Priaulx was able to score a podium in race 1
Seat
BMW
Chevrolet
Honda
Click a link to go directly to that story!
Seat
Two victories bring SEAT closer to the World Championship
Two victories of Yvan Muller and Gabriele Tarquini, with one-two finishes by Tarquini in the first race and Jordi Gene in the second, have moved SEAT closer to the objectives set for the World Touring Car Championship. The meeting held today in Monza finished in the best possible way, with victories of the top two drivers of the standings and SEAT increasing their advantage in the manufacturers' standings.
At the start of the first race, the SEAT drivers drove in formation, though not being able to open a gap to their rivals, especially Larini (Chevrolet), Farfus and Priaulx (BMW). This fight went on throughout the race and both Farfus, first, as well as Larini, in the penultimate lap, had breakdowns that left them out of the contest. Rydell was always on third, while Muller and Tarquini swapped positions in the lead.
Jordi Gene was pushed off the track in the first turn, but was able to rejoin the race, and together with Tiago Monteiro, performed a spectacular recovery. Monteiro finally managed to finish fifth, after overtaking the Chevrolets of Larini and Huff, while Gene finished behind them, scoring the last point at stake.
A penalty imposed on Rickard Rydell allowed Zanardi to start the second race from pole position, but in the second lap he was overtaken by Gene and later on by Tarquini. Further in the back, Yvan Muller sheltered himself in fourth position. A few laps later, both SEAT Leon TDI were pursued relentlessly by Larini's Chevrolet, while Muller had a tough time with Menu.
Halfway the race Tarquini overtook Gene and both team-mates drove together until the finish, avoiding Larini's attacks. Further in the back, Robert Huff and Andy Priaulx, the two main rivals in the drivers' standings, went off track in successive laps, thus staying out of the points.
In the last laps, the Chevrolet drivers attacked the SEAT, but Tarquini and Gene managed to clinch the second one-two finish of the day for SEAT, with Muller finishing fourth, scoring valuable points for the championship. Tiago Monteiro completed a great day for SEAT finishing sixth, while Rydell managed to move up to the ninth position.
Rickard Rydell: "It hasn't been a good weekend for me, although it's been profitable for the team. After an excellent qualifying and a very good first race I still don't understand why I've been penalised. It set me back a lot and I had no chances in the second race".
Jordi Gene: "My weekend has been very positive. I was very fast in the free practice sessions and made a good job in qualifying. I set aside my personal performance a bit in the first race to achieve a good result for the make. In the second I was able to be myself achieving a great result. Moreover, we scored a lot of points for SEAT in the championship. Everything has been perfect".
Gabriele Tarquini: "It's been fantastic to score so many points and to achieve two one-two finishes for SEAT. It's been a dream come true because we knew that Monza could be a favourable race, but not that much. This weekend has been simply perfect".
Yvan Muller: "The most important and really decisive thing is the work done for the make. Moreover, I'm extremely happy because I'm still leading the championship after a victory and a fourth position".
Tiago Monteiro: "It's been frustrating because I was with my team-mates in qualifying, but a Japanese driver pushed me off the track. Everything could have been better in the races because I could have scored more points and achieved better positions, especially in the second race. But anyway, things are now perfect for us".
BMW
Priaulx claims third in Monza - Difficult WTCC weekend for BMW.
Monza, 5th October 2008. BMW Team UK's Andy Priaulx (GB) finished third in the 19th round of the FIA World Touring Car Championship. The defending champion crossed the line at the "Autodromo Nazionale di Monza" in fourth, benefiting from a belated 30-second penalty for a competitor. Alessandro Zanardi (IT) also scored one point for BMW Team Italy-Spain by finishing eighth. In the second race of the day, the local hero came seventh, while BMW Team Germany's Augusto Farfus (BR) was rewarded for an impressive fight back with eighth.
Priaulx was forced to retire with a puncture while running in fifth. Farfus' team-mate, Jorg Muller (DE), walked away from the WTCC's final European race weekend of the year with ninth and tenth places respectively. Following his retirement in race one, Felix Porteiro (ES) also missed out on a points' finish in the second nine-lap contest. The two victories went to the SEAT pairing of Yvan Muller (FR) and Gabriele Tarquini (IT). In the Drivers' Championship, fifth-placed Priaulx remains the most successful BMW representative with 61 points. In the manufacturers' classification, BMW ranks second with 223 points. SEAT increased its lead to 54 points.
Andy Priaulx (BMW Team UK):
"Today we made the most of our opportunities, my car was fantastic. However, it was impossible to challenge the diesel opposition. Obviously I'm disappointed about the puncture in race two. Many cars went over the debris before me, but I was the only one who suffered a problem. That's somehow symbolic for this season."
Alessandro Zanardi (BMW Team Italy-Spain):
"Starting from pole position you naturally hope to finish somewhere up front. But that was just not possible today. A lot of work lies ahead of BMW and the teams in order to close the gap to the front-runners again. I'm happy that I at least provided the Italian fans with a lot of action."
Jorg Muller (BMW Team Germany):
"Race one started in a truly chaotic way. In the crash with James Thompson the balance of my car suffered, so I wasn't able to push as hard as I had planned to from 15th on the grid. In race two I got a heavy hit even before the first chicane. Again the handling was affected for the worse. I had hoped for a better farewell from Europe."
Augusto Farfus (BMW Team Germany):
"My start in race one was good. But then everything went against me. First, someone bent my exhaust, and then I lost my radiator grill and later the radiator lost water. At least I was able to say thank you to my team for the repair works by improving to eighth in race two."
Felix Porteiro (BMW Team Italy-Spain):
"I had different plans for the home event of BMW Team Italy-Spain. Right at the start of the first race I lost all my chances of scoring another good result. I hope the forthcoming overseas races will have a more positive outcome for us."
Race 1 - Lap by lap.
Start The "flying" start is a turbulent affair. In the first chicane, Felix Porteiro collides with James Thompson, who spins off and returns to the track backwards. Jorg Muller is also involved in this incident. While the 39- year-old is able to continue in 13th after crashing into Thompson, Porteiro's race comes to an early end. The 25-year-old heads to the pits with a damaged left front suspension. Augusto Farfus gets pushed from behind, forcing him to hit another car - with serious consequences. Nevertheless, he defends his fifth grid position. Andy Priaulx improves to sixth, Alessandro Zanardi moves up the ranks from 14th to 11th.
Lap 4 Farfus overtakes Nicola Larini, only to lose fourth a few corners later to the Chevrolet driver.
Lap 5 Priaulx passes Farfus for fifth.
Lap 6 Farfus retires due to the damage his car's radiator suffered in the starting incident. Zanardi has worked his way up to ninth, Muller follows in tenth.
Lap 9 Larini drops back on the final lap, with Priaulx taking over fourth.
Finish Priaulx finishes fourth - and sets the fastest lap of the race in 2:00.443 minutes. When Rickard Rydell gets a 30-second penalty after the race for cutting the chicane, Priaulx improves to third. Zanardi takes the chequered flag ninth. Due to Rydell's penalty, however, he scores one point and is the pole-sitter for the second race. Muller is classified ninth. BMW Team Germany changes Farfus' engine to give its driver the chance to compete in the second race.
Race 2 - Lap by lap.
Start Zanardi performs a great start and successfully defends his lead against Jordi Gene. Priaulx drops back into seventh, Muller stays in ninth. Porteiro improves from 23rd to 17th. Farfus even leaps further up the field: Having started from 30th on the grid, he lies 19th at the end of lap one.
Lap 2 Gene uses the performance advantage of his SEAT diesel to overtake Zanardi. Muller gets overtaken by Alain Menu,
Lap 3 Zanardi loses several positions, now running in eighth. Priaulx passes Robert Huff as well as his fellow BMW driver. He is now fifth.
Lap 5 Muller loses ground and is ranked 12th.
Lap 7 After going over pieces of debris, Priaulx suffers a puncture on the left front wheel. He creeps back into the pits. Huff also retires. Zanardi thus improves to seventh, Muller goes back to tenth. Meanwhile, Farfus and Porteiro lie in ninth and 11th respectively.
Lap 9 Farfus passes Rydell for P8, while Porteiro loses one position to Thompson.
Finish Zanardi and Farfus score points by finishing seventh and eighth. Muller comes home in tenth, Porteiro crosses the line in 12th.
Chevrolet
As Nicola Larini Finishes On Podium On Home Soil
MONZA, Chevrolet accomplished a difficult mission at the last European WTCC round of the season at Monza, today. The goal was to move Rob Huff further up in the championship standings, a task which the team managed through careful team work in qualifying and solid racing on Sunday. In the first race though, both Menu and Huff fell victim to the traditional first corner melee, with Rob dropping to 12th and Alain to near-last. Larini was the one who benefited from the pile-up and put his car in fourth where he would stay until the last lap before finishing sixth. By that time, Huff had clawed his way back to seventh, and Alain to 12th.
In the second race, Huff again was the victim of another driver's zeal in the first corner, something which eventually led to his retirement two laps from the finish. While Nicola Larini secured a podium finish for Chevrolet, Alain Menu fought back to a very competitive fifth, setting fastest race lap and thus showing what could have been without the earlier incident.
Japanese newcomer, Max Orido, did what was expected of him in both races: staying out of trouble and learning as much as possible, which was rewarded by a 15th place finish in race one and a 17th place in race two.
* QUOTES
Nicola Larini (6th/3rd): "I had a very good start and steered clear of any mishaps in turn one. I overtook Farfus pretty easily for fourth and then tried to get to third. But each time I tried, the door was closed, and even when it was open it was closed on me again by Rydell. He hit me and cut the chicane. Then near the end I settled for sixth, which was still good for the second row. In the second race I quickly moved up to third, but there was no chance of passing the two leaders, so third it was. Nevertheless I'm happy with the result, although I am of course still chasing that first win. But there are still four races to try this year, and another 24 next year!"
Alain Menu (12th/5th): "I'm sure a podium would have been possible, but somebody in the middle of the pack decided differently in the braking zone for the first chicane, so I resumed my race at the bottom end of the field. I thought the suspension might have been damaged when the car was launched in the air, but it was okay, so I chased as hard as I could and made it back to 12th. In race two I just went for it. I had a good start and could pick off the guys in front of me one by one. Another lap and I would have passed the car in fourth, but fifth in the end is pretty good after a long fight from behind. In three weeks time we can have another shot at victory in the Japanese mountains."
Rob Huff (7th/DNF): "I had a really good start and caught a lot of guys asleep. Then I got hit from behind in the first chicane, but luckily managed to catch the car out of a half-spin. Fortunately for me Farfus had a problem which put me in eighth. Then just before the finish line both Nic and Gene had slowed, so I couldn't help but pass the SEAT and finish seventh. All in all, the car handled a lot better now than it did in qualifying. At the start of race two someone gave me a right big push up the rear end, which bent my steering so badly that I had to turn right on the straights, and was left with almost no right turn at all in the corners. I soldiered on as well as I could, but two laps from the end I had a puncture and that was it. So, we've again moved up a place in the championship, although at the same time the gap to the leaders has widened."
Max Orido (15th/17th): "Fortunately I managed to avoid the accident in front of me in the first corner so once past that I could concentrate on my own race. I had a good fight with Aoki-san for almost the whole race, but I'm glad I came out on top and finish first of the Japanese drivers. In the second race I unfortunately broke a drive shaft in the warming up lap, so after repairs I had to start from the pitlane. But I had a great race again to finish 17th."
Honda
N.Technology’s James Thompson claimed 11th place in round 20 of the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) at the Autodromo di Monza, Italy. Thompson put in a stunning drive to make up 13 places with a bruised and battered car after an incident in race one.
After securing 13th place on the grid during Saturday’s qualifying session, the Honda Accord Euro R Super 2000 was knocked out of round 19 at the start, damaging the car and forcing Thompson into retirement.
With less than two hours between races, the team put in a valiant effort to repair the car and ensure it was race-ready for round 20. Thompson had a fantastic start to race two, moving up from 24th to 16th place in the first lap. After a stunning drive, the N.Technology driver secured 11th place.
Team-mate, Yukinori Taniguchi, finished race one in 21st place, making up five positions in his first WTCC round. In race two Taniguchi was forced to retire on lap six of the nine-lap race.
N.Technology will travel to Japan for the penultimate meeting of the 2008 WTCC season, held at the Okayama International Circuit on 25 and 26 October 2008.
Andrea Muller, Team manager
“We had a very good start in the second race. To take 11th position is a good result as we were compromised by the incident in the first race. I want to thank the team for a great job in getting the car ready for race two. James drove really well to make up so many positions.”
James Thompson, car number 15
“The boys performed another miracle today. They did a fantastic job to ensure that we were able to take part in the second race considering the damage. It was a shame that we didn’t have the opportunity to compete in race one, but we demonstrated that we can fight through the field, so I am pleased with race two; it was a good race.”
Yukinori Taniguchi, car number 72
“Today was definitely a good experience. I am happy with the result in the first race as I moved up some places from my qualifying position and have learnt a lot. I am used to the Okayama track so now I am ready to start preparing myself mentally for that challenge.”