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Provisional WTCC Championship Standings
Drivers’
1. Augusto Farfus…28pts
2. Jorg Muller…22pts
3. Gabriele Tarquini…21pts
4. Andy Priaulx…21pts
5. Nicola Larini…13pts
8. Yvan Muller…6pts
9. Tiago Monteiro…5pts
10.Roberto Colciago…5pts
13.Tom Coronel…4pts
Manufacturers’
1. BMW…60pts
2. SEAT…43pts
3. Chevrolet…35pts
4. Alfa Romeo…11pts
Next races
The next WTCC meeting will be SEAT Sport’s home event at Valencia on May
19th/20th.
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WTCC
Tarquini takes
season’s first win for SEAT Sport
The Dutch rounds of the 2007 FIA World Touring Car Championship saw
Gabriele Tarquini score the first victory of the season for SEAT Sport
by winning the second race at Zandvoort in front of an estimated 20,000
spectators.
The other headline from Holland as far as SEAT Sport is concerned was
the performance of Portugal’s Tiago Monteiro, who was making his WTCC
debut at Zandvoort. Fastest in one of the two free practice sessions,
Tiago qualified 5th and then rounded off a great weekend by finishing
4th in Race 1.
Race 1
Tiago Monteiro made an excellent start to his first-ever WTCC race,
entering the first corner in 4th place. A race-long battle with the BMW
of Augusto Farfus ended with the SEAT Sport driver on top; Monteiro
holding onto 4th place and so claiming his first WTCC points. Also able
to score points for SEAT Sport was Gabriele Tarquini, who finished 7th –
a position he snatched on lap 8 when an incident involving the Chevrolet
of Robert Huff brought out the safety car for one lap.
Jordi Gené was unlucky not to score in Race 1. Running in 7th place, he
lost out to the BMW of Andy Priaulx on lap 8 and dropped to 9th, which
is where he finished. Michel Jourdain Jr.’s aim was to stay out of
trouble and gain valuable experience of his SEAT León, so his 15th place
amongst the rough and tumble of running in midfield was something of a
relief. Not so lucky was Yvan Muller, who was hit by Stefano D’Aste on
the opening lap, breaking the León’s steering. Yvan’s mechanics quickly
repaired the damage, but Muller could only finish 22nd.
Provisional results
1. Alain Menu (Chevrolet)…13 laps
2. Nicola Larini (Chevrolet)…+0.651
3. Luca Rangoni (BMW)…+0.987
4. Tiago Monteiro (SEAT)…+2.358
5. Augusto Farfus Jr. (BMW)…+3.005
7. Gabriele Tarquini (SEAT)…+6.013
9. Jordi Gené (SEAT)…+7.234
15. Michel Jourdain Jr. (SEAT)…+12.465
22. Yvan Muller (SEAT)…+8 laps
Race 2
A great start by Gabriele Tarquini saw the Italian driver in 2nd place
at the end of lap 1, but a mistake by Andy Priaulx on lap 2 allowed
Gabriele into the lead and he was then able to control the race, holding
off the challenge from the BMWs of Augusto Farfus and Jorg Muller to
take victory. For much of the race, it looked as though Tiago Monteiro
would score points in both of the Dutch rounds, but an aggressive
overtaking move by Félix Porteiro saw Tiago settle for 9th place.
Jordi Gené finished 10th, frustrated that he’d not been able to start
Race 2 from the front of the grid. Starting from 22nd on the grid, Yvan
Muller improved steadily throughout the race to finish in 12th place,
although the Frenchman was unhappy that the incident in Race 1 had cost
him any chance of points. Michel Jourdain Jr. finished 16th after again
battling through the traffic.
Provisional results
1. Gabriele Tarquini (SEAT)…12 laps
2. Augusto Farfus Jr. (BMW)…+0.449
3. Jorg Muller (BMW)…+0.674
4. Nicola Larini (Chevrolet)…+0.978
5. Andy Priaulx (BMW)…+1.714
9. Tiago Monteiro (SEAT)…+6.351
10. Jordi Gené (SEAT)…+7.794
12. Yvan Muller (SEAT)…+10.899
16. Michel Jourdain Jr. (SEAT)…+14.982
Gabriele Tarquini (SEAT León no. 11): “I had a big problem with my
brakes in qualifying and warm-up, so we changed everything and it
worked. I was happy to be on the front row of the grid for the second
race and the weather also helped me; the track was cooler than yesterday
and a little damp. My experience with rolling starts in the Italian
Saloon Car Championship maybe also helped in the first race.”
Tiago Monteiro (SEAT León no. 18): “I couldn’t have dreamed of a better
start. My engineer did a great job; I was quicker and quicker with every
session. Farfus was very fair – nice and clean – but Porteiro was a bit
rough, although that’s Touring Cars. I have to say that I feel really at
home, so my thanks to the team.”
Jordi Gené (SEAT León no. 9): “I’m pleased for Gabriele and pleased for
SEAT, but it was a very bitter weekend for me in many ways. We did a
good qualifying and two good races, but there was an incident in race 1
that meant I finished ninth and then a queue of cars in race 2 meant I
couldn’t overtake.”
Yvan Muller (SEAT León no. 12): “The incident was a typical Touring Car
thing – too many cars in a small place; the contact was quite small, but
the effect was big! The weekend was good for Gabriele and for SEAT, but
we still have to work hard on our speed – we have to be able to fight
for pole positions and for victories.”
Michel Jourdain Jr (SEAT León no. 10): “I finished both races, which was
good, but I want to improve still further. Valencia should be even
better for me as I know the track a lot better than Zandvoort. I’ve
finished all four races so far; what I need now is to start finishing
higher up and winning some points.”
Jaime Puig (Director, SEAT Sport): “Well done to Gabriele on his
victory. I feel great this evening, but there were six positions on the
podium and so it would have been even better to have taken more than one
of the six. Still, it’s our home race next and I hope we can do well
there in front of the Spanish fans.”
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