ETCC - Rounds 13 and 14 - Spa-Francorchamps - Race

BMW Drivers Entertain and Win in Spa Spa-Francorchamps, 31 July 2004:
The BMW Team Deutschland drivers Dirk Müller and Jörg
Müller not only kept the Spa crowd entertained during the two FIA
ETCC races but also had a win and second place each. Dirk took the
spoils in race one and Jörg in race two. With the exception of
Jordi Gené's third place for SEAT in race one it was a BMW lock
out as Antonio Garcia (BMW Team Italy-Spain) took third in race two.
The consensus of opinion from both the drivers and the spectators was
they were two of the most exciting races seen in the FIA ETCC and they
leave the BMW drivers in even better championship positions. Dirk has
now taken the lead back with 86 points, while Jörg is second on 83
and Andy has dropped down to third with 81. In the Constructors'
Championship BMW is starting to build an incredible lead with 212
points, while Alfa Romeo is second on 134 and SEAT third on 54. Dirk
was delighted with how his weekend had gone: "I am really happy
and after yesterday when Jorg showed a strong performance in qualifying
I didn't expect to be able to hold him in the first race. In the first
half of the race my car was brilliant so I pushed like hell and I think
that helped me to win. However, it was hard and tough but fair racing
and I think one of the best touring car races I have ever been
in." Jörg also enjoyed the racing, and was honest about how
his team-mate took the lead in race one: "In the first race Dirk
was a bit too close in my mirrors, I made a mistake so he was able to
pass me. In the second race the Alfa was struggling under braking so I
was able to pass Tarquini and then I had a strange fight with Farfus,
which I was not happy with." RACE 1 Weather: Hot and sunny -
26ºC Jörg Müller got the perfect start from pole and led
the first lap with Dirk behind him and Andy third, having been able to
get by the SEAT of Jordi Gené. However, behind them there was
chaos as the cars left the grid with Alex Zanardi (BMW Team
Italy-Spain) being pushed into the barrier after being hit by the Alfa
Romeo of Fabrizio Giovanardi. "They all wanted my bit of
tarmac," he commented. This accident also saw the SEAT of Rickard
Rydell damaged and the organisers gave Kurt Mollekens (BMW Team
Belgium-Luxembourg) a drive through penalty for causing what they
considered an avoidable accident, although he defended himself
vehemently as he said all his damage was due to cars hitting him from
behind. On lap two the lead changed when Dirk passed his team-mate, and
stayed there until the chequered flag. Andy also had a skirmish with
Jörg, which saw him take to the grass. The front four formed a
close train with never more than fractions of a second separating any
two drivers. Starting behind the German Production Championship cars
didn't seem to present Tom Coronel with too many problems as he went
from 33rd on the grid to 13th at the end of lap one. However, he could
not make up the extra places so the Independents class was won by
Salvatore Tavano in his Alfa Romeo. RACE 2 Weather: Same as race one,
hot and sunny 26ºc It was the Alfa Romeo of Agusto Farfus Jr that
started the race from pole and from the moment the lights went out he
was in the limelight for the wrong reasons. He squeezed Antonio Garcia
onto the grass as the cars left the grid, receiving a caution via a
black and white flag for his behaviour. However, when he blatantly
pushed Jörg onto the grass later in the race he was immediately
given a drive through penalty. This meant that at the end of lap four
Jörg was able to take the lead. Dirk was storming through the
field from seventh on the grid and by lap five it was the two BMW Team
Deutschland cars in front again. Antonio also had a great drive into
third claiming afterwards that his car was so strong he felt he could
have won the race. Andy made a good start but dropped back after flat
spotting his tyres on the first lap. Tom Coronel made the most of the
places he gained in race one and not only won the Independents trophy
class but also finished sixth. Results and Positions BMW Team
Deutschland - Schnitzer Motorsport No 42 - Jörg Müller (GER)
Qual 1st - Race 1 - 2nd - Race 2 - 1st - 10 kilos ballast No
43 - Dirk Müller (GER) Qual 3rd - Race 1 - 1st - Race 2 -
2nd - 20 kilos ballast BMW Team Great Britain - RBM No 11 - Andy
Priaulx (GBR) Qual 4th - Race 1 - 4th - Race 2 - 5th - 40 Kilos
ballast BMW Team Belgium Luxembourg - RBM No 12 - Kurt Mollekens (NLD)
Qual 9th - Race 1 - 18th - Race 2 - 7th BMW Team Italy-Spain -
Ravaglia Motorsport No 4 - Alex Zanardi (ITA) Qual 11th - Race 1 - DNF
- Race 2 - 16th No 5 - Antonio Garcia (ESP) Qual 5th - Race 1 - 6th
- Race 2 - 3rd BMW Privateer Teams Carly Motors - No 20 - Tom
Coronel (NLD) Qual 25th - Race 1 - 14th - Race 2 - 6th Carly Motors -
No 21 - Paulien Zwart (NLD) Qual 23rd - Race 1 - DNF - Race 2 - DNF
Proteam M/sport - No 25 - Stefano D'Aste (ITA) Qual 17th - Race 1 - DNF
- Race 2 - DNS Crawford Racing - No 27 - Carl Rosenblad (SWE) Qual 14th
- Race 1 - 12 th - Race 2 - 9th The qualifying positions are for FIA
ETCC and do not take account of the grid positions of the German
Production Car Championship entries. Race 1 - 7 laps (an aborted start
meant the race distance was reduced by one lap) 1. Dirk Müller
(GER/BMW 320i) 18m 08.742s. 2. Jörg Müller (GER/BMW 320i) 18m
09.050s 3. Jordi Gené (ESP/SEAT) 18m 10.215s 4. Andy Priaulx
(GBR/BMW 320i) 18m 10.517s 5. Gabriele Tarquini (ITA/Alfa Romeo) 18m
10.677s 6. Antonio Garcia (ESP/BMW 320i) 18m 17.024s 7. Frank
Diefenbacher (GER/SEAT) 18m 17.841s 8. Augusto Farfus Jr (BAR/Alfa
Romeo) 18m 17.924s Race 2 - 8 laps 1. Jörg Müller (GER/BMW
320i) 20m 48.010s 2. Dirk Müller (GER/BMW 320i) 20m 49.441s. 3.
Antonio Garcia (ESP/BMW 320i) 20m 50.481s 4. Gabriele Tarquini
(ITA/Alfa Romeo) 20m 51.606s 5. Andy Priaulx (GBR/BMW 320i) 20m 52.886s
6. Tom Coronel (NLD/BMW 320i) 20m 55.516s 7. Kurt Mollekens (BEL/BMW
320i) 20m 55.895s 8. James Thompson (GBR/Alfa Romeo) 20m 56.369s
Championship Positions - Drivers 1. Müller D 86 2. Müller J
83 3. Priaulx 81 4. Tarquini 66 5. Giovanardi 46 6. Garcia 43 7.
Farfus 29 8. Gené 23 9. Diefenbacher 19 10. Coronel 19 11.
Thompson 17 12. Rydell 13 13. Mollekens 9 14. Rangoni 5 15. Tavano
3 15. Zanardi 3 17. D'Aste 1 Manufacturers 1. BMW 212, 2. Alfa Romeo
134, 3. SEAT 54. Michelin Independents Trophy 1. Coronel 110 2.
Tavano 76 3. Balzan 73 4. D'Aste 54 5. Rangoni 52 6. Rosenblad 49 7.
Bartyan 44 8. Harrision 23 9. Ruokonen 23 10. Asch 11 11. Grunert 9
12. Klenke 8 13. Zwart P 7 14. Zwart K 3 15. Sardelli 1 Contacts:
Heike Bartsch, BMW Press, mobile +49 172 8485998, heike.bartsch@bmw.de
Ann Bradshaw, race press officer, mobile +44 (0) 7713 317006,
annbradshaw@tiscali.co.uk Press information and pictures are available
to download from www.press.bmw.com