3 in both races of an event.
Despite starting from pole, Alain Menu was passed by Huisman
and Jörg before the first corner. The man from Chevrolet
eventually finished 9th after some tough battles. His team-mate
Nicola Larini faired better and passed the chequered flag
4th. Due to an incident with Larini, Peter Terting, who began
from 4th, was issued a drive through penalty which he adhered
to on lap 3. The best of the SEAT Sport drivers was Yvan Muller
who finished 6th overall after mounting an attack on Menu
on the last lap. After Yvan passed Menu, Dirk Müller
and Andy Priaulx also squeezed through. Priaulx, who was involved
in an incident in Race 1, began Race 2 from the back of the
grid but spectacularly fought his way through for a valuable
single championship point. While Gabriele Tarquini did not
make the grid after he crashed in Race 1.
On lap 8 Zanardi, Gené and Thompson were side by side
entering a corner. Gené appeared to be successful in
getting through but soon after had to retire. Zanardi did
not profit either and dropped to 17th. Thompson also suffered
badly from the action and crossed the line 12th. The only
person to gain was Priaulx who climbed to 8th on the last
lap.
Augusto Farfus crossed the line 5th which was the best result
for the N.technology Alfa Romeo team and propelled him into
the Championship lead.
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