| Users Online |
 Guests Online: 1
No Members Online
Registered Members: 15
Newest Member: PetRacing
|
|
 |
Welcome |
|
|
Welcome to WTCC-Online.com
|
|
Maiden win for Monteiro in WTCC |
|
 Former Formula One driver Tiago Monteiro led a SEAT whitewash in the second race of Mexico's round of the World Touring Car Championship at Puebla to earn his first victory.
The Portuguese started from second on the grid after finishing seventh in the first race of the day, leaving the Chevrolet Lacetti of pole-sitter Alain Menu for dead. While Menu held off the rest of the SEAT diesels, Monteiro pulled out an advantage he would never lose.
"It was obviously my goal and one of the reasons to come to WTCC to be in a competitive car, but of course until you win your first one you never know," said Monteiro.
"Today was the day. But it was a whole team job - we've done a great job since the beginning of the season."
First Gabriele Tarquini and then Rickard Rydell found their way past Menu, but it was the Swede who took runner-up spot, and the lead in the championship, when Tarquini put a wheel off the track with two laps to go.
"I was settling for third place and was pleased to finish on the podium twice," said Rydell. "I felt that I was a bit quicker than Gabriele but I couldn't get past. He made a bit of a mistake and I got through.
"The key was my start, got past both Larini and Coronel, then I was really lucky with things. If we were here with six or seven petrol cars I think we could have finished in the same positions."
Yvan Muller claimed fourth ahead of teammate Jordi Gene, while SUNRED Engineering's Tom Coronel made it a remarkable day for the marque with sixth place in his petrol-powered SEAT Leon TFSI.
Menu survived a big off-track moment while running third on lap 11 to take seventh ahead of Andy Priaulx, the only BMW driver to score points during the weekend.
Pos Driver Make Time
1. Tiago Monteiro SEAT 27:40.930
2. Rickard Rydell SEAT + 4.425
3. G.Tarquini SEAT + 5.275
4. Yvan Muller SEAT + 6.013
5. Jordi Gene SEAT + 8.914
6. Tom Coronel SEAT + 11.218
7. Alain Menu Chevrolet + 13.597
8. Andy Priaulx BMW + 14.246
9. Robert Huff Chevrolet + 14.556
10. Augusto Farfus BMW + 15.029
11. A.Zanardi BMW + 19.129
12. Jorg Muller BMW + 20.726
13. P-Y.Corthals SEAT + 27.261
14. Stefano D'Aste BMW + 32.740
15. Sergio Hernandez BMW + 33.862
16. Franz Engstler BMW + 54.137
17. O.Tielemans BMW +1:04.142
18. Andrey Romanov BMW +1:08.489
19. Ibrahim Okyay BMW + 1 Lap
20. Felix Porteiro BMW + 3 Laps
21. Nicola Larini Chevrolet Retirement
Fastest lap: Yvan Muller, 1:42.418 on lap 14
|
|
|
Lights to Flag Victory for Gene in Race 1 at Puebla |
|
 Spaniard Jordi Gene claimed the fourth victory of his World Touring Car Championship career with a lights-to-flag win at the twisty Puebla circuit in Mexico.
The SEAT Leon TDI driver held off the challenge of Chevrolet's Nicola Larini into the first corner off the rolling start, and quickly made a break at the front.
However, in the closing stages he came under severe pressure from teammate Rickard Rydell, who had leaped from fourth on the grid to second on the opening lap after Larini had a brief excursion.
"When I saw Nicola went off I thought 'now it's my turn' and I pushed to the maximum," said Gene. "I saw I could keep the gap and in the final laps I thought I would take it easy because I was worried I would get a cut tyre.
"The problem is I went to the dirty side of the track and went off! I just tried to take it to easy and got sideways!"
Despite being right on his teammate's tail for the final lap, Rydell did not make a serious challenge for the lead.
"Only if he had a similar mistake," said Rydell of the possibility of making a move. "He is my teammate so I wouldn't try anything stupid - I was quite happy to finish second as well."
Larini comfortably held off the SUNRED Engineering SEAT Leon TFSI of the inspired Tom Coronel to take his third points of the season in third. Despite his brief off on the first lap, the ex-Ferrari Formula One driver believed with the pace of the SEATS third was the best he could achieve.
"It was going well on the first lap until I went off," said Larini. "I was turning the same as normal but the car went straight. Fortunately I could avoid going into the tyres and get back onto the track.
"I think today I did the best I could achieve because to compete with SEAT at this track at this altitude is quite impossible."
Championship co-leader Gabriele Tarquini took fifth place ahead of teammates Yvan Muller and Tiago Monteiro, but it was Chevy's Alain Menu who took the all-important eighth place and pole position for race two after losing two places with a huge slide with two laps to go.
BMW endured a pointless race, with triple world champion Andy Priaulx the best of the marque's five works cars in tenth place.
The RBM driver was unable to make much progress from 12th on the grid, although had the consolation of getting ahead of Schnitzer Motorsport's Augusto Farfus late on to be best of the BMWs.
Second Schnitzer driver Jorg Muller finished 14th after a spin through the first complex on the opening lap.
Pos Driver Make Time
1. Jordi Gene SEAT 27:12.258
2. Rickard Rydell SEAT + 0.415
3. Nicola Larini Chevrolet + 3.285
4. Tom Coronel SEAT + 5.674
5. G.Tarquini SEAT + 8.963
6. Yvan Muller SEAT + 10.129
7. Tiago Monteiro SEAT + 10.342
8. Alain Menu Chevrolet + 13.603
9. Robert Huff Chevrolet + 13.978
10. Andy Priaulx BMW + 16.158
11. Augusto Farfus BMW + 17.161
12. P-Y.Corthals SEAT + 22.817
13. Stefano D'Aste BMW + 23.217
14. Jorg Muller BMW + 23.518
15. A.Zanardi BMW + 26.088
16. Felix Porteiro BMW + 31.449
17. Sergio Hernandez BMW + 34.364
18. Franz Engstler BMW + 38.557
19. O.Tielemans BMW + 49.537
20. Andrey Romanov BMW +1:08.948
21. Ibrahim Okyay BMW +1:46.664
Fastest lap: Monteiro, 1:41.067 on lap 6
|
|
|
Coronel suprised with 3rd on grid |
|
Dutchman Tom Coronel has admitted his surprise after qualifying his non-factory SUNRED Engineering SEAT Leon TFSI a stunning third for the second round of the World Touring Car Championship at Puebla.
Coronel outqualified four of the five works SEATs, with only pole position starter Jordi Gene ahead of him, and has said he will go all out for an against-the-odds maiden WTCC triumph.
"I was really surprised," Coronel told autosport.com. "But I think we're really on top of this circuit. Sometimes you have a feeling that you are unbeatable, just one or two times a year, when you know you could put Michael Schumacher in the car and the speed would be the same!
"That's how it felt in qualifying. I didn't make a lot of mistakes and everything came together. I thought a top eight would be possible, but this? No.
"I will just go for the win in the race. My car feels fast and consistent and I'm not and independent so I have to fight for every championship point!"
"The track is very low grip - offline it feels like driving on ice. Street circuits, low grip and rain - these are my opportunities to score big points because at normal circuits I have no chance, we don't have the power for that."
Although Coronel believes it will be difficult for him to get into the lead on outright pace because of the straightline speed disadvantage, he is confident it will be possible to pressure the pace-setting SEAT diesels and Chevrolets into mistakes.
"The good thing is people can make mistakes," he said. "And if you make a mistake hear you get a big punishment. This is one of my hopes - that the people in front of me make mistakes.
"You can push people, and although it's difficult to overtake because they are faster on the straights you can push them into mistakes. That's when you can pass them!"
|
|
|
Gene takes pole at Puebla |
|
Spaniard Jordi Gene has claimed pole position for the third round of the World Touring Car Championship at Puebla.
The SEAT Leon TDI driver put in a lap of 1:40.808 in the closing stages of the session after a brief red flag stoppage, caused when teammate Tiago Monteiro suffered a suspect blown turbo with nine minutes remaining.
Gene, carrying just 1kg of success ballast, was the only driver to dip below the 1:41 second mark, with Chevrolet's Nicola Larini taking a superb second on the grid 0.173 seconds off Gene.
"It was a very good session," said Gene. "The track has changed a bit since this morning - we had a very good car with no temperature or rubber in the track, but then we had to make changes."
Despite earning a place on the front row, Larini was disappointed not to have done better.
"Yes I'm disappointed," he said. "When you are on pole and miss it at the last minute it's not nice. I think I could have done it.
"But honestly I am quite surprised there are not five SEAT diesels in the front of me. It's a big surprise. I'm confident for the race, but it's not going to be easy because this is a circuit where it is very difficult to stay on the line. You have to be a rally driver sometimes!"
With everyone expecting the SEAT turbodiesels to be dominant at the high altitude circuit, SUNRED driver Tom Coronel took advantage of the low-grip track conditions to claim a stunning third on the grid ahead of Chevrolet pairing Rob Huff and Alain Menu.
It was a difficult session for BMW as the marque struggled at a circuit where it has traditionally been relatively uncompetitive.
Schnitzer Motorsport's Augusto Farfus put in an excellent lap to take seventh on the grid, with ROAL Engineering's Felix Porteiro was best of the rest in 11th place ahead of Andy Priaulx and Jorg Muller. Alex Zanardi will start 15th despite missing the second free practice session after a crash.
The other SEAT diesels struggled to deliver their expected pace. Rickard Rydell took seventh on the grid, while Gabriele Tarquini put early session technical problems behind him to take eight ahead of team-mate Yvan Muller. Monteiro, in the fifth car, was only tenth after suffering his session-stopping problem.
In the Independents' Trophy, Pierre-Yves Corthals will start on pole in 14th overall for Exagon Engineering, with ex-GP2 racer Sergio Hernandez a row behind him in second for Proteam Motorsport.
Pos Driver Car Time
1. Jordi Gene SEAT Leon TDI 1:40.808
2. Nicola Larini Chevrolet Lacetti 1:40.981 + 0.173
3. Tom Coronel SEAT Leon 1:41.239 + 0.431
4. Robert Huff Chevrolet Lacetti 1:41.488 + 0.680
5. Alain Menu Chevrolet Lacetti 1:41.517 + 0.709
6. Augusto Farfus BMW 320si 1:41.583 + 0.775
7. Rickard Rydell SEAT Leon TDI 1:41.594 + 0.786
8. Gabriele Tarquini SEAT Leon TDI 1:41.671 + 0.863
9. Yvan Muller SEAT Leon TDI 1:41.791 + 0.983
10. Tiago Monteiro SEAT Leon TDI 1:41.873 + 1.065
11. Felix Porteiro BMW 320si 1:42.045 + 1.237
12. Andy Priaulx BMW 320si 1:42.208 + 1.400
13. Jorg Muller BMW 320si 1:42.235 + 1.427
14. Pierre-Yves Corthals SEAT Leon 1:42.729 + 1.921
15. Alessandro Zanardi BMW 320si 1:43.050 + 2.242
16. Sergio Hernandez BMW 320si 1:43.297 + 2.489
17. Franz Engstler BMW 320si 1:43.890 + 3.082
18. Olivier Tielemans BMW 320si 1:43.952 + 3.144
19. Stefano D'Aste BMW 320si 1:44.068 + 3.260
20. Andrey Romanov BMW 320si 1:45.437 + 4.629
21. Ibrahim Okyay BMW 320si 1:47.962 + 7.154
|
|
|
Tiago Monteiro takes top spot in final practice session |
|
Former grand prix driver Tiago Monteiro believes taking pole position for this weekend's World Touring Car Championship round at Puebla in Mexico will be a massive challenge despite topping the final free practice session before qualifying.
The SEAT Leon TDI driver pipped fellow ex-F1 podium finisher Nicola Larini's Chevrolet to top spot by just one hundredth of a second at the 3.2 kilometre track, and is a strong contender for pole after finishing in the top four in all three practice sessions.
"We have been very strong in every session so of course I have a good chance of pole," Monteiro told autosport.com. "But here, more than anywhere, you need to have the perfect lap. It is so easy to make mistakes and they cost so much. Usually you just go out and attack like crazy but not here.
"This is one of the trickiest weekends I have had in my whole career. Whatever changes you make to the car it just doesn't react because there is just no grip. With the diesel car carrying so much weight, it is a nightmare in the slow corners, although it is very good in the faster ones.
"The difficult thing is to do whole lap without mistakes. It's so easy to overdrive - so qualifying is going to be a big challenge for all of us, especially with the difference new tyres will make."
With Larini second, and team-mates Rob Huff and Alain Menu both in the top ten in sixth and ninth respectively, Chevrolet continued its strong showing.
But despite the pace of the Lacettis, it was the SEATs which had the best of the session, with Rickard Rydell and Jordi Gene third and fifth, sandwiching the SUNRED-run petrol-powered Leon of Tom Coronel. The heavily-ballasted Leons of Gabriele Tarquini and Yvan Muller were down in eighth and 10th.
The BMWs continued to struggle, with triple world champion Andy Priaulx the best of them in 11th ahead of Brazilian Augusto Farfus.
Only four factory BMWs appeared in the session because of Alex Zanardi's crash in free practice 1. The ROAL Engineering team is expected to get his car out for qualifying.
Pos Driver Car Time
1. Tiago Monteiro SEAT Leon TDI 1:41.977
2. Nicola Larini Chevrolet Lacetti 1:41.987 + 0.010
3. Rickard Rydell SEAT Leon TDI 1:42.149 + 0.172
4. Tom Coronel SEAT Leon 1:42.318 + 0.341
5. Jordi Gene SEAT Leon TDI 1:42.366 + 0.389
6. Robert Huff Chevrolet Lacetti 1:42.573 + 0.596
7. Jorg Muller BMW 320si 1:42.686 + 0.709
8. Gabriele Tarquini SEAT Leon TDI 1:42.736 + 0.759
9. Alain Menu Chevrolet Lacetti 1:42.737 + 0.760
10. Yvan Muller SEAT Leon TDI 1:42.845 + 0.868
11. Andy Priaulx BMW 320si 1:42.890 + 0.913
12. Augusto Farfus BMW 320si 1:42.976 + 0.999
13. Sergio Hernandez BMW 320si 1:43.483 + 1.506
14. Felix Porteiro BMW 320si 1:43.514 + 1.537
15. Pierre-Yves Corthals SEAT Leon 1:43.650 + 1.673
16. Stefano D'Aste BMW 320si 1:44.321 + 2.344
17. Franz Engstler BMW 320si 1:44.402 + 2.425
18. Olivier Tielemans BMW 320si 1:44.541 + 2.564
19. Andrey Romanov BMW 320si 1:46.251 + 4.274
20. Ibrahim Okyay BMW 320si 1:47.903 + 5.926
|
|
|
Menu tops the times in first practice |
|
Chevrolet's Alain Menu topped the first free practice session ahead of tomorrow's second round of the World Touring Car Championship at Puebla.
The Swiss set a fastest time of 1:40.755 - almost two seconds faster than SEAT driver Jordi Gene's fastest time from yesterday's half-hour test session, as lap times continued to tumble at the circuit.
Menu completed just five laps in the session because track conditions were changing too rapidly to make major setup changes, which was enough to give him fastest time by just 0.067 seconds from Gene and the leading petrol-powered SEAT of SUNRED's Tom Coronel.
There were a total of five SEATs in the top seven, with Tiago Monteiro, Gabriele Tarquini and leading Independents' Trophy contender Pierre-Yves Corthals all setting strong times. Only Chevrolet prevented a clean sweep, with Larini joining Menu near the top of the timesheets with fifth fastest overall.
ROAL Engineering's Alex Zanardi was the best of the BMWs in eighth place despite a late session crash which is likely to keep him out of today's second free practice session. The Italian edged Schnitzer Motorsport's Jorg Muller and teammate Felix Porteiro for the honour of best 320si in the session.
Defending world champion Andy Priaulx was 12th fastest as he struggled to find the right setup, just behind the SEAT Leon diesel of Rickard Rydell, with championship leader Yvan Muller completing only seven laps and setting a time good enough for 16th.
Pos Driver Make Time
1. Alain Menu Chevrolet 1:40.755
2. Jordi Gene SEAT 1:40.822 + 0.067
3. Tom Coronel SEAT 1:40.840 + 0.085
4. Tiago Monteiro SEAT 1:41.245 + 0.490
5. Nicola Larini Chevrolet 1:41.420 + 0.665
6. G.Tarquini SEAT 1:41.497 + 0.742
7. P-Y.Corthals SEAT 1:41.506 + 0.751
8. A.Zanardi BMW 1:41.537 + 0.782
9. Jorg Muller BMW 1:41.629 + 0.874
10. Felix Porteiro BMW 1:41.675 + 0.920
11. Rickard Rydell SEAT 1:41.688 + 0.933
12. Andy Priaulx BMW 1:42.073 + 1.318
13. Robert Huff Chevrolet 1:42.108 + 1.353
14. Augusto Farfus BMW 1:42.150 + 1.395
15. Sergio Hernandez BMW 1:42.330 + 1.575
16. Yvan Muller SEAT 1:42.776 + 2.021
17. Stefano D'Aste BMW 1:42.917 + 2.162
18. Franz Engstler BMW 1:43.749 + 2.994
19. Andrey Romanov BMW 1:43.964 + 3.209
20. O.Tielemans BMW 1:44.062 + 3.307
21. Ibrahim Okyay BMW 1:47.187 + 6.432
|
|
|
Puebla 2008: Gene fastest in Practice 1 |
|
SEAT's Jordi Gene topped the opening test session ahead of this weekend's second round of the World Touring Car Championship at Puebla.
With the track surface relatively new, the times tumbled throughout the 30-minute session. Chevrolet's Nicola Larini described the experience as "driving on ice" in the early stages, but as the track rubbered in the times improved rapidly.
Gene, driving the SEAT Leon TDI, was the only driver to dip into the 1:24 bracket, setting a time almost half a second faster than teammate Tiago Monteiro.
Gabriele Tarquini, carrying a total of 44kg of ballast after his victory at Curitiba last month compared to the 1kg carried by Gene, was third fastest ahead of the lead Chevrolet of Alain Menu.
Augusto Farfus survived an early session spin to set the fastest BMW time, just ahead of the fourth Leon of Rickard Rydell.
In the Independents' Trophy, Exagon Engineering's Pierre-Yves Corthals was fastest in seventh overall, 1.4 seconds faster than Wiechers Sport BMW driver Stefano d'Aste.
Pos Driver Make Time Laps
1. Jordi Gene SEAT Leon TDI 1:42.603 12
2. Tiago Monteiro SEAT Leon TDI 1:43.089 + 0.486 13
3. Gabriele Tarquini SEAT Leon TDI 1:43.209 + 0.606 10
4. Alain Menu Chevrolet Lacetti 1:43.548 + 0.945 14
5. Augusto Farfus BMW 320si 1:43.587 + 0.984 14
6. Rickard Rydell SEAT Leon TDI 1:43.641 + 1.038 13
7. Pierre-Yves Corthals SEAT Leon 1:43.761 + 1.158 12
8. Andy Priaulx BMW 320si 1:43.822 + 1.219 13
9. Jorg Muller BMW 320si 1:43.880 + 1.277 15
10. Robert Huff Chevrolet Lacetti 1:43.908 + 1.305 15
11. Alessandro Zanardi BMW 320si 1:43.954 + 1.351 15
12. Nicola Larini Chevrolet Lacetti 1:43.962 + 1.359 14
13. Tom Coronel SEAT Leon 1:44.247 + 1.644 11
14. Felix Porteiro BMW 320si 1:44.284 + 1.681 15
15. Stefano D'aste BMW 320si 1:45.018 + 2.415 13
16. Sergio Hernandez BMW 320si 1:45.053 + 2.450 12
17. Yvan Muller SEAT Leon TDI 1:45.532 + 2.929 6
18. Franz Engstler BMW 320si 1:47.026 + 4.423 13
19. Olivier Tielemans BMW 320si 1:47.690 + 5.087 14
20. Andrey Romanov BMW 320si 1:49.574 + 6.971 14
21. Ibrahim Okyay BMW 320si 1:53.660 +11.057 6
|
|
|
Huff looking to forget disasterous weekend in Brazil at Puebla |
|
 Chevrolet World Touring Car Championship ace Rob Huff is hoping the marque will be able to put a disastrous start to the season behind it in this weekend's second round of the WTCC at Puebla.
Despite showing strong pace in practice and qualifying, Huff and teammates Nicola Larini and Alain Menu left Brazil with no points. However, Huff is optimistic of an improved return in Mexico.
"For the whole Chevrolet team the season starts here," says Huff. "We had a disaster in Brazil through no fault of our own and hopefully things will go better here and we'll go home with a hat-full of points!"
However, Huff believes that the altitude of the Puebla circuit, which is over 2,000 metres above sea level, will make it harder for the Chevrolets to fight for wins.
The less dense air means that normally aspirated engines will have their power reduced throughout the weekend, something which will not affect the turbo-diesel SEAT Leons to the same degree.
"We're losing a fair bit of power," says Huff. "The first time we ran here myself and Alain went out and both came back in saying we had some kind of engine problem because the power wasn't there. But it was the altitude.
"You can get on the throttle a lot earlier with less power, but the hardest bit is the start. Normally we spin the wheels on the standing start but here we're more likely to bog down."
Huff also believes that the track has improved since the WTCC's previous two visits to the venue, which were blighted by track problems.
"From walking around the track I'd say there are still a few question marks in my mind, but everything looks good," he says. "We'll know for sure after the first test session!
"I actually quite enjoy the circuit. From the outside it doesn't look so that good but it is very challenging. You've got to get the overall setup sorted here in particular because of that, especially with the sky high track temperatures."
|
|
|
WTCC to pay tribute to Leslie with minutes silence at Puebla |
|
The World Touring Car Championship will pay tribute to David Leslie, who was killed in a plane crash last weekend at the age of 54, before Sunday's first race at Puebla in Mexico.
Leslie raced against many of the top drivers in the WTCC - including three-times world champion Andy Priaulx and SEAT trio Yvan Muller, Rickard Rydell and Gabriele Tarquini - during his long career in the British Touring Car Championship.
Ray Mallock, boss of the RML with which David Leslie had long been associated with, is also in Mexico running Chevrolet's WTCC campaign.
He was also a popular figure around the paddock through his duties as commentator for Eurosport's coverage of the WTCC.
The minute's silence will be held at 1205 local time once the grid has been assembled for the first race of the weekend.
|
|
|
Thompson to compete in Danish Touring Car Championship also |
|
N.Technology's James Thompson will dovetail his World Touring Car Championship season with a Danish Touring Car Championship campaign in 2008.
Thompson, whose team have been forced to skip the opening two WTCC rounds while they build a new Honda Accord Euro R, will partner Jens Moller at the Hartmann Honda team. The Danish team runs Accords built by JAS, which is N.Technology's partner for the Honda WTCC project.
"I will not want to make up the numbers in Denmark," says Thompson. "The guys at Hartmann are very enthusiastic, and I see no reason why we cannot win races or be on the podium consistently.
"I have only seen the series from the outside, so I don't know it that well, but I will do as best as I can. If you have a good team and a good working ethics, I cannot see why we cannot win on any track, we will race at. Our chances should be as good as anyone."
Thompson's Danish campaign will be closely tied to his WTCC project, with regular engineer Marco Calovolo joining him in the Danish rounds and JAS providing technical support.
The deal means Thompson will make his debut in the Accord Euro R in the Danish opener at Jyllandsring on May 6, two weeks before his first WTCC appearance of the season at Valencia.
|
|
|
Thompson forced to miss second rounds in Puebla |
|
James Thompson will miss the second round of the World Touring Car Championship at Puebla, Mexico next weekend because his Honda Accord still isn't ready to race.
The former double British Touring Car champion also missed last month's season opener at Curitiba, Brazil but his N.Technology team plan to make the third round at Valencia in May.
Team principal Mauro Sipsz said: "We're working very hard towards being competitive and reliable for our first race weekend.
"This programme was only defined at the beginning of the season and we have to take the necessary time to prepare the car."
The team are due to run Thompson two weeks after Puebla, in the official WTCC test at Valencia on April 15-16.
"We'll have the first indication of exactly how competitive we are during next month's test," added Sipsz. "We hope that our efforts will be rewarded at Valencia."
|
|
|
| Login |
Not a member yet? Click here to register.
Forgotten your password? Request a new one here.
|
|
v6.01.13 © 2003-2005