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| BMW celebrates two triple-victories at Curitiba | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Mar 12 2007, 09:07 AM (271 Views) | |
| John | Mar 12 2007, 09:07 AM Post #1 |
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Team Boss
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The 2007 FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) started exactly in the same way as last year's season ended: Jörg Müller of BMW Team Germany claimed victory in the first race of the year. In front of 33,000 spectators at the "Autódromo Internacional de Curitiba" he made perfect use of his pole position, thus repeating his triumph in the 2006 season finale in Macau. Reigning World Champion, Andy Priaulx (BMW Team UK) and Müller's team-mate Augusto Farfus in second and third place respectively, made for a perfect start to the season for the BMW national teams. In the second race at the 3.695-kilometre track, it was another BMW driver who stepped into the spotlight: Farfus made the Brazilian crowd cheer by taking the win. Priaulx finished second once again, with Müller finishing third. For the first time in the WTCC history, BMW took all six available podium places. With 16 points each under their belts, Müller, Farfus and Priaulx share the lead in the Drivers' Championship after the first two rounds. In the Manufacturers' Championship, BMW has 36 points to its tally, leading second-placed SEAT by 15 points. ![]() ![]() ![]() The first race started with something new: For the first time in WTCC history, it was kicked-off by a "rolling" start. While a first-corner incident happened further back in the field and eliminated four drivers from the race, the BMW drivers coped well with the new challenge. Having started from second place, Farfus took the lead from Müller. However, even before entering turn 1, the 37-year-old successfully launched a counter attack and passed the local hero. Zanardi made an impressive start, too. He improved from tenth to seventh place. On the other hand, his team-mate Félix Porteiro lost four positions and headed out of the first corner in eighth place. In order to salvage all the cars that were involved in the collision at the start, the Safety Car took control of the race until the end of lap 5. Following the re-start, the leading BMW trio took part in an exciting fight for the win. At first, Müller succeeded in building up a gap on Priaulx. Over the course of the race, however, Priaulx turned the tables. The double World Champion closed in on him lap by lap, while Farfus lost contact to his brand-mates. Nevertheless, the running order remained unchanged until the chequered flag, and Müller celebrated his eight WTCC victory. Rookie Porteiro was stuck in the gravel following a braking mistake and retired on lap 12. Zanardi defended seventh place until the very end, thus securing a front-row grid position for race two. However, the 40-year-old was unlucky at the standing start. When entering the first corner, Zanardi was pushed by Chevrolet's Robert Huff, losing valuable positions. He dropped back into fifth place, rejoining just ahead of Priaulx and Müller, who had both gained one place. Farfus had an even better start: From sixth place, the 23-year-old moved up into second position. On lap 3 he launched an attack on leading driver, Yvan Muller (SEAT), and captured the lead. Behind Farfus, the Priaulx/Müller pairing impressively chased through the field. First, both drivers passed Zanardi on lap 2, then followed Tom Coronel (SEAT), Gabriele Tarquini (SEAT) and Muller. In the final stage of the race the two BMW drivers had another exciting duel. Priaulx kept the upper hand this time and crossed the line in second place. Müller took third place. At the front, Farfus clocked one quick lap after the next. After 14 laps, he took the chequered flag with a gap of 4.378 seconds over Priaulx. Despite his bad luck at the start, Zanardi's fighting spirit was rewarded with sixth place and three points. His team-mate Porteiro, however, left Curitiba empty-handed. After the formation lap he had to return to the pits due to a gearbox problem, which was a result of his off-track moment in race one. Porteiro couldn't take part in the race. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() [ BMW.Motorsport.com ] |
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| stradlin24 | Mar 12 2007, 09:26 AM Post #2 |
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Team Boss
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i've already covered all this John |
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| John | Mar 12 2007, 11:05 AM Post #3 |
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Team Boss
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Wow... two threads on the same topic.... gee that's never happened before...
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| stradlin24 | Mar 12 2007, 11:08 AM Post #4 |
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Team Boss
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you know what I mean, don't be getting clever i've covered all this before, we don't need duplicate threads mate, thats all cheers |
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| John | Mar 12 2007, 11:23 AM Post #5 |
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Team Boss
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But mine is better.....
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| stradlin24 | Mar 12 2007, 11:25 AM Post #6 |
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Team Boss
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if that's your opinion, cool! |
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2:41 PM Jul 11