WTCC Rds 5 & 6: Alfa and SEAT win one each
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Image Gallery ( 9 images )May 16, 2005 The World Touring Car Championship tightened up at the top on the weekend when rounds five and six were run at Silverstone in the UK. Alfa Romeo drivers dominated the first race, while SEAT claimed a brilliant 1-2 finish in the second, putting both marques in contention for the manufacturer's crown and taking Alfa Romeo's Gabriele Tarquini to within two points of BMW driver Dirk Muller's points lead.
On a sunny day a good crowd gathered on the grandstands to watch two breathtaking races. Gabriele Tarquini scored a lights to flag win in Race 1, leading home an Alfa Romeo quartet. Behind him a tough fight for second position involved Andy Priaulx, James Thompson and Fabrizio Giovanardi, with a number of overtaking and paint swapping.
After a super start, Priaulx led most of the second race, until a pucture stopped him. This opened the door for SEAT’s first success in the FIA WTCC, which was also the first one for a Spanish car Manufacturer in a World Championship. Rickard Rydell and newcomer Jason Plato were classified first and second, with Tarquini third.
Dirk Müller managed to claim 3 points in the second race, which enabled him to maintain the championship lead with a 2-point margin ahead of Tarquini, while Jörg Müller and Priaulx are 5 points behind. However, Dirk will be under special surveillance for the rest of the season. Because he rejoined Saturday’s qualifying session despite having received external aid, and considering he had already received a suspended penalty due to a racing accident in Monza, the Stewards decided to impose a 5-point deduction from his championship points. This penalty will only be applied if he incurs any other sanctions before the end of the season.
Tarquini also has a pending penalty because of his collision with Terting in Race 2. As well as definitely losing ten positions on the grid of the next race, if he is involved in a similar incident during one of the two following events, he will also be excluded from that race. Alfa Romeo Racing Team appealed against this decision.
The FIA WTCC will now head to Imola for Rounds 7 and 8 on May 29.
Race 1 – Tarquini Leads Alfa Romeo Quartet
Alfa Romeo had a perfect result in round 5 of the FIA WTCC at Silverstone. All four of the team’s drivers finished ahead of the rest of the field resulting in an all-red podium. Gabriele Tarquini, got a good start from the pole and despite efforts from James Thompson, did not give away his lead. Thompson and Fabrizio Giovanardi battled for second position. After a poor start, Thompson, who had the heaviest of the Alfa cars, lost a place to Giovanardi but on lap 4 he made reclaimed it. Augusto Farfus completed the Alfa Romeo quartet finishing fourth.
Andy Priaulx had a fantastic start, pushing his BMW 320i through to second place but was subsequently overtaken by the Alfa cars. He crossed the finishing line in fifth place, 4.386 seconds behind the leader of the Alfa pack.
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