http://www.racedepartment.com - SEAT and BMW shared victories in Zolder, on the first ever visit of the FIA WTCC to Belgium that was blessed by a crowd of 23,000 despite a cold wind from the North.
Jordi Gene came home first in Race 1, but it was his team-mate Gabriele Tarquini who inherited victory after the Spaniard's car failed to pass the technical checks because the air restrictor did not conform. Chevrolet's duo of Yvan Muller and Alain Menu completed the podium.
The second race saw one of Andy Priaulx's famous solo escapes from the pole position on the reverse grid. The Briton rejected the assaults from Rob Huff and Tiago Monteiro and claimed a much-longed home victory for Bart Mampaey and his BMW Team RBM.
FIA WTCC 2010 - Rounds 11 & 12 - Brands Hatch, England
http://www.racedepartment.com - Yvan Muller and Andy Priaulx claimed one victory apiece at Brands Hatch in two extremely close races that also launched Colin Turkington as the rising star in the WTCC heaven.
In Race 1 Muller and Rob Huff gave Chevrolet a 1-2 finish ahead of Turkington who managed to steal third place from Alain Menu's third Cruze, while Gabriele Tarquini scored important points finishing fourth and Priaulx obtained an eighth place that eventually proved crucial for the rest of the day.
Priaulx won the second race starting from pole position on the reverse grid. Turkington made another step forward claiming a brilliant second place from Tarquini, with Muller in fifth.
After a difficult beginning to his home weekend, Priaulx jumped from zero to hero, recovering from a 10 position grid penalty that had demoted him to 16th at the start of Race 1 to the highest step of the podium.
The championship fight is also very close. Muller leads with 199 points and has a margin of 23 over Tarquini, while Priaulx is a further 30 points behind. And Huff cannot be discounted, lying 69 points behind the leader.
Thanks to the 33 points he scored in the overall championship and the additional points for the category's pole position and fastest laps, Turkingon made a giant leap forward in the Independents' Trophy. After only four races, the Ulsterman is second, 11 points behind Sergio Hernández.
Norbert Michelisz won both races in the Rookie Challenge and ousted Fredy Barth from the lead.
FIA WTCC 2010 - Rounds 9 & 10 - Portimao, Portugal
http://www.racedepartment.com - Local hero Tiago Monteiro and reigning world champion Gabriele Tarquini scored one victory apiece in Portugal, making it a perfect weekend for SEAT Customers Technology.
The championship will resume for rounds 11 and 12 at Brands Hatch, UK, on July 18th.
FIA WTCC 2011 - Rounds 3 & 4 - Circuit Zolder, Belgium
http://www.racedepartment.com - Just like in the first race at Curitiba, Chevrolet drivers claimed another 1-2-3 finish in Zolder during the first race of the weekend. Rob Huff, Alain Menu and Yvan Muller dominated the field, with the Briton taking a lights to flag victory, Menu managing to survive a contact with Tarquini that sent him sideways after the start, Muller being able to steal third place from the Italian on lap 11. Tarquini and Tiago Monteiro were classified fourth and fifth.
Kristian Poulsen won the fierce battle for the Yokohama Trophy, beating Norbert Michelisz, Michel Nykjær, Darryl O'Young, Javier Villa. The latter made a great recovery from the back to the grid to 9th at the end.
The race was neutralized by the safety car, following the incident that eliminated Barth, Coronel and Engstler.
In race two Gabriele Tarquini put in a fantastic effort to claim his first victory of the season and stop Chevrolet winning streak after three consecutive successes.
Having inherited pole on the reverse grid as Barth was unable to make the field, Tarquini took a great start and managed to keep the Chevrolet trio behind. In the first half of the race the Italian did not offer Rob Huff any opportunity for overtaking and when the Briton tried to muscle his way past him, Tarquini proved he still has enough grit to defend the lead.
With Yvan Muller and Huff in troubles, Alain Menu and Tiago Monteiro went for the other podium spots, just ahead of Darryl O'Young who claimed his first victory in the Yokohama Trophy.
Polestar Racing's Robert Dahlgren finished in seventh and become the first driver to score WTCC points in a Volvo car.
More info and discussion about the FIA WTCC on our forums at RaceDepartment.com
FIA WTCC 2010 - Rounds 19 & 20 - Okayama, Japan
http://www.racedepartment.com - For the third consecutive year Japanese Gods sent the rain to soak the WTCC races at Okayama. In spite of this, local fans did not miss the last appearance of the World Championship before it moves to Suzuka from next year and a crowd of 31,000 attended over the weekend.
After a Saturday that was clearly in favour of BMW, the rainy Sunday smiled to Yvan Muller. In extremely difficult conditions the Chevrolet driver kept a cool head and collected two third places that are worth their weight in gold. Especially as his two rivals in the title fight. committed hara-kiri.
After a brilliant second place in the first race, Andy Priaulx spun off and retired in the early stages of Race 2. A few laps later Gabriele Tarquini lost control and crashed from the lead.
The Italian, reigning world champion, has been cut out of the fight, while Priaulx now has a 37-point gap with 50 still to be awarded.
In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet is only 14 points shy from securing the title.
Rob Huff and Augusto Farfus shared victories today. The Briton pushed beyond the limits in the first race to get past the BMW cars of Farfus and Priaulx, while the Brazilian managed to stay on the track in the final laps of the second race after forcing Tarquini to make the fatal mistake.
The championship will resume for the season finale (rounds 21 and 22) at Macau, on November 21 where the Rookie Challenge and the Independents' Trophy will also elect their champions.
2010 WTCC - Race 1 at Monza - Part 3 of 3 (FANTASTIC FINISH)
No Copyright Infringment is Intended
Pas d'infraction menées droit d'auteur vise
(Part 3 of 3)
FIA World Touring Car Championship
Round 05 from Autodromo Nazionale de Monza
Monza - Italy
May 23rd 2010
2010 WTCC - Race 1 at Monza - Part 1 of 3 (START)
No Copyright Infringment is Intended
Pas d'infraction menées droit d'auteur vise
(Part 1 of 3)
FIA World Touring Car Championship
Round 05 from Autodromo Nazionale de Monza
Monza - Italy
May 23rd 2010
Chevrolet WTCC - Meet The Mechanics
The RML Mechanics give us a few words on what it takes and what it means to be a Chevrolet-RML works team mechanic on the World Touring Car circuit.
2010 BMW Z4 GT3 (720p)
The BMW Z4 GT3, which was officially launched and completed its first test drives at the start of March, is already enjoying great popularity among BMW Motorsport customers. The first cars have been delivered to private BMW teams, who will prepare them for use in various national and international championships.
"The feedback on the BMW Z4 GT3 is extremely positive," says BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen. "This sports car rounds off our product range, and offers drivers and teams the opportunity to compete in championships in accordance with the GT3 regulations - such as the FIA GT3 European Championship, the International GT Open or the ADAC GT Masters - as well as at 24-hour endurance races." In addition, the BMW M3 GT2, the BMW 320si WTCC, which complies with Super2000 regulations, and the close-to-production BMW M3 GT4 are also available to customer teams from all over the world at BMW Motorsport Distribution.
The production model of the BMW Z4 is already impressive: with its elongated bonnet, flared wheel arches, long wheel base and narrow projections, the car boasts an unmistakable appearance. The two-seater provided BMW Motorsport engineers with a good basis for developing a close-to-production GT3 racing car.
The largest difference between production and racing car can be found under the bonnet: while the production version of the BMW Z4 is driven by a six-cylinder engine, the GT3 car is powered by a 4.0-litre eight-cylinder engine similar to the unit used in the BMW M3 GT2. This powerful heart produces over 480 bhp. Its excellent performance characteristics and good torque curve make the base engine from the production version of the BMW M3 predestined for use in motorsport.
