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09 WTCC Rds 9 & 10 - Valencia |
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Melvyn Pettit 
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Joined: 18 Apr 2007 Location: Isle of Wight Status: Offline Points: 1502 |
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 Topic: 09 WTCC Rds 9 & 10 - ValenciaPosted: 28 May 2009 at 12:32pm |
BMW national teams aim to continue upward trend in Valencia.
However, there is a question mark over the current balance of power in the World Touring Car Championship. The FIA Touring Car Bureau has once again made changes to the technical regulations, including raising the supercharged air pressure of the SEAT turbodiesel engines to 2.7 bar plus overboost spikes which last less than one second. In addition Farfus, his team-mate, Jörg Müller (DE), BMW Team UK driver Andy Priaulx (GB) and Sergio Hernández (ES) from BMW Team Italy-Spain will line up with the maximum compensation weight of 40 kilograms. After them come the Chevrolet drivers with 30 kilograms, then the SEAT diesel cars carrying 20 kilos of ballast. Hernández’ team-mate Alessandro Zanardi (IT), on the other hand, will race in a 20kg lighter BMW 320si WTCC with its sequential gearbox. Andy Priaulx (BMW Team UK): “My goal for Valencia has to be one of the highest points’ scorers so I can reduce the gap to the championship leaders. The track itself has been kind to BMW over the last few years, so I can’t see any reason why this won’t continue.” Jörg Müller (BMW Team Germany): “After my first podium finish of the year in Pau, I now want to be up there at the top in Valencia as well. We’ll have to wait and see if that is possible. The race track suits me – I have already won two World Championship races there.” Augusto Farfus (BMW Team Germany): “The distribution of the compensation weight traditionally plays a greater role in Valencia than elsewhere. With this in mind, we don’t necessarily hold the trump cards. However, I will be giving everything to follow on from the good result in Pau.” Alessandro Zanardi (BMW Team Italy-Spain): “To move through from right at the back to finish fifth in Pau gave the team and me a huge motivational boost. With the exception of 2005, I have never really had any luck in Valencia. Hopefully it will be different this time.” Sergio Hernández (BMW Team Italy-Spain): “Valencia is not a bad circuit for touring cars, even if it is not perfect. Overtaking opportunities are few and far between. Valencia is just 40 minutes away from my home town of Javea. In 2008 I won there in the Independents’ Trophy. Now I want to launch an attack on the overall standings.” History and background: Jörg Müller and Andy Priaulx are the most successful WTCC drivers in Valencia so far, and have both enjoyed three podium finishes there. Müller won twice at the 4.005-kilometre track in 2005 and 2006. So far in his career he has picked up 45 World Championship points in Spain. Team-mate Augusto Farfus has also tasted success in Valencia. In 2006 – when still racing for Alfa Romeo – he won the first race. Last year, only Müller and Priaulx were able to pick up points at the “Circuit de la Comunitat” for BMW. Priaulx finished third in the second race to claim his place on the podium. The “Circuit de la Comunitat Valenciana Ricardo Tormo” – to give the Spanish WTCC venue its full name – is one of the most modern racetracks in Europe. In addition to the World Touring Car Championship, many other series regularly pay visits to Valencia. Valencia is the scene of much winter testing as the teams prepare for the season ahead. As a result, all the teams know this circuit back to front. It has a bit of everything. As in Puebla, the winding layout creates a stadium atmosphere. However, the track is heavily influenced by external conditions: a minimal change in temperature can affect the grip behaviour. The engineers must work out the best set-up at lightning speed. Since 2006, every one of the BMW Sauber F1 Team’s new Formula One cars has had its roll-out at this circuit. However, the first Formula One race in Valencia was held at the new circuit by the harbour. The 2008 European Grand Prix was won by Felipe Massa (BR), ahead of Lewis Hamilton (GB) and BMW Sauber F1 Team driver Robert Kubica (PL). The “Circuit de la Comunitat” is the location for the Formula BMW Racing Center, the venue for the licence and scholarship courses for the worldwide Formula BMW junior series. Valencia is located in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula’s Mediterranean coast, at the mouth of the River Turia. Consequently its visitors experience a nice seaside climate. Even in winter the temperatures rarely drop below ten degrees Celsius, and in summer a fresh sea breeze makes for agreeably warm conditions. With more than 800,000 inhabitants, Valencia is Spain’s third biggest town – behind Madrid and Barcelona – and the capital of the Eastern Spanish region of the same name. Some 1.8 million people live in its metropolitan area. Thanks to a variety of sporting activities and Valencia’s outstanding nightlife, visiting the city is an extraordinary experience. At the same time the metropolis is one of Spain’s most dynamic cities and one of the most powerful commercial regions in Europe. The two WTCC races will both be held over 13 laps – a total distance of 52.07 kilometres. The first race begins on Sunday at 12:50hrs local time (11:50hrs BST). Race two gets underway at 15:05hrs (14:05hrs BST). Edited by Melvyn Pettit - 28 May 2009 at 12:33pm |
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safe1
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BMWCC Club President Joined: 09 Aug 2006 Status: Offline Points: 1426 |
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Posted: 28 May 2009 at 6:37pm |
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Melvyn,
As always a great post
 so many BMW fans looked to the world series as "THE" championship to support--BUT the dis-organised rules have made it a farce.Now with the weight/BHP formula in for 09 it is not a realistic series for BMW AG to spend Millions of Euros in a "Free for all" series.
 Making up rules as you go--
 does not work!!.Get Alan Gow in QUICK!!!!!!! |
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Gofastsafe
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Melvyn Pettit
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Joined: 18 Apr 2007 Location: Isle of Wight Status: Offline Points: 1502 |
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Posted: 31 May 2009 at 11:18am |
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Another rule change for Seat to have back boost and less weight for this weekeend
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Melvyn Pettit
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Joined: 18 Apr 2007 Location: Isle of Wight Status: Offline Points: 1502 |
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Posted: 31 May 2009 at 11:18am |
BMW Team Germany’s Augusto Farfus comes fifth in Valencia qualifying.
 The first phase of qualifying was a close affair, with the top 14 drivers covered by just a second after 20 minutes. Unlike Farfus, the other four BMW national team drivers narrowly missed out on advancing into the decisive “Q2” session. Farfus’ team-mate, Jörg Müller (DE), came 11th, just 88 thousands of a second off P10, which would have meant taking part in the second leg of qualifying. Behind Müller, BMW Team Italy-Spain’s Alessandro Zanardi (IT) and Sergio Hernández (ES) and Andy Priaulx (GB) from BMW Team UK finished 12th, 13th and 14th respectively. Despite securing a promising grid position for tomorrow’s race and being best-placed BMW driver, Farfus gave a very down-to-earth analysis of qualifying, which was, as expected, difficult for BMW. “Obviously I’m happy to be the quickest petrol car out there. However, the dominance of the SEAT turbo diesels is striking. They easily got all five of their cars into the top-ten. This just shows the effect of their engine’s higher boost pressure compared to the races in Pau. My lap was not really perfect. But on this track it’s really difficult to put in a flawless performance. Our team did a very good job. But it just wasn’t enough to beat the turbo diesels.” Müller quickly turned his attention onto the two races at the “Circuit de la Comunitat” after his unlucky exit in “Q1”. He said: “Of course I will push hard to improve to eighth, in order to benefit from the reversed grid for race two. However, at least ten other drivers share this goal. I haven’t been totally happy with my car all weekend, but still my qualifying lap was okay. It’s disappointing to miss the second phase by such a small margin.” In a reversal to what happened in the free practice sessions, Priaulx was unhappy with the balance of his car in qualifying. “I couldn’t find any grip,” the triple world champion explained. “This made it impossible to get the most out of this qualifying session. We will now analyse the reasons for this and hopefully make the necessary changes to be more competitive tomorrow.” Edited by Melvyn Pettit - 31 May 2009 at 11:44am |
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Melvyn Pettit
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Joined: 18 Apr 2007 Location: Isle of Wight Status: Offline Points: 1502 |
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Posted: 31 May 2009 at 8:41pm |
BMW Team Germany celebrates a one-two in Valencia.
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 (ES), 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 (IT). 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. Podium, Friedhelm Nohl (BMW Motorsport), Jörg Müller (GER), BMW Team Germany, BMW 320si and Augusto Farfus (BRA), BMW Team Germany
 Augusto Farfus (BMW Team Germany): “This victory was very important for us. We made the most of this weekend after a difficult start. Even with a perfect start, it would have been virtually impossible to challenge the leading SEAT’s in the first race. Following a good start, I managed to overtake Jörg early on in the second race, and after then it was flawless for me. I want to say thanks to my team and BMW Motorsport, who made this win possible.” Jörg Müller (BMW Team Germany): “We couldn’t expect such a good result after qualifying. The first race was tough. I just had no chance to overtake Gabriele Tarquini. Following a small set-up change during the break, the second race went better. Augusto was clearly faster than me on the opening laps, as I suffered some problems with my tyre pressures. Therefore I decided not to block him unnecessarily. Overall I’m really happy with this result.” Andy Priaulx (BMW Team UK): “After starting race one from 14th on the grid, salvaging nine points from the weekend isn’t bad. My car felt much better today than in yesterday’s qualifying. It could have gone better, but also much worse. The fight with Gabriele Tarquini was tough, but fair.” Sergio Hernández (BMW Team Italy-Spain): “On the one hand, I’m satisfied with winning four points at my home event. On the other, you obviously hope for more when starting from pole position. But it was not possible to achieve this goal today. I would have loved to be on the podium in front of all the Spanish fans.” Alessandro Zanardi (BMW Team Italy-Spain): “I started well in both races, but the outcome was different. In the first race another car hit me heavily in the rear and sent me into the gravel. I was happy to make it to the finish in 12th. In race two the start then went perfectly and put me into the group of front-runners at the very beginning. This is a good result for our team.” Edited by Melvyn Pettit - 31 May 2009 at 9:03pm |
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