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Sunday, 11 May 2008

WTCC - ROUNDS 1 AND 2 - MONZA - RACE

Written by Jeff Seabrook

Monday, 03 April 2006

2006 FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC)
Rounds 1 and 2 - 01st/02nd April 2006 - Race

Priaulx wins a round of the WTCC season opener in the BMW 320si.

Monza (Italy), 02nd April 2006. BMW Team UK driver Andy Priaulx (GBR) has won the inaugural round of the 2006 FIA World Touring Car Championship. At the "Autodromo Nazionale di Monza", the reigning World Champion prevailed against SEAT drivers Yvan Muller (FRA) and James Thompson (GBR), thus securing a win for the new BMW 320si WTCC in its maiden race. The second race of the season, however, was disappointing for the BMW national teams. Following several accidents, none of the five drivers made it to the chequered flag.

In sunny conditions, with temperatures around 18°C, Priaulx made a great start to race one. The pole-sitter controlled the field and defended his lead until the chequered flag. In the early stages of the race, it looked as if BMW Team Germany's Dirk Müller (GER) might make for a BMW one-two. At the start, the 30-year old quickly gained two positions to move up to second. However, following a safety-car period (second to fourth lap), his tyres lost grip and he had to let Muller and Thompson pass and consequently finished fourth.

BMW Team Italy-Spain's Alessandro Zanardi (ITA) finished seventh, thus scoring two points and securing a promising starting position for the second round: second grid position. Zanardi's team-mate, Marcel Costa (ESP), took eleventh place in his maiden WTCC race, while Jörg Müller (GER) was hit by bad luck: Following a collision with Rickard Rydell (SWE) he had to pit to have his car repaired by the BMW Team Germany pit crew. Subsequently, he re-joined the race but had to settle for 28th place.

The second round also started in promising style for the BMW drivers. Zanardi defended his second place, with both Dirk Müller and Priaulx gaining positions and Jörg Müller beginning his chase from the back of the grid. However, none of the BMW drivers was rewarded for their effort. On lap three, Priaulx tried to pass Thompson who moved to Priaulx' side to defend his position. This move caused the World Champion to spin into the path of his brand-mate Dirk Müller. Both lost control and hit the crash barriers. Two laps later, Costa was also forced into early retirement from his eighth position, following a collision with SEAT driver Peter Terting (GER). On lap six, Jörg Müller, who had worked his way up to eleventh position, collided with Stefano d'Aste (ITA), resulting in the sudden end to the 36-year old German's race.

Now, all the BMW hopes rested on Zanardi who was involved a thrilling battle with the leader, Augusto Farfus jr (BRA). On the penultimate lap, Zanardi tried to pass the Brazilian, but Farfus defended his lead and the two cars made contact, resulting in a damaged suspension on Zanardi's car while Farfus crossed the line as the race winner. The BMW national teams will have to work hard to rebuild their cars in time for the third and fourth rounds of the season, which will be held on 30th April 2006 at Magny-Cours, France. Reactions:
Andy Priaulx (BMW Team UK):
"I'm leaving the venue of the season opener with mixed emotions. On the one hand, I'm delighted to have won race one. We have completed a successful preparation and the team really deserved this success. Yet, to have the chance of battling for the championship you have to score points constantly. Therefore, I'm rather annoyed about my retirement in round two. It was a kind of chain reaction. At the end of the day, Dirk and I were just passengers. The car is seriously damaged and I hope that it won't be necessary to build up a new chassis for Magny-Cours."

Dirk Müller (BMW Team Germany):
"This has been the worst crash in my career so far. To be honest, I didn't really notice what was going on. All of a sudden, I went off together with Andy. There were a lot of hard battles going on today, with some of the drivers battling too hard. Therefore, I had to settle for five points. But there is still a long season to be contested, and the BMW 320si has got a lot of potential."

Alessandro Zanardi (BMW Team Italy-Spain):
"What can I say? No racing driver voluntarily settles for the runner-up position. If you've got the chance to win you just have to go for it. Unfortunately it didn't pay off today and now I'm standing here empty-handed. But the performance we've delivered this weekend is encouraging for the rest of the season."

Stats and results Monza:
Circuit / Date
Autodromo Nazionale di Monza / 2nd April 2006
Lap / Race distance
5.770 km / 51.93 km (9 laps)
Pole position 2006
Andy Priaulx (BMW Team UK), 2:00.254 minutes
Winners 2006
Race 1: Andy Priaulx (BMW Team UK)
Race 2: Augusto Farfus jr (Alfa Romeo)
Fastest lap 2006
Race 1: Gabriele Tarquini (SEAT), 2:02.176 minutes
Race 2: James Thompson (SEAT), 2:02.337 minutes

Manufacturers' Championship:
1st SEAT (26 points), 2nd Alfa Romeo (22), 3rd BMW (18), 4th Chevrolet (12).

Race Calendar:
2nd April - Monza (ITA), 30th April - Magny-Cours (FRA), 21st May - Brands Hatch (GBR), 4th June - Oschersleben (GER), 2nd July - Curitiba (BRA), 30th July - Puebla (MEX), 3rd September - Brno (CZE), 24th September - Istanbul (TUR), 8th October - Valencia (ESP), 19th November - Macau (CHN).

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