WTCC - Rounds 11 and 12 - Spa-Francorchamps - Race

Clean sweep for BMW in Spa-Francorchamps - exciting second race. Spa
(Belgium), 30th July 2005. BMW has claimed a one-two-three victory in
the eleventh race of the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC).
Dirk Müller (GER) of BMW Team Deutschland celebrated his third win
of the season at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, while BMW Team UK
driver Andy Priaulx (GBR) finished as runner-up. On the start/finish
straight Jörg Müller (GER), also competing for BMW Team
Deutschland, drew level with Alfa-Romeo driver Augusto Farfus jr. and
pipped him to the post as he crossed the line in third place with a
lead of just 22 thousandths of a second. All three podium places thus
went to BMW drivers. During the interval between the two races, a rain
shower suddenly altered the track conditions. The 6.946-kilometre
circuit was drying off during the second race and in these difficult
circumstances numerous collisions and skids occurred. BMW Independents
Trophy driver Stefano d'Aste (ITA) crossed the finish line to take what
looked like a sensational win. After the race, however, he received a
three-second penalty for taking a short-cut in a chicane. That meant
Fabrizio Giovanardi (Alfa Romeo) was retrospectively declared the
winner. The best driver among the BMW national teams was again Dirk
Müller, who finished in fifth place. Alessandro Zanardi (ITA) of
BMW Team Italy-Spain was not competing following an accident on
Thursday in which his BMW 320i was badly damaged. His team-mate Antonio
Garcia (ESP) came seventh in the first race. On the last lap of the
second race he dropped back from third to eighth position due to a
multi-car collision. In the Drivers' Championship, Dirk Müller
maintains his lead with a tally of 61 points. A gap of four points
separates him from his rival Giovanardi. Behind them Priaulx is in
third place with 50 points. In the Manufacturers' Championship, these
results enabled BMW to further expand its lead slightly over Alfa
Romeo. It tops the rankings with 159 points. Second-placed Alfa (155)
is followed by SEAT (113) in third place. BMW privateer Marc Hennerici
(Mayen) continues to lead the Independents Trophy after the Belgian
event. Tom Coronel (SEAT) is in second place with eight points.
Reactions: Dirk Müller (BMW Team Deutschland): "Today was a
very happy day for me. In the first race I had a fantastic start and
fought an exciting duel with Andy. But ultimately I had the edge on
him. You could right a book about the second race. Suddenly, on the
very first lap, I was facing the oncoming traffic in Eau Rouge. It was
a miracle nobody hit me. After that I wouldn't have expected to finish
so far up. I'm glad I was able to increase my World Championship
lead." Andy Priaulx (BMW Team UK): "After yesterday's
qualifying I was fairly optimistic about today's races, but
unfortunately there weren't as many points in it as I had hoped for. I
felt in the first race that I was faster than Dirk at the end, but I
couldn't get past him. In the second race I was unlucky. In 2004 things
mostly went well for me, now I'm in trouble more often. But the race
for the title is still completely open." Jörg Müller
(BMW Team Deutschland): "It was certainly a good weekend for the
fans. I'm not happy with my performance. My car was good enough to
compete for a win in both races, but nothing came of it. The duel with
Farfus at the end of the first race was fun. He was hustling me, but in
the end my front wheels clearly had more grip than his." Race 1
Weather Cloudy, 19 degrees Celsius Start Andy Priaulx gets off to a
textbook start, leaving Augusto Farfus jr. in his wake to take the
lead. The two BMW Team Deutschland drivers swap places: Dirk
Müller is now in third place and Jörg Müller in fourth.
25-year-old Antonio Garcia makes a big leap forward, advancing from
13th to ninth place. Lap 1 Jörg Müller sacrifices a place
to Gabriele Tarquini. After a collision Michael Funke rolls his car,
but fortunately emerges from it unhurt. The safety car is brought on
while Funke's car is taken away. Lap 3 The safety car leaves the
track and the race opens up again. Dirk Müller and Jörg
Müller simultaneously launch an attack on the Alfa drivers in front
of them - and both succeed in getting past. But Tarquini counterattacks
and wrests fourth place back from Jörg Müller. Lap 4
Garcia. meanwhile, has fought his way up into seventh place. Lap 5
Dirk Müller attacks Priaulx and manages to pass his fellow BMW
driver. That puts the World Championship leader at the head of the
field. Jörg Müller turns the heat up on Tarquini once more
and sweeps past the Italian to slot into fourth place. Lap 6
Tarquini nudges Jörg Müller during a passing manoeuvre, but
the BMW driver shows great skill in keeping his car under control and
defending his fourth place. Garcia fends off the significantly lighter
SEAT of Jason Plato behind him. Lap 8 Priaulx is snapping at Dirk
Müller's heels but fails to get past the 29-year-old. Jörg
Müller, on the other hand, risks a final attack on Farfus on the
finishing straight and secures third place with a lead of 22 thousandths
of a second. Finish Dirk Müller wins the eleventh WTCC race of
the year. Behind him, Priaulx and Jörg Müller secure a clean
sweep for BMW. Garcia finishes seventh. No sooner has the race ended
than the first drops of rain start to fall. Race 2 Weather Rain at
the start, later dry - 18 degrees Celsius Start The race kicks off in
wet conditions, although the rain has stopped and many parts of the
circuit are drying. It leaves Priaulx as the only driver in the BMW
national teams to start with wet tyres. The first few moments of the
second race are turbulent. Dirk Müller is touched by Farfus and
spins in Eau Rouge. Priaulx is also involved and leaves the track,
sustaining damage to his car. Jörg Müller benefits from the
situation and moves up from sixth to third place. Garcia loses a place
to Tarquini. Lap 1 Priaulx limps back to the pits and abandons the
race shortly afterwards. A slow puncture also puts Jörg
Müller to the back of the field. He returns to the pits for a tyre
replacement. Lap 2 Garcia passes Tarquini and is back in second
place. Dirk Müller launches into a fast and furious catching-up
exercise. Lap 4 Dirk Müller improves his position bit by bit and
is now already in fourth place. Jörg Müller is also carving
his way through the field and is 16th. Lap 5 After a collision
involving Thomas Klenke and Jordi Gené, the safety car is
brought on as in the first race. It takes a long time to clear the track
of the debris from both cars. Lap 8 The race restarts, but only for
one lap. In the Bus Stop chicane just metres before the finish, Garcia,
Tarquini and Dirk Müller are involved in a collision. Race leader
Giovanardi is also affected. Private driver Stefano d'Aste avoids the
melee by going across the grass. Finish D'Aste crosses the finish
line ahead of Giovanardi and Tom Coronel. After spinning, Dirk
Müller manages to get across the line to salvage fifth place.
Garcia takes away a World Championship point as eighth-placed finisher,
while Jörg Müller is 16th to cross the line. Later d'Aste is
given a time penalty and Giovanardi is declared the winner. Results
BMW Team Deutschland - Schnitzer Motorsport No. 42 - Jörg
Müller (GER) Grid: 3rd - Races: 3rd and 16th No. 43 - Dirk
Müller (GER) Grid: 4th - Races: 1st and 5th BMW Team UK - RBM
No. 1 - Andy Priaulx (GBR) Grid: 2nd - Races: 2nd and DNF BMW Team
Italy-Spain - ROAL Motorsport No. 4 - Alex Zanardi (ITA) did not start
No. 5 - Antonio Garcia (ESP) Grid: 13th - Races: 7th and 8th BMW
private teams Crawford Racing - No. 28 - Carl Rosenblad (SWE) Races:
23rd and 12th Proteam Motorsport - No. 30 - Stefano d'Aste (ITA)
Races: 17th and 2nd - No. 31 - Giuseppe Ciro (ITA) Races: 16th
and 15th Wiechers-Sport - No. 32 - Marc Hennerici (GER) Races:
19th and 9th IEP Team - No. 33 - Adam Lacko (CZE) Races: 21st and
13th Results Race 1: 1. Dirk Müller (GER, BMW 320i) 22:58.706
minutes, 2. Andy Priaulx (GBR/BMW 320i) +0.270 seconds, 3. Jörg
Müller (GER/BMW 320i) +5.448, 4. Augusto Farfus jr. (BRA/Alfa
Romeo) +5.470, 5. Gabriele Tarquini (ITA/Alfa Romeo) +5.712, 6. James
Thompson (GBR, Alfa Romeo) +5.859, 7. Antonio Garcia (ESP/BMW 320i)
+10.694, 8. Fabrizio Giovanardi (ITA/Alfa Romeo) +11.297 Farfus was
subsequently disqualified for his move against Jörg Müller at
the end of the race Results Race 2: 1. Fabrizio Giovanardi (ITA/Alfa
Romeo) 27:49.760 minutes, 2. Stefano d'Aste (ITA/BMW 320i) +0.003
seconds, 3. Tom Coronel (NLD/SEAT) +1.,371, 4. Augusto Farfus jr.
(BRA/Alfa Romeo) +1.923, 5. Dirk Müller (GER, BMW 320i) +4,050, 6.
Alain Menu (SUI/Chevrolet) +7,619, 7. James Thompson (GBR, Alfa Romeo)
+9,807, 8. Antonio Garcia (ESP/BMW 320i) +10,069, ...16. Jörg
Müller (GER/BMW 320i) 43,977, DNF: Andy Priaulx (GBR/BMW 320i)
Drivers' standings after 12 out of 20 races: 1. Dirk Müller 61
Punkte, 2. Fabrizio Giovanardi 57, 3. Andy Priaulx 50, 4. Gabriele
Tarquini 43, 5. Antonio Garcia 43, 6. James Thompson 38, 7. Augusto
Farfus jr. 34, 8. Rickard Rydell 33, 9. Jörg Müller 33, 10.
Peter Terting 17,... 15. Alessandro Zanardi 6 Manufacturers'
standings after 12 out of 20 races: 1. BMW 159 Punkte, 2. Alfa Romeo
155, 3. SEAT 113, 4. Chevrolet 39, 5. Ford 2