The WTCC marks the first event on the upgraded Imola facilities
Chevrolet
BMW
Seat
Honda
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Chevrolet
Dark Horse Menu Is 3rd; Title Chaser Huff Is 4th; Tow Driver Larini Is 7th
IMOLA, 20th September 2008 A concerted qualifying effort by the three Chevrolet drivers reaped rewards as all three Lacettis made it into the top seven, with Alain Menu and Rob Huff locking out the second row of the grid. Nicola Larini who is the least well placed Chevrolet driver in the standings towed Menu and Huff around the Imola track three times, thus giving up his own chances to qualify well since he is running one of the lightest cars on the grid. While Menu will try to score a podium finish for the Lacetti art car, Huff will be out to score as many points as he can to increase his title chances. Larini will look at tomorrow's second race to try and score that elusive first victory.
* QUOTES
Alain Menu (3rd): "Nic helped me a lot today. He agreed to help us out in towing us around at the expense of his own chances to maybe score a front row position. That's real team spirit, as we mustn't forget Nic hasn't won a race yet and had every chance of building up to that today, at his favourite race track. Instead he decided to be the engine driver of our little train. We may not be on pole but it's still very close at the front. One mustn't forget that the lap times here are nearing two minutes, so one tenth off the pole is not all that much. I'm sure the racing will be interesting tomorrow."
Rob Huff (4th): "I'm very pleased with qualifying fourth. I have to give massive credit to Alain and Nic for helping me out. It's all a team effort, but at the end of the day everybody wants to beat his team mates, so a big thank you to them is very much in place. Our convoy worked well two times out of three, only the last time it didn't work out as planned. Also a big thank you to my race engineer and the boys. We had been struggling all weekend, but in the end we got it all right. This team is the best in the paddock, and this is the prize for their hard work."
Nicola Larini (7th): "I'm happy because we did an excellent team job. As my position in the championship is not as good as that of Rob and Alain, I'm am now focusing my efforts on helping them, even if it is at the expense of my own chances Therefore I drove the `tow truck' on all three qualifying laps, increasing my own lap times by maybe two or three tenths. Only on the last lap it didn't work as I ran wide in one corner which meant Alain had to close in on me too much to still be able to profit from the slipstream. Today I think we had our best tow ever, it was a brilliant team effort and the result shows."
BMW
Three BMW drivers qualify for top-ten grid positions in Imola.
Imola, 20th September 2008. In qualifying for the 17th round of the FIA World Touring Car Championship, BMW Team Germany's Jorg Muller (DE) was the quickest driver in the ranks of the BMW national teams. He set a personal best time of 1:55,226 minutes at Imola's "Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari", claiming eighth on the grid for the first of the two sprint races held on Sunday. SEAT's Rickard Rydell (SE) was 0.465 seconds quicker and claimed pole position at the 4.909-kilometre circuit.
Muller's team-mate, Augusto Farfus (BR), and BMW Team UK's Andy Priaulx (GB) share the fifth row of the grid after qualifying ninth and tenth respectively. Local hero Alessandro Zanardi (IT) had to make do with 12th. His fellow BMW Team Italy-Spain driver, Felix Porteiro (ES), finished 15th on the timesheets.
"The free practice sessions gave us an idea of what to expect from the front-wheel driven cars here in Imola," said Muller following the 30-minute session. "This is a circuit where power and torque are essential, and the SEAT diesels especially have plenty of that. However, we should look stronger over the race distance. But the crucial question is, will we have a chance to overtake. It will certainly be tough."
In what was the first qualifying session of any FIA World Championship following the extensive renovations of the classic circuit, many drivers were struggling with the relatively slippery conditions. "Today it was difficult for all of us to find a perfect lap due to the low grip level," commented Farfus. "In addition, handicap weight has a major impact at this track. I carry 68 kilograms this weekend - so I should be happy with this result. Who knows what might happen in the second race tomorrow, considering the reversed grid."
During most of the session, Priaulx had problems with the radio, so was not able to keep in close contact with Team Principal Bart Mampaey (BE). However, the triple World Champion identified other reasons for not qualifying further up the grid. He said: "I knew fairly early on it didn't look like it was going to be a BMW weekend. There are too many kerbs for our car and you just cannot get on the power. However, at least I'm not too far away from P8."
Race one at the "Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari" will start on Sunday at 12:20hrs (11:20hrs BST), the second race will get underway at 15:35hrs (15:35hrs BST). The two rounds will be televised by Eurosport. The rounds will also be streamed live on the internet, at www.bmw-motorsport.com.
Honda took an encouraging fifth
Seat
Rickard Rydell and Yvan Muller will start the first of the two races of the World Touring Car Championship to be staged tomorrow on the Italian circuit of Imola from the front row.
The SEAT drivers had a good performance during the qualifying practice, achieving the aims set thanks to a highly effective team work.The SEAT León TDI were very fast throughout the day and the team was able to work on the settings for a race track with a modified layout, and therefore with several mysteries for the teams.
In order to make the best use of the car’s potential, SEAT Sport’s technical team set out a strategy to let all drivers of the make help each other to clinch the pole and make a clean sweep of the front row. The aim was achieved after a heart-stopping finish. Two and a half minutes before the end of the session, and after several changes in the lead, a SEAT León TDI carousel allowed Rickard Rydell and Ivan Muller to clock the fastest times of the grid, ahead of the Chevrolets of Menu and Huff and Thompson’s Honda. Gabriele Tarquini finished sixth, Tiago Monteiro eleventh and Jordi Gené thirteenth.
SEAT’s wish for tomorrow’s races is obviously to fight for the victory, but with the main aim of strengthening and increasing their advantage in the lead of both standings, i.e. drivers and manufacturers.
The first race in Imola will start at 12.20 and the second at 15.35. Both will be 11 laps long.
Rickard Rydell: "Good teamwork is essential in qualifying, especially in a circuit which is as fast as this one. We have all made a great job and we have good feelings for tomorrow's race. Moreover, I’m personally satisfied, because the work with my track engineer allows us to continue improving our qualifying effectiveness".
Yvan Muller: "I’m happy with the result. The team has made an excellent job and starting from the front row will be very important tomorrow. I’m also happy for the second place, considering the ballast of my car, not only here but also in the last four meetings".
Honda
N.Technology’s James Thompson secured fifth place on the grid for tomorrow’s round 17 of the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC). The meeting, held at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola, Italy, marks the team’s highest qualifying position of the season.
For the majority of qualifying, the N.Technology driver set the pace, posting the quickest lap time. Improving his time throughout the 30-minute session, Thompson eventually qualified fifth, less than two tenths of a second behind pole-sitter Rickard Rydell.
The newly refurbished track did not hinder the Brit, who set a fastest lap of 1:54.954 in the Honda Euro R Super 2000.
Thompson, who finished third in the 2007 WTCC drivers’ standing, will be aiming to add to his points total this weekend.
James Thompson, car number 15
“It’s our best performance of the year, so I’m really pleased with the result. We were fast throughout the session, and definitely have a good race pace. With the car this fast, there is no reason why we can’t go forwards through the field. Imola is a good track for us; the top of the field is where we are aiming.”
Andrea Muller, Team manager
“The team have done a fantastic job to create this good result. We took all the risks regarding timing, using all the available time for the last stint, finishing our last lap two seconds before the chequered flag. It’s our best qualifying position of the season and it will definitely help us achieve our goal of a top-eight finish.”