SEAT & BMW SHARE
THE SPANISH GLORY
By WTCC
6 June 2009

SEAT and BMW dominated one race apiece in the fifth event of the season. The turbodiesel León cars filled the four top positions in the first race, marking a triumphant moment for SEAT in their home race meeting.

Yvan Muller scored his third victory of the season making it clear that it won’t be easy for anybody (including his own team-mates) to deprive him of the World Champion’s crown.

However, in the second race, Augusto Farfus and Jörg Müller (left) managed to overturn the situation.

The BMW Team Germany duo claimed a 1-2 of crucial importance for the German Manufacturer, as it not only marked BMW’s first victory so far this year, but also re-launched their hopes in the title fight that now sees Farfus lying second, only three points behind Muller.

Chevrolet’s winning streak came to an end after four consecutive successes in Marrakech and Pau. The Spanish weekend was not positive for the drivers of the Cruze cars who all remained out of the points.

As for LADA, their hope of making a step forward with the new engine were totally hindered by a number of technical issues.

In the Independents’ Trophy, Stefano D’Aste obtained his first victory of the season, but the fight for the title seems to be an affair between Tom Coronel (winner of the first race), Félix Porteiro and Franz Engstler who are covered by only two points.

RACE 1 – THIRD WIN FOR YVAN MULLER

SEAT Sport celebrated a 1-2-3 at their home track. Yvan Muller won the race (his third victory of the season, left) from second on the grid after taking the lead off the start.

Tiago Monteiro finished second with Gabriele Tarquini third.

Augusto Farfus and Andy Priaulx (right) from BMW had a strong race edging through the pack to come home fourth and fifth respectively. Fellow BMW driver Jörg Müller passed the chequered flag sixth after dropping two places on the last corner – he will line up third for Race 2.

Spaniard Sergio Hernández battled hard against Stefano D’Aste to keep eighth place and pole for the second race. Tom Coronel continued his strong form this weekend to claim the Independent win and seventh place overall.

Man of the race

Augusto Farfus (left) was under pressure from the word go in Race 1. At the start he was being pushed wide by Jordi Gené but held his ground. At turn 1 another challenge faced him as Rydell, Menu and Gené were involved in a scuffle.

Although this cost the Brazilian to drop down several places, he battled on and made his way up to fourth to claim five precious championship points.

Key moment

The first corner on lap one saw an incident that spelt the end of podium hopes for several contenders and allowed others to rise through the ranks. Rickard Rydell hit Alain Menu as they took the outside line.

The impact sent Menu into Gené (right) who went off the track and did not rejoin. Those drivers who opted for the inside of turn one including Müller and Coronel, avoided the clash and continued with the advantage.

Withdrawals

J. Gené: race incident; K. Poulsen: race incident; K. Ladygin: engine overheating

[View Results & Standings]

RACE 2 – FARFUS GIVES FIRST WIN TO BMW

Augusto Farfus (left) scored BMW’s first win of the season after starting from fifth on the grid.

The Brazilian’s BMW Team Germany companion Jörg Müller made it a BMW 1- 2 while Gabriele Tarquini denied the German marque a 1-2-3 with Andy Priaulx narrowly missing out on a podium spot.

Jörg Müller led the race until lap three when Farfus took the reins. The duo made a break from the rest leaving Priaulx and Tarquini to undertake some superb racing for third. Behind them, BMW Italy-Spain’s men Alessandro Zanardi and Sergio Hernández took fifth and sixth followed by Race 1 winner Yvan Muller and Tiago Monteiro. Despite starting from second, Coronel couldn’t match the BMW’s start and was eventually beaten by Stefano D’Aste for the Independent win.

Jörg Müller led the race until lap three when Farfus took the reins. The duo made a break from the rest leaving Priaulx and Tarquini to undertake some superb racing for third.

Behind them, BMW Italy-Spain’s men Alessandro Zanardi and Sergio Hernández took fifth and sixth followed by Race 1 winner Yvan Muller and Tiago Monteiro. Despite starting from second, Coronel couldn’t match the BMW’s start and was eventually beaten by Stefano D’Aste for the Independent win.

Man of the race

Stefano D’Aste (left) took his first victory in the Independents’ category. During Race 1 the Italian promoted himself from 16th to ninth. This gave him the opportunity to shine in Race 2 and he did not disappoint.

After the start D’Aste was behind Coronel, at which point he used his intelligence to study the Dutchman’s driving for a couple of laps and overtake where he knew he had the best chance.

Key moment

The battle between Tarquini and Priaulx was touring car racing at its best. As the laps unfolded Priaulx’s determination grew and he was pressurising Tarquini all the way. On lap eight it looked as though the Briton had done enough to stand on the podium as he edged his way past the SEAT. However, a few seconds later Tarquini used his straight-line speed to claim back the place at the end of the straight.

Withdrawals

K. Ladygin: oil pressure.

[View Results & Standings]

The championship will resume in Brno, Czech Republic, on May 21st, for rounds 11 and 12.