MOTORSPORT NEWS ARCHIVE
Alfa WTCC Update
On a rainy and cold day, SEAT and Chevrolet shared the
honours on the first visit of the FIA World Touring Car Championship to
Brands Hatch at the weekend (21 May 2006), leaving BMW and Alfa Romeo
in their wake. Despite the weather, a good crowd came to the racetrack
to attend rounds 5 and 6 that were both run on soaked asphalt. The first
race was decided at the start, when pole sitter Rickard Rydell nearly
stalled his engine, leaving his team-mate Yvan Muller to jump into the
lead. The Frenchman led the whole distance, while James Thompson, Peter
Terting, Robert Huff and Rydell were fighting behind him. Eventually the
German youngster claimed second position from Thompson and Huff. In the
second race Andy Priaulx took an early lead, but he then committed one
of his rare mistakes, handing command to Alain Menu.
The Swiss driver put in a superb performance, resisting
the pressure from Rydell and Thompson and giving Chevrolet their first
win since they joined WTCC. These results enabled Yvan Muller and SEAT
to get back into the lead of both the Drivers' and Manufacturers' championships.
The WTCC Race of UK was not a lucky one for BMW and Alfa
Romeo. Dirk Müller and Andy Priaulx collected a few points apiece
for the German manufacturer, while Gianni Morbidelli was the only Alfa
driver to score (7th in Race 2). Tom Coronel grabbed another success in
the Independents' Trophy, while JAS Motorsport's Scotsman Ryan Sharp came
home first in the second race. The FIA WTCC will resume at Oschersleben,
Germany, on June 3 and 4.
RACE 1: YVAN MULLER CLAIMS FIRST WIN
SEAT secured a 1-2-3 finish with Frenchman Yvan Muller taking the chequered
flag ahead of team-mates Peter Terting and James Thompson. Robert Huff
of Chevrolet had a podium finish in his sites on the last lap but despite
being nose to tail with Thompson, he was unable to pass and settled for
fourth. Rickard Rydell, had a bad start in his SEAT León and had
dropped from pole to third after the first corner, the Swede eventually
finished fifth. Yvan Muller however, shot off the line and led the field
from the first corner onwards to claim his first WTCC victory. The SEAT
drivers did give the team cause for concern however when on lap 13 Terting
touched Thompson and then went through on the inside line for 2nd.
While the SEATs were battling for the top spots, the BMWs
driven by Andy Priaulx and Dirk Müller were fighting for 8th. Müller
got the better start and led Priaulx but had to defend extremely hard.
Lap 10 saw the German being overtaking by Priaulx who then proceeded to
break away ensuring pole for Race 2. Dirk's teammate Jörg Müller
had a premature end to his race when he came off at Westfield Bend, also
on lap 10.
Gianni Morbidelli had the best result of the N.technology
team by finishing 12th overall in his Alfa Romeo 156. His team-mate Tavano
didn't finish the race while Farfus had to pit on lap 9. Emmet O'Brien
of Wiechers Sport was on top form and even led the independent race after
spectacularly overtaking Tom Coronel on the inside of Druids. His run
did not last however as on the very next lap he went off at Stirling's.
This left Coronel to claim the win with his GR Asia team-mate Maurizio
Ceresoli in second place.
RACE 2 - VICTORY FOR MENU AND CHEVROLET
Alain Menu was welcomed back to the pits as a hero by the Chevrolet garage
at the end of Race 2 as he achieved the team's first race victory on an
extremely wet Brands Hatch circuit.
Rickard Rydell finished 2nd on the podium with fellow SEAT
driver James Thompson obtaining his second 3rd place result of the day.
Andy Priaulx had a good start from pole but his dreams of a race win were
dashed on lap 6. A safety car was issued for 3 laps while the car of Rob
Huff was recovered from the gravel trap at Druids, but on the restart
Priaulx made a mistake and ran wide into the gravel at Paddock Hill. The
Briton managed to keep control of his BMW 320si and rejoined 11th. He
eventually crossed the line th, salvaging a single championship point
but had to defend hard to keep Alex Zanardi at bay. Dirk Müller of
BMW Team Germany and new championship leader Yvan Muller were fighting
for 5th but Yvan squeezed through on lap 9.
The next lap saw two spins. The first to suffer was
BMW Team Italy-Spain man, Marcel Costa, who was lying 7th, lost control
of his car at the soaked Surtees corner. Moments later Pierre-Yves Corthals'
fight was over when he went off at Druids and re-joined at the back. Corthals
team-mate, Ryan Sharp had a better result as he won the independents race,
13th overall, ahead of Tom Coronel. Gianni Morbidelli again headed the
Alfa pack and managed to score points with a 7th position finish. The
Italian had Dirk Müller and 6th place in his sight but couldn't make
a successful move. His team-mates Farfus and Tavano crossed the line 11th
and 16th.
©
italiancar.com.au 24/05/06
