BMW holds onto championship lead after difficult races in Silverstone.
Silverstone (England), 15th May 2005. After rounds five and six of the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) at the Silverstone Circuit, BMW continues to lead both the Drivers' and the Manufacturers' Championship in this series. However, none of the drivers in the BMW national teams made it onto the podium at the English track. After an unexpected change in regulations by the FIA, some of the BMW 320i cars were 70 kilograms heavier than their direct competitors.

 

In the first race of the day, the reigning European Champion Andy Priaulx (GBR) of BMW Team UK took fifth place as the best BMW driver. The two BMW Team Deutschland drivers Jörg Müller (GER) and Dirk Müller (GER) followed in ninth and tenth places. Antonio Garcia (ITA/BMW Team Italy-Spain) was 15th to cross the line, while his team-mate Alessandro Zanardi (ITA) retired on the final lap. The race was won by Gabriele Tarquini (ITA) ahead of three other Alfa Romeo drivers.

Local hero Priaulx was unlucky in the second race. The 30-year-old had to retire from the lead on lap 11 after flat-spotting a tyre. That left the coast clear for Rickard Rydell (SWE/SEAT) to take his first win of the season. Dirk Müller came sixth with team-mate Jörg Müller in hot pursuit. Zanardi was unable to compete due to a technical problem sustained in the first race, and Garcia had to retire on the first lap after a collision.

 

With 81 points, BMW is still at the top of the Manufacturers' rankings, followed by Alfa Romeo (75) and SEAT (60). In the Drivers' rankings, Dirk Müller also remains in first place after the Silverstone races with a tally of 32 championship points. Tarquini is second with 30, followed by Priaulx and Jörg Müller who have 27 points each.

 

In the Michelin Independents' Trophy, Marc Hennerici (GER) in his BMW 320i was the most successful driver once again. In the second race he secured victory in the private drivers' classification, but just missed out on the points by finishing ninth overall. Hennerici remains in the lead in the privateer rankings.

 

Reactions:

 

Charly Lamm (BMW Team Deutschland, team manager): "Considering the weight reduction for the front-wheel-drive cars and the weight handicap our cars were carrying, we didn't come to Silverstone with any high hopes of making it onto the podium. And so we're not surprised at the outcome of the two races. Dirk made the best of the situation and asserted himself well against the competition, some of whom were fighting extremely hard. He managed to defend his lead in the World Championship, which is very important for us. Jörg at least managed to pick up another two points. There just wasn't more on the cards today."

 

Race 1

 

Weather: Sunny, 16 degrees Celsius

 

Start: All BMW drivers manage to improve their positions at the start. Priaulx passes Giovanardi and Thompson to move into second place. Garcia advances into sixth place, Jörg Müller into ninth. Dirk Müller makes the greatest leap of all from 25th to 17th. Zanardi is 13th.

 

Lap 1: Priaulx is forced to let the two Alfa drivers pass him again.

 

Lap 2: Augusto Farfus jr. (Alfa) also passes Priaulx, who is now in fifth place. Jörg Müller loses two positions after a battle with the SEAT drivers.

 

Lap 3: Dirk Müller passes Zanardi to move into 13th place.

 

Lap 5: Garcia has SEAT drivers on his tail. In a duel with Peter Terting, the steering of his BMW 320i is damaged. Rickard Rydell and, later, Jason Plato also ram the 24-year-old's car, and he drops back into 16th place. Dirk Müller is now driving behind his team-mate Jörg Müller.

 

Lap 10: After Jordi Gené (SEAT), the BMW Team Deutschland drivers also get past Garcia. Jörg Müller is in ninth place and Dirk Müller in tenth.

 

Lap 14: Zanardi's car develops a transmission problem, which sends the Italian into the gravel. He has to abandon the race and is unable to take part in the second.

 

Finish: Priaulx crosses the line in fifth place. After Zanardi's stroke of bad luck, Garcia moves up into 15th place. Jörg Müller and Dirk Müller take the chequered flag in ninth and tenth place.

 

Race 2

 

Weather: Partly cloudy, 16 degrees Celsius

 

Start: Priaulx gets off to another perfect start and passes Rydell, Plato and Terting to take the lead. Dirk Müller also gets away nicely and manages to advance from tenth into fourth place. Jörg Müller, however, has problems and has to concede ten positions.

 

Lap 1: Garcia is touched again, spins and comes to a standstill pointing the wrong way. Chevrolet driver Robert Huff is unable to avoid him and rams Garcia's BMW 320i. The race stewards send a safety car out onto the track.

 

Lap 4: The safety car returns to the pits and the race is resumed.

 

Lap 5: Jörg Müller fights his way back to within reach of the points in twelfth place. Dirk Müller launches an attack against Plato, but remains in fourth place.

 

Lap 7: Jörg Müller is now in ninth place.

 

Lap 11: Priaulx has to abandon the race from the lead after a flat spot. That opens the way for Dirk Müller to move up into third place, while Jörg Müller is now in eighth.

 

Lap 12: Dirk Müller gets knocked by Tarquini during a duel, losing him three positions.

 

Lap 13: During an overtaking move, Jörg Müller collides with Terting who spins off. Jörg Müller is now in seventh place.

 

Finish: The two BMW Team Deutschland drivers finish the race in sixth (Dirk Müller) and seventh (Jörg Müller) places.

 

Results

 

BMW Team UK - RBM
No. 1 - Andy Priaulx (GBR) Grid: 4th - Races: 5th and DNF

 

BMW Team Deutschland - Schnitzer Motorsport
No. 42 - Jörg Müller (GER) Grid: 11th - Races: 9th and 7th
No. 43 - Dirk Müller (GER) Grid: 25th - Races: 10th and 6th

 

BMW Team Italy-Spain - ROAL Motorsport
No. 4 - Alex Zanardi (ITA) Grid: 14th - Races: 23rd and not started
No. 5 - Antonio Garcia (ESP) Grid: 9th - Races: 15th and DNF

 

BMW private teams
Crawford Racing - No. 28 - Carl Rosenblad (SWE) Races: 14th and 15th
Proteam Motorsport - No. 30 - Stefano d'Aste (ITA) Races: DNF (both races)
- No. 31 - Giuseppe Ciro (ITA) Races: 22nd and 11th
Wiechers-Sport - No. 32 - Marc Hennerici (GER) Races: 17th and 9th

 

Results Race 1: 1st Gabriele Tarquini (ITA/Alfa Romeo) 20:35.654 minutes, 2nd James Thompson (GBR, Alfa Romeo) +1.287 seconds, 3rd Fabrizio Giovanardi (ITA/Alfa Romeo) +1.626, 4th Augusto Farfus jr. (BRA/Alfa Romeo) +1.924, 5th Andy Priaulx (GBR/BMW 320i) +4.386, 6th Peter Terting (GER/SEAT) +5.595, 7th Rickard Rydell (SWE/SEAT) 6.019, 8th Jason Plato (GBR, SEAT) +10.187, 9th Jörg Müller (GER/BMW 320i) +11.611, 10th Dirk Müller (GER, BMW 320i) +12.170, ?15th Antonio Garcia (ESP/BMW 320i) +26.590, ?23rd Alessandro Zanardi (ITA/BMW 320i) +1 lap

 

Results Race 2: 1st Rickard Rydell (SWE/SEAT) 21:43.465 minutes, 2nd Jason Plato (GBR, SEAT) +4.709 seconds, 3rd Gabriele Tarquini (ITA/Alfa Romeo) +5.049, 4th Augusto Farfus jr. (BRA/Alfa Romeo) +5.557, 5th Jordi Gene (ESP/SEAT) +6.712, 6th Dirk Müller (GER, BMW 320i) +7.239, 7th Jörg Müller (GER/BMW 320i) +14.616, 8th Fabrizio Giovanardi (ITA/Alfa Romeo) +19.599, ?20th Andy Priaulx (GBR/BMW 320i) +3 laps, DNF: Antonio Garcia (ESP/BMW 320i)

 

Drivers' standings after 6 out of 20 races: 1st Dirk Müller 32 points, 2nd Gabriele Tarquini 30, 3rd Jörg Müller 27, 4th Andy Priaulx 27, 5th Augusto Farfus jr. 21, 6th James Thompson 20, 7th Antonio Garcia 19, 8th Rickard Rydell 19, 9th Fabrizio Giovanardi 13, 10th Jordi Gene 12, 11th Jason Plato 9, 12th Peter Terting 3, 13th Alessandro Zanardi 2
Manufacturers' standings after 6 out of 20 races: 1st BMW 81, 2nd Alfa Romeo 75, 3rd SEAT 60, 4th Chevrolet 14, 5th Ford 2

 

Next race: Imola, Italy (29th May 2005)