ROUNDS 17 & 18 – BRANDS HATCH RACE 2 REPORT
Weather: cloudy, with sunny spells and a dry track Crowd:
32,000 over the two days.
PRIAULX TRIUMPHS BEFORE HOME CROWD
Andy Priaulx has taken his first ever win at the wheel of
a touring car at Brands Hatch. The reigning champion dedicated
his success to the late Colin McRae and his family. After
a successful home weekend Priaulx leads the championship by
12 points.
The man from Guernsey shot off the line from third and after
the first corner had overtaken fellow BMW driver Félix
Porteiro for the lead. Porteiro crossed the line second followed
by Briton Rob Huff at the wheel of his Chevrolet Lacetti.
Just as in the first race, there was a car stranded in the
gravel at the first corner which meant deployment of the safety
car. This time it was Alex Zanardi who suffered a premature
end to his race. Safety car conditions were applied for a
single lap but an incident between Alain Menu and Augusto
Farfus ahead of the restart meant the safety car was required
once again. At Clark Curve Farfus and Menu were side by side
when they made contact. The BMW Team Germany car was sent
into a spin and crashed into the pit wall. Three laps were
completed behind the safety car before Menu was shown a black
flag.
On lap eight Huff’s third position was under threat
from SEAT Sport’s Jordi Gené. Colin Turkington,
who was lying fifth, found himself keeping Yvan Muller at
bay. Over the next two laps James Thompson had caught up with
Muller’s SEAT but was unable to overtake and eventually
finished eighth rejecting Tom Coronel’s assaults. Gené
was overtaken by Turkington (4th) and Muller (5th) at the
end of the race to finish sixth. Muller now lies third in
the championship.
Nicola Larini’s bad luck continued as he was tapped
by Michel Jourdain on lap 11. The pair continued and crossed
the line 12th and 13th respectively. Jourdain’s SEAT
compatriot, Gabriele Tarquini, suffered a problem with is
car in lap 12 and retired from seventh.
Jörg Müller salvaged some points from the weekend
by overtaking Thompson on lap 14 and crossing the line seventh.
He is currently fourth in the title fight.
Pierre-Yves Corthals took his second independent victory
of the day and the lead of the independent trophy by passing
the chequered flag tenth overall.
BULLET NEWS
SIX DRIVERS DROPPED ON THE GRID
Six drivers – Colciago, Larini, Ceresoli, Krylov, Pedalà
and Zanardi – received a drop of ten places on the grid
for Race 2.
The first five because they requested neutralization of parc
fermé in-between the two races to repair damage or,
in Colciago’s case, change the engine. As for Zanardi,
his drop was due to the penalty he received for the collision
at the start in Oschersleben’s first race.
THEY SAID, THEY SAID…
Andy PRIAULX
“This is my lucky track now. It has been a tremendous
day because we found out why we were off the pace in qualifying
and luck was with me. I benefitted from the reverse grid which
hasn’t happened much this season. Race 2 was a dream.
I love being able to drive and win in front of my supporters,
friends and family”
Félix PORTEIRO
“It was my first time at Brands Hatch this weekend
and I could not have imagined I would be walking away with
a second place. This season there have been races in which
I have made mistakes. It has been my first season and I hope
to be a stronger contender for the championship next year.
In the meantime I will look forward to Monza”
Robert HUFF
“It has been a tough weekend because my car was the
heaviest it has been. I got a good start in the second race
and passed Corthals. I managed to keep with Andy (Priaulx)
and Félix (Porteiro) but was never close enough to
make a move. I didn’t worry about Turkington behind
me too much because the Chevrolet has proved it is good throughout
race distance.”
Yvan MULLER
“I was struggling all weekend to find the right setup
but in the end we got it. To have weight in your car at Brands
Hatch is very hard so I am happy with the results and to be
third in the championship. It’s the first time a non-BMW
driver has been in the top three for the championship so that
is good.”
Pierre-Yves CORTHALS
“It feels amazing to have won both the independent
races. I am happy to do a good job for myself and the team.
I had an incredibly bad start and first lap in the second
race but I’m pleased with the weekend and will look
forward to Monza.”
RACE CLASSIFICATION - RACE 2
POS NO CL DRIVER NAT CAR TIME LAPS GAP KPH BEST
Car 27 not eligible to score Championship points
Weather/Track: Sun 18°/Dry 23°
Brands Hatch GP
Circuit Length = 3.7030 km.
Start: 15:33 End: 16:01
Printed - 16:04 Sunday, 23 September 2007
Race Director: Steward: Timekeeper:
1 1 Andy PRIAULX GBR BMW 320si 28:05.811 16 126.58 1:34.393
2 5 Felix PORTEIRO ESP BMW 320si 28:06.538 16 0.727 126.53
1:34.296
3 6 Robert HUFF GBR Chevrolet Lacetti 28:06.971 16 1.160 126.49
1:34.294
4 27 Colin TURKINGTON GBR BMW 320si 28:07.193 16 1.382 126.48
1:34.265
5 12 Yvan MULLER FRA SEAT Leon TDI 28:11.209 16 5.398 126.18
1:34.562
6 9 Jordi GENE ESP SEAT Leon TDI 28:11.600 16 5.789 126.15
1:34.440
7 2 Jorg MULLER GER BMW 320si 28:13.444 16 7.633 126.01 1:34.458
8 15 James THOMPSON GBR Alfa Romeo 156 28:15.580 16 9.769
125.85 1:34.444
9 20 Tom CORONEL NED SEAT Leon 28:16.360 16 10.549 125.79
1:34.832
10 23 I Pierre-Yves CORTHALS BEL SEAT Leon 28:17.098 16 11.287
125.74 1:34.669
11 18 Tiago MONTEIRO POR SEAT Leon 28:18.806 16 12.995 125.61
1:34.798
12 7 Nicola LARINI ITA Chevrolet Lacetti 28:21.712 16 15.901
125.40 1:34.829
13 10 Michel JOURDAIN MEX SEAT Leon 28:22.797 16 16.986 125.32
1:34.840
14 16 Olivier TIELEMANS NED Alfa Romeo 156 28:25.907 16 20.096
125.09 1:35.115
15 19 I Roberto COLCIAGO ITA SEAT Leon 28:26.242 16 20.431
125.07 1:34.775
16 31 I Sergio HERNANDEZ ESP BMW 320si 28:29.144 16 23.333
124.85 1:35.115
17 26 I Stefano D'ASTE ITA BMW 320si 28:30.231 16 24.420 124.77
1:35.414
18 34 I Massimiliano PEDALA ITA SEAT Leon 28:30.865 16 25.054
124.73 1:35.495
19 22 I Maurizio CERESOLI ITA SEAT Leon 28:33.399 16 27.588
124.54 1:35.537
20 45 I Sergey KRYLOV RUS SEAT Leon 28:47.826 16 42.015 123.50
1:37.226
21 30 I Luca RANGONI ITA BMW 320si 22:06.105 12 4 LAPS 120.71
1:35.206
NOT CLASSIFIED
11 Gabriele TARQUINI ITA SEAT Leon 20:16.674 11 D.N.F. 120.61
1:34.525
8 Alain MENU SUI Chevrolet Lacetti 12:22.133 6 D.N.F. 107.92
1:38.122
3 Augusto FARFUS BRA BMW 320si 1:47.318 1 D.N.F. 125.22 1:47.318
4 Alessandro ZANARDI ITA BMW 320si 0 D.N.F. N/A
FASTEST LAP
27 Colin TURKINGTON BMW 320si 1:34.265 15 141.41kph 87.87mph
23 I Pierre-Yves CORTHALS SEAT Leon 1:34.669 7 140.81kph 87.49mph
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