1st race: Victory and one-two for Yvan Muller and Chevrolet

Yvan Muller took the first race win and the World Touring Car Championship lead at Valencia, heading a Chevrolet Cruze one-two ahead of Alain Menu, as Rob Huff’s title aspirations – quite literally – took a blow.

In a thrilling start, Gabriele Tarquini edged his SEAT Leon down the inside of poleman Muller, with Huff making it three-wide into Turn 1. Despite braking the latest, Muller could not hold off Tarquini’s advances, and the former champion sealed the deal over the reigning champion at Turn 2.

Muller now had to defend from Huff, who had wisely backed out of the three-wide moment as he was on the outside. At Turn 4, Huff was again on the outside of Muller, but as he attempted to file through behind him, he was punted from behind by Menu – who himself had been shoved by Tiago Monteiro (SEAT).

Huff slid wildly across the infield, dropping back to 11th. Menu (who caught his own slide superbly) was initially given a drive-through for the contact, until the stewards realised Monteiro’s involvement and ‘suspended’ the penalty.

Tarquini could only hold on for a couple of laps at the front, with Muller pulling off a perfect outbraking move at Turn 2. Tarquini dropped back into the clutches of Menu, who moved ahead of him when the SEAT slowed on lap 7. Tarquini’s technical problem looked intermittent, but it eventually sent him pitward three laps later.

Tom Coronel (ROAL BMW) sealed his place on the podium with a neat move on Monteiro, who would slip back to eighth by the finish. Engstler BMW’s Kristian Poulsen was next home in fourth, ahead of the recovering Huff, who pulled off a brilliant pass on Monteiro and Javier Villa (Proteam BMW) in one move at Turn 12.

Villa tracked Huff right to the finish, while also holding the Zengo Dension BMW of Norbert Michelisz at bay. Robert Dahlgren came through to finish ninth from 17th in the Volvo.

Results:

results: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/94243

picture: http://www.fiawtcc.com/Gallery_Details.asp?pagId=2&pagSize=20&id=276&y=2011&idEvent=0

2nd race: Yvan Muller leads Chevrolet 1-2-3; the American team secured the Constructors’s championship title

Chevrolet’s Yvan Muller took perhaps the most opportunistic victory of his illustrious tin-top career when he won the second race at Valencia in Spain on Sunday to extend his points lead in the World Touring Car Championship.

The win had looked destined to be claimed by a BMW driver, as although Franz Engstler stalled from pole position, Tom Coronel led a marque 1-2-3 from Javier Villa and Norbert Michelisz.

But with four laps to go, their party was crashed by Muller. Villa sparked the calamity, by nudging Coronel under braking for Turn 2 on lap nine. Villa nipped ahead of Coronel on the exit, but as they raced through the left-hand kink of Turn 3, Coronel’s car rode up Villa’s left-rear wheelarch and then hit him again, spinning him out.

As Michelisz dithered, Muller struck – diving down his inside to grab the most unlikely of leads, which he converted into victory. Michelisz wasn’t done yet, however, and as Muller ran out of grip from his tyres in the latter stages, he fought back onto his tail.

But it was Rob Huff (Chevy) who would grab second, diving down the inside of Michelisz at the final corner. As the Hungarian tried to switchback he spun, dropping to sixth.

Muller won by less than half a second from Huff, with Alain Menu making it a Chevrolet 1-2-3. Coronel finished fourth, but he was penalized after race, promoting Gabriele Tarquini (whose Sunred SEAT squad solved the electrical issue that forced him out of race one) to the fourth place and Kristian Poulsen (BMW) to the fifth place.

The result ensured Chevrolet the WTCC Manufacturers’ Championship title, and Muller now leads Huff by 16 points with three flyaway rounds remaining in the Far East.

Tom Coronel penalized

Tom Coronel has been docked two places in race two of the World Touring Car Championship at Valencia after his part in the clash that took out leader Javier Villa.

Stewards gave him a 10s penalty for causing a collision, and a suspended 10-place grid penalty for the next event at Suzuka in Japan. This moves him from fifth to seventh.

Coronel failed to see that he’d done anything wrong, claiming that “the young Spanish guy ran out of oxygen and didn’t give me any space.”

But Villa was adamant that Coronel was to blame: “He is crazy. I had the fastest car on the track, and I am sure he braked way too late to get around the corner without hitting me.”

Results:

text, results: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/94250

picture: http://www.fiawtcc.com/Gallery_Details.asp?pagId=2&pagSize=20&id=277&y=2011&idEvent=0

1st Race: Yvan Muller wins the race

Yvan Muller survived some late pressure to deny Rob Huff a home win in the first of today’s World Touring Car Championship races at Donington Park.

Muller started from pole and had enjoyed a relatively untroubled run for most of the race, but Huff was able to capitalise on some late traffic to close within range with a lap remaining.

What had been a one-second gap briefly shrunk to almost nothing, but Muller was able to pull away again as the pair drove around the circuit for the final time. An error by Huff at the Esses put the result beyond doubt, and Muller went on to beat the Briton by 1.136s. Alain Menu was 2.7s further behind Huff in third to complete another Chevrolet 1-2-3.

While the race was relatively uneventful up at the front, there was plenty going on in the midfield. Robert Dahlgren drove from the back of the field to eighth in his Volvo, despite almost behind launched off the rear of Kristian Poulsen’s BMW along the way.

It was also a busy race for Colin Turkington, who recovered from an early trip along the grass to become immersed in a multi-car battle for the minor points places. Another trip across the gravel while scrapping with Michel Nykjaer for seventh cost the Briton some more time, but he still managed to finish 10th for Wiechers BMW.

Results:

in: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/93140

2nd Race: Second victory for Yvan Muller

Yvan Muller completed a clean sweep of pole position and two wins in the Wold Touring Car Championship at Donington Park. Muller has been given a three-place grid penalty as punishment, although this is suspended for two races.

Muller started 10th and took advantage of the standard reversed-grid race chaos to make quick progress through the field.

He claimed the lead from Gabriele Tarquini on lap five, but had gained a place along the way by tagging his Chevrolet team-mate Robb Huff into a half-spin at Goddard’s. Huff survived and went on to finish second, but the clash is under investigation.

Independent BMW driver Franz Engstler took his maiden WTCC podium finish in third; his result being earned partly through a great drive and partly through avoiding the chaos around him.

Much of the drama tended to happen within the vicinity of Tarquini, who was involved in the accident that accounted for his SUNRED SEAT stablemates Michel Nykjaer and Tiago Monteiro early on, and then a later incident between Alain Menu’s Chevrolet and Javier Villa’s Proteam BMW. That clash, which left Villa with a puncture, is also being investigated.

Polesitter Tom Coronel (ROAL BMW) ended up fourth ahead of Menu, who spent the latter part of the race having to defend himself against the Polestar Volvo of Robert Dahlgren.

Former British Touring Car champion Colin Turkington finished 10th; the Wiechers-Sport BMW driver’s progress having been interrupted by a spin at the Melbourne Hairpin on the second lap.

Results:

race report, picture, results: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/93145

Yvan Muller penalty: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/93153

I saw Lacetti in action only twice: at an ETCC weekend in late 2006 and then at the last race of the 2007 PTCC (Portuguese Touring Car Championship) season in Estoril. I had no camera available in 2006; however, in 2007 I was better equipped and my good old Fuji took some shots of the car.

Check out Lacetti photo gallery below.

The Briton’s 1m38.458s lap proved beyond the reach of his rivals, with team-mate Alain Menu best of the rest courtesy of a late flying lap that left him just 0.14s short.

It could easily have been a Chevrolet 1-2-3 when reigning champion Yvan Muller set out on his final run with a clear track ahead, but his hopes were dashed when he ran wide at the exit of Turn 4.

SUNRED SEAT driver Gabriele Tarquini, who was right behind Muller, attempted to capitalise by passing the Cruze and stringing together three strong sectors, but his brief claim to second was ended by Menu a few moments later.

Tiago Monteiro, who headed the opening qualifying session, will start from fifth in the SUNRED SEAT alongside the Englster BMW of Kristian Poulsen, with Norbert Michelisz, Franz Engstler, Fredy Barth and Mehdi Bennani rounding out the top 10.

High-profile absentees from Q2 included Tom Coronel, who finished 11th, and this morning’s stand-out Michel Nykjaer, whose afternoon came to an early end when he clipped a barrier at the chicane in the opening minutes of Q1 and was unable to continue.

Fredy Barth will be on pole position for the second race.

Here are the results of this qualifying session and the starting grid:

Here are the starting grid for race two:

text and results: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/90927

picture: http://www.fiawtcc.com/gallery_details.asp?id=246&idEvent=02

Rob Huff converted his first pole of 2010 into his first win of the year in Sunday’s opening World Touring Car race at Brno.

The Chevrolet driver also did himself a huge favour in the title race by taking maximum points while his team-mate, championship leader Yvan Muller, failed to score.

Huff got his nose ahead of the SEAT of Gabriele Tarquini through the rolling start and kept to the inside line at Turn 1 to defend his lead. Tarquini never really got a run at the Chevrolet, and a first lap accident wiped out several of their rivals.

The SEATs of Jordi Gene and Tom Coronel were eliminated, while Andy Priaulx, Kristian Poulsen and Fredy Barth all continued with damaged cars.

At the restart of the resulting safety car period, Colin Turkington and Norbert Michelisz touched on the way into Turn 1 – with Turkington running straight on and collecting the innocent Muller.

Turkington was able to carry on in fourth, though with front left bodywork damage, Muller had to pit for lengthy repairs and Michelisz was out on the spot.

That gave the front four a free run, with Alain Menu and Augusto Farfus following Huff and Tarquini home.

Turkington struggled initially to stay ahead of the train of cars behind, but was able to break away from the SEATs of Michel Nykjaer and Tiago Monteiro when Priaulx began his recovery.

Priaulx’s pass on Monteiro then harassment and eventual pass of Nykjaer allowed Turkington to escape, before the Northern Irishman slowed to give Priaulx fifth on the last lap.

Here are the results of this race:

Pos Driver                  Car                Time/Gap
 1. Rob Huff                Chevrolet        28m46.901s
 2. Gabriele Tarquini       SEAT                 +0.796
 3. Alain Menu              Chevrolet            +2.036
 4. Augusto Farfus          BMW                  +2.345
 5. Andy Priaulx            BMW                 +12.874
 6. Colin Turkington        BMW                 +13.202
 7. Michel Nykjaer          SEAT                +14.256
 8. Darryl O'Young          Chevrolet           +15.467
 9. Kristian Poulsen        BMW                 +15.680
10. Tiago Monteiro          SEAT                +16.524
11. Stefano D'Aste          BMW                 +18.780
12. Sergio Hernandez        BMW                 +20.905
13. Fredy Barth             SEAT                +21.363
14. Franz Engstler          BMW                 +22.484
15. Mehdi Bennani           BMW                 +24.250
16. Harry Vaulkhard         Chevrolet           +26.554
17. Andrey Romanov          BMW                 +39.022
18. Fabio Fabiani           BMW                1:24.872
19. Yvan Muller             Chevrolet           +6 laps
DNF.Norbert Michelisz       SEAT                 3 laps
DNF.Tom Coronel             SEAT                 0 laps
DNF.Jordi Gene              SEAT                 0 laps
Fastest lap: Farfus, 2:12.167s

in: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/85778

2nd Race: Andy Priaulx wins at Brno

Andy Priaulx has scored his fifth victory of the World Touring Car season at Brno today.

The three-time world champion made a great start from fourth on the grid to jump reverse grid front row starters Michel Nykjaer and Darryl O’Young off the line.

Colin Turkington made an equally good start to lead from third spot, but Priaulx slipped by on the second lap and led comfortably from there on.

Turkington held on for second in the face of early pressure from Gabriele Tarquini’s SEAT and the Chevrolets of Alain Menu and Rob Huff.

Tarquini ran wide on the fourth lap and fell behind Menu, who was less able to threaten Turkington.

The Italian retired three laps from the end with a mechanical failure, believed to be an injector.

Huff and Augusto Farfus were promoted to fourth and fifth, and enjoyed a great scrap in the closing laps as they passed and repassed each other.

Tiago Monteiro completed the top six, and – now that Turkington is no longer an independent – O’Young headed the class in seventh.

Yvan Muller’s poor weekend continued. After failing to score in the first race when his car was damaged in someone else’s accident, he could only make his way up as far as 12th this afternoon – concluding a points blank in the Czech Republic that closes the title battle right up.

Here are the results of this race:

Pos Driver                 Car               Time/Gap
 1. Andy Priaulx           BMW             22m22.054s
 2. Colin Turkington       BMW                 +2.254
 3. Alain Menu             Chevrolet           +3.353
 4. Rob Huff               Chevrolet           +5.347
 5. Augusto Farfus         BMW                 +5.724
 6. Tiago Monteiro         SEAT                +7.501
 7. Darryl O'Young         Chevrolet          +10.212
 8. Fredy Barth            SEAT               +11.698
 9. Stefano D'Aste         BMW                +12.581
10. Tom Coronel            SEAT               +16.584
11. Sergio Hernandez       BMW                +19.233
12. Yvan Muller            Chevrolet          +20.016
13. Jordi Gene             SEAT               +20.555
14. Norbert Michelisz      SEAT               +20.837
15. Mehdi Bennani          BMW                +22.069
16. Harry Vaulkhard        Chevrolet          +23.840
17. Andrey Romanov         BMW                +52.309
DNF.Gabriele Tarquini      SEAT                8 laps
DNF.Kristian Poulsen       BMW                 8 laps
DNF.Fabio Fabiani          BMW                 8 laps
DNF.Franz Engstler         BMW                 4 laps
DNF.Michel Nykjaer         SEAT                0 laps
Fastest lap: Tarquini, 2m12.737s

in: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/85781

The Chevrolet driver hooked up his lone effort in Q2 to set a time three tenths of a second quicker than anyone else.

He will be looking to convert that pole into a first victory of the year tomorrow with team-mate and championship leader Yvan Muller starting just eighth.

Gabriele Tarquini will join Huff on the front row after lapping just 0.007s quicker than Colin Turkington’s BMW, with Augusto Farfus just another half a tenth back in fourth.

Alain Menu will share the third row with Norbert Michelisz, with the SEATs of Tom Coronel and Jordi Gene sandwiching Muller, and Michel Nyjaer completing the top 10.

Andy Priaulx and Tiago Monteiro were knocked out in Q1, as neither set a quick enough time either side of a mid-session red flag caused by Fabio Fabiani’s spin into the gravel.

Here are the results of this session, so the starting grid for tomorrow race:

Pos Driver                 Car              Q1             Q2
 1. Rob Huff               Chevrolet        2m10.611s      2m10.860s
 2. Gabriele Tarquini      SEAT             2m10.666s      2m11.198s
 3. Colin Turkington       BMW              2m11.179s      2m11.205s
 4. Augusto Farfus         BMW              2m11.111s      2m11.260s
 5. Alain Menu             Chevrolet        2m10.678s      2m11.360s
 6. Norbert Michelisz      SEAT             2m11.601s      2m11.436s
 7. Tom Coronel            SEAT             2m11.498s      2m11.528s
 8. Yvan Muller            Chevrolet        2m10.885s      2m11.542s
 9. Jordi Gene             SEAT             2m11.009s      2m11.745s
10. Michel Nykjaer         SEAT             2m11.750s      2m11.826s
11. Andy Priaulx           BMW              2m11.761s
12. Kristian Poulsen       BMW              2m11.798s
13. Sergio Hernandez       BMW              2m11.833s
14. Tiago Monteiro         SEAT             2m11.994s
15. Darryl O'Young         Chevrolet        2m12.093s
16. Fredy Barth            SEAT             2m12.180s
17. Mehdi Bennani          BMW              2m12.496s
18. Stefano D'Aste         BMW              2m12.617s
19. Franz Engstler         BMW              2m12.658s
20. Harry Vaulkhard        Chevrolet        2m13.007s
21. Andrey Romanov         BMW              2m13.989s
22. Fabio Fabiani          BMW              2m19.110s

in: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/85731

The former world champion had pole, but had a safe getaway with the race beginning behind the safety car for the first two laps due to a deluge of rain in the half hour before the start.

Muller fought off a brief challenge from Jordi Gene’s SEAT before controlling the rest of the race as the circuit dried. His team-mate Rob Huff closed in at around two thirds distance, but Muller able to stave off the attack to hold on to win.

Huff’s hopes of victory slipped away when he had a half look at Muller on lap eight and lost momentum, and then slid wide over a kerb and fell over a second behind. He closed back up to Muller for the finish but ran out of laps to attempt a move for the lead.

Alain Menu completed the podium with a quiet run to third behind his team-mates. Gabriele Tarquini was an equally lonely fourth after breaking away from the two BMWs in the early stages.

Andy Priaulx seemed to struggle with his BMW in the wet conditions and backed team-mate Augusto Farfus into the SEAT of Tom Coronel. The Dutchman blasted by Farfus on the next straight, only to lose the place back to Farfus – and another to team-mate Gene – three laps later.

Farfus closed back up to Priaulx by the end, with Gene seventh. The Spaniard’s front row qualifying performance came to nothing after he overshot corners three times in the opening laps as he struggled to slow his Leon in the wet. Coronel followed Gene home to claim pole position for race two.

Fredy Barth finished as the top rookie in ninth, passing Norbert Michelisz as he rejoined after being squeezed off the road by the Hungarian at Turn 1. The pair were followed home by the SEATs of Tiago Monteiro and Michel Nykjaer, with all four of the Leons overshooting corners at various stages of the race.

Sergio Hernandez finished as the top independent runner in 13th, in spite of a 10-place grid penalty for changing the engine in his BMW after the morning warm-up. He started last but moved into the lead of the class after contact between his team-mate Stefano D’Aste and the Bamboo Engineering Chevrolet Lacetti of Darryl O’Young.

Here are the standings of the race:

Pos Driver                Car                Time/Gap
 1. Yvan Muller           Chevrolet        26m57.181s
 2. Rob Huff              Chevrolet            +1.053
 3. Alain Menu            Chevrolet            +5.582
 4. Gabriele Tarquini     SEAT                 +7.136
 5. Andy Priaulx          BMW                 +11.625
 6. Augusto Farfus        BMW                 +12.098
 7. Jordi Gene            SEAT                +14.379
 8. Tom Coronel           SEAT                +14.647
 9. Fredy Barth           SEAT                +18.773
10. Norbert Michelisz     SEAT                +20.359
11. Tiago Monteiro        SEAT                +21.691
12. Michel Nykjaer        SEAT                +22.645
13. Sergio Hernandez      BMW                 +34.973
14. Franz Engstler        BMW                 +38.092
15. Darryl O'Young        Chevrolet           +44.692
16. Harry Vaulkhard       Chevrolet           +50.005
17. Stefano D'Aste        BMW                 +50.742
18. Mehdi Bennani         BMW                1:20.825
DNF.Andrey Romanov        BMW                  5 laps

Fastest lap: Robert Huff - 1m33.904s

in: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/81913

2nd Race: Gabriele Tarquini wins
Reigning world champion Gabriele Tarquini won today’s second World Touring Car race at Curitiba, leading team-mate Jordi Gene home for a comfortable SEAT 1-2.

Gene leapt ahead of pole-sitter Tom Coronel off the line, with the Dutchman then spinning out of the race at the second corner following contact with Rob Huff.

Andy Priaulx’s race was also short-lived as he had to limp back to the pits with damage to the front right of his BMW after clashing with Tarquini at Turn 1.

That meant that despite starting fifth, Tarquini only had to jump Augusto Farfus to slot in behind his team-mate. He duly did so, and then slipped inside Gene at Turn 1 on the third lap to take the lead – with Gene offering zero resistence.

The two SEATs pulled well clear, leaving the Chevrolets of Huff, Alain Menu and Yvan Muller, and the BMW of Farfus to contest the final podium place.

Huff ran wide and lost out to both of his team-mates, and then spent the rest of the race defending from Farfus as Menu and Muller pulled clear. Menu kept Muller at arm’s length throughout to take his second podium of the day.

Huff held Farfus at bay to hold onto fifth, with Tiago Monteiro, Michel Nykjaer, Norbert Michelisz and Sergio Hernandez rounding out the top 10. Nykjaer took the prize for top rookie and Hernandez was top independent.

The race’s only retirements were Priaulx, who never reappeared from his garage after the first lap, and Coronel who eventually surrendered after rejoining the race a couple of times.

Here are the standings of this race:

Pos Driver                 Car                   Time/Gap
 1. Gabriele Tarquini      SEAT                20m13.311s
 2. Jordi Gene             SEAT                    +1.276
 3. Alain Menu             Chevrolet               +5.407
 4. Yvan Muller            Chevrolet               +5.985
 5. Rob Huff               Chevrolet               +8.295
 6. Augusto Farfus         BMW                     +8.596
 7. Tiago Monteiro         SEAT                   +10.419
 8. Michel Nykjaer         SEAT                   +11.808
 9. Norbert Michelisz      SEAT                   +17.576
10. Sergio Hernandez       BMW                    +24.244
11. Franz Engstler         BMW                    +24.643
12. Mehdi Bennani          BMW                    +30.072
13. Harry Vaulkhard        Chevrolet              +30.923
14. Fredy Barth            SEAT                   +39.780
15. Stefano D'Aste         BMW                    +40.328
16. Darryl O'Young         Chevrolet              +40.481
DNF.Tom Coronel            SEAT                     1 lap 
DNF.Andy Priaulx           BMW                     0 laps 
DNS.Andrei Romanov         BMW                        DNS

Fastest lap: Gabriele Tarquini - 1m25.803s

in: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/81915

The former world champion was leading after the first round of quick laps in Q2, but the result came down to the last run of the session with nine of the 10 cars on track at once. Muller had to improve with his effort to fight off Jordi Gene who briefly went quickest.

“I am pleased, it’s always good to start the season with a pole position and it’s always good to start new relationship with a new team with pole, so of course I am really pleased,” Muller said.

“I am also pleased for the team because we can see the work we did through winter with first, third and fourth on grid – it means we have worked well. I am still a little bit driving in style of the diesel, so I can progress a little bit more on that still.”

Chevrolet team-mates Alain Menu and Rob Huff were second and third heading onto that final lap and neither improved, but they retained third and fourth places.

Reigning world champion Gabriele Tarquini improved with his final effort to jump the BMWs of Andy Priaulx and Augusto Farfus for fifth. Michel Nykjaer will start eighth, with Tom Coronel ninth ahead of Norbert Michelisz who lost his opportunity to improve when he flew off the road in his SEAT on the last lap.

Tiago Monteiro was the high-profile casualty of Q1, shoved out of the top 10 by team-mate Coronel with five seconds remaining on the clock.

Stefano D’Aste was fastest of the independents in 13th place, ahead of Darryl O’Young’s Chevrolet Lacetti.

Chevrolet had swept the board at the end of Q1 with Huff knocking two tenths off his time to hold onto the top spot, while team-mate Menu and Muller broke into the 1m23s to take second and third.

Here are the results of Qualifying Session, so the starting grid for Curitiba 1st race:

Pos Driver              Car          Q1          Q2            Gap
 1. Yvan Muller         Chevrolet    1m23.923s   1m23.725s
 2. Jordi Gene          SEAT         1m24.157s   1m23.757s  +0.032
 3. Alain Menu          Chevrolet    1m23.730s   1m23.829s  +0.104
 4. Rob Huff            Chevrolet    1m23.630s   1m23.833s  +0.108
 5. Gabriele Tarquini   SEAT         1m24.125s   1m23.834s  +0.109
 6. Andy Priaulx        BMW          1m24.034s   1m23.955s  +0.230
 7. Augusto Farfus      BMW          1m24.006s   1m23.981s  +0.256
 8. Michel Nykjaer      SEAT         1m24.516s   1m24.161s  +0.436
 9. Tom Coronel         SEAT         1m24.558s   1m24.325s  +0.600
10. Norbert Michelisz   SEAT         1m24.019s   1m24.926s  +1.201
11. Tiago Monteiro      SEAT         1m24.562s
12. Fredy Barth         SEAT         1m24.983s
13. Stefano D'Aste      BMW          1m25.153s
14. Darryl O'Young      Chevrolet    1m25.328s
15. Mehdi Bennani       BMW          1m25.486s
16. Franz Engstler      BMW          1m25.547s
17. Sergio Hernandez    BMW          1m25.826s
18. Harry Vaulkhard     Chevrolet    1m25.841s
19. Andrei Romanov      BMW          1m27.567s

in: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/81902

The 40-year-old Frenchman won the 2008 title for SEAT and finished runner-up to team-mate Gabriele Tarquini this season, but will join the RML Chevrolet team for 2010 alongside Rob Huff and Alain Menu.

“I am delighted to join Chevrolet for next season,” said Muller. “After four successful and exciting years with SEAT I was looking for a new challenge, and Chevrolet was my first choice.

“I have known RML since my years in the BTCC and I have witnessed the impressive growth of Chevrolet in the WTCC. I am confident in the potential of the Cruze and I am sure that together with Alain, Rob and the entire Chevrolet team, we can achieve great things.”

Muller won the 2003 British Touring Car title before leaving the series to join SEAT in the WTCC in 2006.

RML boss Ray Mallock added: “Yvan has been a respected competitor of RML since the mid-90s and stands as one of the touring car greats. Our signing of him confirms our commitment to winning this championship.”

in: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/80295

Rob Huff took a commanding victory for Chevrolet in the first World Touring Car race in Macau on Sunday – as runner-up finisher Gabriele Tarquini moved a step closer to capturing the drivers’ title.

Huff led away cleanly at the rolling start as fellow front-row starter Andy Priaulx hit trouble – falling back into the pack and then clouting the wall at the exit of the first kink as he tried to fight off his rivals.

Priaulx’s problems allowed Tiago Monteiro to move up to second spot, with Tarquini charging through the order from seventh to third by the time the cars braked into Lisboa Bend.

Huff opened up a cushion over Monteiro until lap eight, when the Portuguese SEAT driver slowed down – handing second place to Tarquini.

Third place eventually went to Jordi Gene, who finished ahead of Alain Menu and Yvan Muller – now the only man capable of stopping Tarquini taking the world title, six points behind.

Monteiro dropped to sixth to give an extra place to fellow ORECA SEAT driver Muller, while the BMWs of Jorg Muller and Augusto Farfus also slowed on the final lap – giving two further places to Muller – to secure the front row of the grid for the day’s second race.

Priaulx’s accident on the first lap resulted in major damage to the right front of his car, but he was able to return to the pits for repairs – rejoining the action just before the chequered flag.

Here are the standings of this race:

Pos Driver                     Car             Time/Gap
 1. Robert Huff                Chevrolet       23m02.627s
 2. Gabriele Tarquini          SEAT                7.952s
 3. Jordi Gene                 SEAT                8.996s
 4. Alain Menu                 Chevrolet          10.328s
 5. Yvan Muller                SEAT               13.534s
 6. Tiago Monteiro             SEAT               15.517s
 7. Jorg Muller                BMW                15.782s
 8. Augusto Farfus             BMW                15.967s
 9. Alex Zanardi               BMW                16.301s
10. Sergio Hernandez           BMW                16.527s
11. Rickard Rydell             SEAT               16.618s
12. Nicola Larini              Chevrolet          18.476s
13. Tom Coronel                SEAT               21.356s
14. Felix Porteiro             BMW                21.961s
15. Tom Boardman               SEAT               29.923s
16. Franz Engstler             BMW                30.468s
17. Kristian Poulsen           BMW                44.647s
18. Norbertu Taniguchi         BMW                46.571s
19. Takayuki Aoki              BMW                56.298s
20. Henry Ho                   BMW              1m23.908s
21. Kit Meng Lei               BMW              2m02.061s
22. Jo Merszei                 BMW              2m02.321s
23. Jaap van Lagen             Lada               +2 laps
24. Liu Lic Ka                 BMW                +2 laps
25. Andre Couto                SEAT               +2 laps
DNF.Andy Priaulx               BMW                 2 laps completed

text at: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/80289

picture at: http://autosport.aeiou.pt/gen.pl?p=stories&op=view&fokey=as.stories/79166

2nd Race: Augusto Farfus wins, and Gabriele Tarquini is the champion
Augusto Farfus won an incident-filled final round of the World Touring Car Championship in Macau on Sunday, but all eyes were on Gabriele Tarquini who clinched the drivers’ title.

Farfus led away cleanly from pole position and held an advantage throughout the early stages of the race from BMW team-mate Jorg Muller, who himself was fighting off the close attention of SEAT duo Yvan Muller and Tiago Monteiro. Behind them, Tarquini had moved up fifth on lap seven when Jordi Gene slowed.

The battle at the front was interrupted by a safety car on lap three, when Tom Boardman crashed in the Solitude Esses, and then the race was red-flagged at the end of lap eight when there was a spectacular crash at the R Bend final corner.

Felix Porteiro ran wide and hit the barriers, before his car was swiped by Franz Engstler’s BMW. Engstler’s car was then left stationary in the middle of the track where it was collected heavily by local driver Andre Couto.

With debris all over the track there was no option but to halt the race and, after a brief delay, it was decided that the event would not be restarted.

It meant that Tarquini’s fifth placed finish was enough for him to take the WTCC crown, with his SEAT team doing enough to take the manufacturers’ title.

Tarquini had been suffering an engine misfire in the second race so was nervous about his chances of taking the title if there had been a restart – so was relieved that his accidents earlier in the weekend and the late drama had not hit his title chances.

“It is fantastic,” said Tarquini. “I had some crashes in practice and qualifying, which isn’t the best way to approach the weekend in Macau, but the team did a fantastic job to rebuild the car.”

Here are the results of this race:

Pos Driver                     Car             Time/Gap
 1. Augusto Farfus             BMW             22m20.166s
 2. Jorg Muller                BMW                 0.801s
 3. Yvan Muller                SEAT                1.201s
 4. Tiago Monteiro             SEAT                1.980s
 5. Gabriele Tarquini          SEAT                3.815s
 6. Jordi Gene                 SEAT                5.018s
 7. Nicola Larini              Chevrolet           5.359s
 8. Robert Huff                Chevrolet           5.895s
 9. Alex Zanardi               BMW                 6.167s
10. Rickard Rydell             SEAT                6.712s
11. Sergio Hernandez           BMW                 7.764s
12. Felix Porteiro             BMW                 8.290s
13. Andy Priaulx               BMW                 8.583s
14. Franz Engstler             BMW                 9.390s
15. Norbertu Taniguchi         BMW                10.635s
16. Takayuki Aoki              BMW                12.819s
17. Andre Couto                SEAT               13.531s
18. Kit Meng Lei               BMW                24.275s
19. Henry Ho                   BMW                27.175s
20. Jo Merszei                 BMW                27.530s
21. Alain Menu                 Chevrolet           2 laps
DNF.Tom Coronel                SEAT                4 laps completed
DNF.Tom Boardman               SEAT                2 laps completed
DNF.Kristian Poulsen           BMW                 2 laps completed

in: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/80291