2008 World Touring Car Championship

[OSFlanker]

I wasn't aware the season starts so early but flicking through the channels I saw Eurosports covering live the 2008 WTCC first race weekend from Brazil.In the middle of last season Seat switched to the turbo diesel Seat Leon and they started winning races. Although the car is heavier and understeers because of the heavier diesel engine, the straight line speed is very good making the car very hard to overtake. So 2008 will see a very close battle bewteen Seat and BMW. Chevrolet is the only other manufacturer making the starting grid in Brazil as I don't see James Thompson in the Alfa Romeo and his ex-teammate Tielemans is now driving a privately entered BMW.

 

[OSFlanker]

SEAT Sport drivers Yvan Muller and Rickard Rydell held off the BMW Team Germany’s attack of Augusto Farfus and Jörg Müller, to win the first race in Curitiba.

This was a tough race for the leading two, who in the final laps had to sweat to defend their position as their tyres were wearing out. But it was even tougher for Chevrolet. On lap 3 Nicola Larini made contact with Robert Huff, who spun in the centre of the racetrack. Larini could not continue the race, but Huff continued and began to make up ground by overtaking Félix Porteiro, only to pit on lap 8 with rear suspension failure; a late result of the collision. Alain Menu had also pitted earlier following a shunt and did not resume the race.

Farfus had a poor start falling back to fifth, as he was one of cars to take to the grass at the first corner. However, he quickly made up ground passing Müller on lap 3, and then both of them passed Gabriele Tarquini on lap 8 moving up to fourth and fifth respectively. For the remainder of the race Farfus chased the leading cars, but on the final lap came under pressure from his team mate and had to defend third place until the finish.

Reigning world champion Andy Priaulx took fifth spot following late overtaking of Tarquini and Jordi Gené. Spaniard Porteiro made up the top eight finishers in the race, overtaking Tom Coronel to take pole position for the next race, with fellow countryman Gené alongside him.

Priaulx's late surge also resulted in the fastest lap completed on lap 10 at the time of 1:25.100.

In the Independents' class pole sitter Pierre-Yves Corthals was the eventual winner and he finished in tenth place overall. It was not an easy race for the Belgian as he had to fight hard with Sergio Hernández who overtook him at the beginning of lap 11. However on the final lap Corthals managed to retake the lead.




Top 10 finishers from race 1

2008 FIA World Touring Car Championship
Curitiba, Brazil
Circuit Length = 3.6950 km.
RACE 1 - RESULT (Car 3 excluded)

POS NO CL DRIVER NAT CAR TIME LAPS GAP KPH BEST
1 12 Yvan MULLER FRA SEAT Leon TDI 23:47.024 16 149.14 1:25.462
2 10 Rickard RYDELL SWE SEAT Leon TDI 23:47.787 16 0.763 149.06 1:25.405
3 2 Jorg MULLER GER BMW 320si 23:48.536 16 1.512 148.98 1:25.146
4 1 Andy PRIAULX GBR BMW 320si 23:53.771 16 6.747 148.44 1:25.100
5 11 Gabriele TARQUINI ITA SEAT Leon TDI 23:55.271 16 8.247 148.28 1:25.497
6 5 Felix PORTEIRO ESP BMW 320si 24:02.588 16 15.564 147.53 1:26.094
7 20 Tom CORONEL NED SEAT Leon 24:03.358 16 16.334 147.45 1:26.204
8 16 I Olivier TIELEMANS NED BMW 320si 24:09.895 16 22.871 146.79 1:26.426
9 26 I Stefano D'ASTE ITA BMW 320si 24:12.910 16 25.886 146.48 1:26.577
10 42 I Franz ENGSTLER GER BMW 320si 24:17.883 16 30.859 145.98 1:26.653

 

[OSFlanker]

On the day of his 46th birthday Gabriele Tarquini made himself an outstanding present by winning the second race in Brazil and also got his payback for helping out his team-mates (Muller and Rydell) in the first race.
He began from the second row, but as Tom Coronel and Félix Porteiro fell back, he surged through to the front. He held off a strong challenge from Porteiro, and then from the eventual second place position holder Andy Priaulx.
Tarquini took the lead at a start that saw Chevrolet's Robert Huff shunted off the track by another car on the first corner, the rear left suspension collapsed and he was unable to continue. With Nicola Larini and Alain Menu also finishing out of the points, it rounded off a bad weekend for Chevrolet.
Coronel did not have the pace to compete with the BMW and SEAT works cars and he fell back to an eventual ninth position. On the third lap he was overtaken by Jörg Müller, Yvan Muller and Rickard Rydell, then later by a charging Augusto Farfus.
Müller and Muller fought over fourth place, and the BMW Team Germany driver eventually came out on top, with the Frenchman behind him in fifth. Farfus battled past Rydell, and they finished sixth and seventh respectively, as Farfus could not find a way past Muller in the final laps. After his penalty from the earlier race Jordi Gené began the race in ninth, but moved ahead of Coronel to secure the final point.
On lap 9 Priaulx squeezed past Porteiro going into turn 1, and then chased after Tarquini. However, the Italian kept him at bay to take the chequered flag in his SEAT, ahead of three BMW drivers.
In the Independents' class Olivier Tielemans, who had won the first race due to a 30-second time penalty imposed to Corthals, triumphed again. He enjoyed a close battle with Alessandro Zanardi and eventually finished in fourteenth position overall.




Top 10 finsihers from race 2

2008 FIA World Touring Car Championship
Curitiba, Brazil
Circuit Length = 3.6950 km.
RACE 2

POS NO CL DRIVER NAT CAR TIME LAPS GAP KPH BEST
1 11 Gabriele TARQUINI ITA SEAT Leon TDI 20:06.577 14 154.34 1:25.256
2 1 Andy PRIAULX GBR BMW 320si 20:06.904 14 0.327 154.30 1:25.241
3 5 Felix PORTEIRO ESP BMW 320si 20:07.779 14 1.202 154.19 1:25.351
4 2 Jorg MULLER GER BMW 320si 20:08.322 14 1.745 154.12 1:25.033
5 12 Yvan MULLER FRA SEAT Leon TDI 20:11.622 14 5.045 153.70 1:25.470
6 3 Augusto FARFUS BRA BMW 320si 20:11.937 14 5.360 153.66 1:24.959
7 10 Rickard RYDELL SWE SEAT Leon TDI 20:12.883 14 6.306 153.54 1:25.331
8 9 Jordi GENE ESP SEAT Leon TDI 20:14.214 14 7.637 153.37 1:25.472
9 20 Tom CORONEL NED SEAT Leon 20:20.113 14 13.536 152.63 1:25.920
10 8 Alain MENU SUI Chevrolet Lacetti 20:23.839 14 17.262 152.16 1:25.689

 

[OSFlanker]

Seats dominated the 2nd race weekend in Puebla, Mexico. The track favoured FWD cars and only Any Priaulx managed to score a point for BMW over the 2 races, with Seats and Chevrolets dominated all the other 15 championship points scoring positions.

2008 FIA World Touring Car Championship
RACE 1 - Top 10 Results
Puebla, Mexico

1 9 Jordi GENE ESP SEAT Leon TDI
2 10 Rickard RYDELL SWE SEAT Leon TDI
3 6 Nicola LARINI ITA Chevrolet Lacetti
4 20 Tom CORONEL NED SEAT Leon
5 11 Gabriele TARQUINI ITA SEAT Leon TDI
6 12 Yvan MULLER FRA SEAT Leon TDI
7 18 Tiago MONTEIRO POR SEAT Leon TDI
8 8 Alain MENU SUI Chevrolet Lacetti
9 7 Robert HUFF GBR Chevrolet Lacetti 1:41.389
10 1 Andy PRIAULX GBR BMW 320si


2008 FIA World Touring Car Championship
RACE 2 - Top 10 Results
Puebla, Mexico

1 18 Tiago MONTEIRO POR SEAT Leon TDI
2 10 Rickard RYDELL SWE SEAT Leon TDI
3 11 Gabriele TARQUINI ITA SEAT Leon TDI
4 12 Yvan MULLER FRA SEAT Leon TDI
5 9 Jordi GENE ESP SEAT Leon TDI
6 20 Tom CORONEL NED SEAT Leon
7 8 Alain MENU SUI Chevrolet Lacetti
8 1 Andy PRIAULX GBR BMW 320si
9 7 Robert HUFF GBR Chevrolet Lacetti
10 3 Augusto FARFUS BRA BMW 320si

 

[astroboy]

BMW habis..

Manufacturers Champ. points as at today 7/4/08:
1 SEAT 69
2 BMW 40
3 Chevrolet 28
4 HONDA 0

Should ask the Seat to use Malaysian diesel..