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31.05.2009
BMW Team Germany celebrates a one-two in Valencia.Augusto Farfus was the winner of the FIA World Touring Car Championship’s tenth round. At the "Circuit de la Comunitat" in Valencia, the BMW Team Germany driver scored his tenth WTCC victory. Jörg Müller finished second, thus making it the first BMW one-two since Brno 2008. The other BMW national team drivers also collected points: BMW Team UK’s Andy Priaulx was fourth, while Alessandro Zanardi and Sergio Hernández came fifth and sixth respectively for BMW Team Italy-Spain. In the first race of the day Hernández secured pole position for race two by finishing eighth, with Farfus, Müller and Priaulx coming fourth, fifth and sixth. Victory went to SEAT driver Yvan Muller. |
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| In the Drivers’ Championship Farfus successfully reduced the gap to leader Muller. He now has 54 points to his name, just three points less than the 2008 world champion. With 35 points, Priaulx improved to fourth in the overall classification. In the manufacturers’ standings BMW increased its tally to 120 points and is second behind SEAT.
At the start of race one, Farfus narrowly avoided an early retirement. He was pushed onto the grass by SEAT’s Jordi Gené, dropping from 5th to 11th. Over the course of the race, however, he managed to gain ground and passed no less than seven cars. Farfus eventually finished fourth, and scored five points. Priaulx also moved up from 14th on the grid and joined Farfus on his way through the field. For the triple world champion this chase resulted in a fifth-place finish. Müller made an excellent start. The 39-year-old improved from 11th to 4th, keeping in touch with the three leading SEAT’s for most of the race. On the final lap he let his fellow BMW drivers Farfus and Priaulx pass before crossing the line in sixth. Zanardi lost a lot of places after a collision in the usual rolling start turmoil, but then once more proved his fighting spirit and made his way back to 12th. Hernández started well from 13th. Only Farfus and Priaulx managed to overtake the local hero, who took the chequered flag in eighth, thus claiming pole position for race two. When the afternoon race got underway, Hernández defended his lead in the first corners, but then had to let Müller go, who made another good start. On lap 2, Farfus also overtook the Spaniard, paving the way for BMW Team Germany’s first one-two result for almost two years. After Farfus also got by Müller a lap later, the leading pair quickly opened up a gap on the rest of the field and kept their positions until the end of the race. For one lap, it was even a BMW trio leading the race, as Priaulx launched a successful attack on third-placed Gabriele Tarquini. However, the SEAT driver managed to fight back on lap 9, and Priaulx had to make do with finishing fourth. Zanardi leapfrogged from 12th to 6th thanks to a great start. On lap four, he passed Hernández for fifth. The BMW Team Italy-Spain pairing defended these positions to the finish. |
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