ROUNDS 19 & 20 – MONZA, ITALY
RACE 2 REPORT
Weather: sunny, with a dry track
Crowd: 52,000 over the two days
GENÉ WINS, MULLER JOINS PRIAULX
In front of a large crowd Jordi Gené made
it two wins for SEAT Sport this weekend, becoming the 11th
driver to have scored a victory this season. The Spaniard
started seventh but by lap 4 had captured the lead. Nicola
Larini of Chevrolet crossed the line second after defending
hard from James Thompson who took his second third place finish
of the weekend.
Yvan Muller claimed a fifth place and 4 points that enabled
him to join Andy Priaulx on top of the Drivers’ Championship.
Four other drivers still have chances to secure the world
title in Macau: Augusto Farfus, James Thompson, Jörg
Müller and Nicola Larini, who are 10, 12, 15 and 20 points
behind the leaders respectively.
The Manufacturers’ Championship is also closely fought,
with BMW leading SEAT by 10 only points.
Farfus’ race ended prematurely at the first chicane
after he and Gabriele Tarquini made contact. The Brazilian’s
BMW was sent into a spin, bounced off the barrier and slid
across the track, narrowly escaping a collision with the fast
moving field. Tarquini retired two laps later. On lap 3 Larini
took the lead from his team-mate Rob Huff. Alain Menu was
in the thick of the action and despite reaching fifth, he
retired on lap 5.
Lap 4 saw Gené promote himself to the front of the
pack after he overtook Huff and Larini. Huff then had to defend
from James Thompson but it was to no avail as the Alfa Romeo
driver took the podium position on the next lap. Huff eventually
finished fourth. Alessandro Zanardi and Tom Coronel fought
a tough battle throughout the race but it was Zanardi who
conquered as he crossed the line 0.046 seconds ahead of the
Dutchman to claim sixth.
Jörg Müller and Priaulx had a scoreless weekend.
Müller’s race ended on lap 5 after an incident
with Corthals. In a similar scenario as his team-mate Farfus,
Müller spun and became stranded on the track. Priaulx’s
race was somewhat shorter than his BMW colleague’s as
he retired in the pits after lap 1 after obtaining damage.
The Independents’ Trophy race was won by Pierre-Yves
Corthals who managed to win a close fight with Stefano D’Aste.
Race 1 winner Luca Rangoni was involved in a first lap incident
and retired. The Championship will resume at Macau, for the
two final rounds, on November 18th.
BULLET NEWS THREE DRIVERS DROPPED
ON THE GRID
Three drivers received a drop of ten places on the grid for
the second race: Roberto Colciago, Tiago Monteiro and Olivier
Tielemans. They were all penalised further to their teams
requesting neutralization of the parc fermé in order
to repair damage obtained during the first race.
THEY SAID, THEY SAID…
Jordi GENÉ
“Every year I’ve won a race but I didn’t
think I would this season. This weekend it was my time. When
I had the chance in Race 2 I thought: it’s now or never.
I pushed so hard I think I bent my brake pedal at the end
of the straight! When I was standing on the podium with the
crowd on the track cheering it made me hope the series continues
to grow and that I am a part of it for many years to come.
This is the closest championship I have ever seen so Macau
is set to be a good fight.”
Nicola LARINI
“I was lucky to avoid Augusto (Farfus) when
he crashed. I had to move onto the grass and he came very
close to hitting me. There was a period in the middle of the
race where I felt I could overtake Gené but the yellow
flags prevented me. I am going to Macau to win my first race
of the season. I don’t think I can win the championship
but I can certainly improve my position.”
James THOMPSON
“This championship is so close that to make the podium
twice is immensely satisfying. As a team we have so much passion
we have managed to close the gap in the championship. It shouldn’t
be underestimated what a task it has been and I’m proud
to be a part of it.”
Yvan MULLER
“It has been a perfect weekend because I was
14 points behind the lead in the championship before coming
here and now I am joint leader. To make up that many points
in one weekend is something special. In Race 2 I couldn’t
have gone any faster. I had to avoid Farfus’ crash as
well as many others so fifth was enough for me.”
Pierre-Yves CORTHALS
“The second race was tough because there were a lot
of crashes I needed to avoid. I was passed by D’Aste
during the race but managed to reclaim the position after
pushing hard.”
Andy PRIAULX
“This weekend’s races are to be forgotten and
I’m going to Macau leading the championship with every
chance of winning. BMW don’t like losing so I’m
sure there will be five weeks of hard work in preparation
for the final round.”
2007 FIA World Touring Car Championship
RACE CLASSIFICATION - RACE 2
POS NO CL DRIVER NAT CAR TIME LAPS GAP KPH BEST
1 9 Jordi GENE ESP SEAT Leon TDI 18:21.957 9 169.31 2:01.270
2 7 Nicola LARINI ITA Chevrolet Lacetti 18:22.968 9 1.011
169.16 2:01.233
3 15 James THOMPSON GBR Alfa Romeo 156 18:23.246 9 1.289 169.12
2:01.055
4 6 Robert HUFF GBR Chevrolet Lacetti 18:24.470 9 2.513 168.93
2:01.538
5 12 Yvan MULLER FRA SEAT Leon TDI 18:29.863 9 7.906 168.11
2:01.673
6 4 Alessandro ZANARDI ITA BMW 320si 18:32.456 9 10.499 167.72
2:02.004
7 20 Tom CORONEL NED SEAT Leon 18:32.502 9 10.545 167.71 2:02.445
8 18 Tiago MONTEIRO POR SEAT Leon 18:36.893 9 14.936 167.05
2:02.258
9 23 I Pierre-Yves CORTHALS BEL SEAT Leon 18:37.241 9 15.284
167.00 2:02.183
10 19 I Roberto COLCIAGO ITA SEAT Leon 18:38.177 9 16.220
166.86 2:01.136
11 26 I Stefano D'ASTE ITA BMW 320si 18:38.178 9 16.221 166.86
2:02.024
12 16 Olivier TIELEMANS NED Alfa Romeo 156 18:45.523 9 23.566
165.77 2:02.717
13 14 Fredrik EKBLOM SWE BMW 320si 18:46.209 9 24.252 165.67
2:02.565
14 10 Michel JOURDAIN MEX SEAT Leon 18:50.460 9 28.503 165.04
2:02.688
15 2 Jorg MULLER GER BMW 320si 18:54.746 9 32.789 164.42 2:02.294
16 33 I Miguel FREITAS POR Alfa Romeo 156 19:31.742 9 1:09.785
159.23 2:04.225
17 17 I Tomas ENGSTROM SWE Honda Accord-R 20:15.519 9 1:53.562
153.49 2:03.000
18 31 I Sergio HERNANDEZ ESP BMW 320si 18:34.932 8 1 LAP 148.64
2:03.453
NOT CLASSIFIED
8 Alain MENU SUI Chevrolet Lacetti 8:28.051 4 D.N.F. 162.00
2:02.521
11 Gabriele TARQUINI ITA SEAT Leon TDI 6:41.333 3 D.N.F. 153.12
2:03.446
5 Felix PORTEIRO ESP BMW 320si 11:31.766 3 D.N.F. 88.83 5:40.009
1 Andy PRIAULX GBR BMW 320si 2:29.845 1 D.N.F. 131.75
30 I Luca RANGONI ITA BMW 320si 0 D.N.F. N/A
38 Oscar NOGUES ESP SEAT Leon 0 D.N.F. N/A
3 Augusto FARFUS BRA BMW 320si 0 D.N.F. N/A
22 I Maurizio CERESOLI ITA SEAT Leon 0 D.N.F. N/A
FASTEST LAP
15 James THOMPSON Alfa Romeo 156 2:01.055 8 172.27kph 107.04mph
19 I Roberto COLCIAGO SEAT Leon 2:01.136 7 172.16kph 106.97mph
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