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CarlA 
Really Senior Member I
BMWCC & Coupe Register Member
Joined: 27-March-2004
Location: Sheffield
Status: Offline
Points: 255
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 Topic: ETCC Imola
Posted: 01-September-2004 at 15:13 |
This weekend sees the return of ETCC racing after a long break.
Andy is just 5 points behind Dirk.
Timetable is as follows:
Saturday, 4 September
09.00 – 09.30 – Free Practice
12.45 – 13.15 – Free Practice 2
15.45 – 16.15 – Qualifying
Sunday, 5 September
09.20 – 09.35 – Warm Up
14.45 – Race 1 – 11 laps (54.263km)
15.45 – Race 2 – 11 laps (54.263km)
Fingers crossed for a good result for Andy.
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Peter H
Really Senior Member II
Joined: 03-January-2004
Location: Worcestershire/Ost Bayern
Status: Offline
Points: 927
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Posted: 01-September-2004 at 15:57 |
| Preview - FIA ETCC Race Imola
29-08-2004 | |
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FIA European Touring Car Championship
Round 8 – Imola, Italy, 4/5 September 2004
BMW Closes in on Manufacturers’ Championship
Munich, 27 August, 2004. There may still be six more races left in the FIA ETCC but there is a strong chance of BMW coming away from the next round in Imola with the Manufacturers’ Championship title battle sown up. The gap between BMW and Alfa Romeo is 78 points, so a strong showing by the drivers in the BMW national teams could win the coveted title for the second year running when the series visits the Imola track for the first time.
However, the situation is very different in the Drivers’ Championship as the top three, all of whom happen to drive a BMW 320i, are separated by just five points. BMW Team Deutschland’s Dirk Müller (GER) is in front, second is his team-mate, Jörg Müller, (GER) and third is BMW Team Great Britain’s Andy Priaulx (GBR). They are all equally determined to win the series, and no doubt Jörg still remembers the disappointment of missing out in 2003 by a single point.
None of the teams or their drivers will underestimate the task ahead. Imola is a new circuit on the FIA ETCC schedule and it is home territory for Alfa Romeo. This is also a home race for BMW Team Italy-Spain that enters Alex Zanardi (ITA) and Antonio Garcia (ESP), as it is run by Ravaglia Motorsport out of premises in Padova. Alex is also ‘very’ local as he was born down the road in Bologna and has raced there in a variety of cars including Formula 1. He remembers the circuit before it was changed and commented: “I loved the ’old’ circuit and have to admit I didn’t enjoy driving an F1 car there after they had modified it. In a BMW 320i we have a little more time to enjoy the circuit and in one of these cars it is a fantastic track to drive. The turns are spaced the perfect amount so there are overtkaing opportunities. On paper it seems to be a circuit where the rear wheel drive car will be very good. It is my home circuit so I am sure everyone will understand why I am hoping for a good result.“
After the previous two races in Spa BMW increased its number of race wins to ten out of fourteen so the Manufacturers’ Championship points are BMW 212, Alfa Romeo 134 and SEAT 54. Dirk may be leading the Drivers’ table with 86 points from Jörg on 83 and Andy on 81, but it is Andy with four wins who has been on the top step of the podium the most number of times. However, all three can boast the same statistic of only one race where they did not score points. The nearest Alfa Romeo driver to them is Gabriele Tarquini in fourth with 66 points. Tom Coronel (NLD) in his Carly Motors BMW 320i has won half of the rounds in the Independents’ Class and so leads this category with 110 points from Salvatore Tavano (ITA) second on 76 points and Alessandro Balzan (ITA) third on 73 points.
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Das Wolperdinger
AHN-NYUNG-HEE GA-SEH-YO
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Peter H
Really Senior Member II
Joined: 03-January-2004
Location: Worcestershire/Ost Bayern
Status: Offline
Points: 927
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Posted: 04-September-2004 at 05:42 |
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Watching the F Renault race, very hot day, ought to suit BMW`s
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Das Wolperdinger
AHN-NYUNG-HEE GA-SEH-YO
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Peter H
Really Senior Member II
Joined: 03-January-2004
Location: Worcestershire/Ost Bayern
Status: Offline
Points: 927
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Posted: 04-September-2004 at 05:44 |
OK, so im wrong !
NEWS [ 822 ] - 4 Sep 2004
PRACTICE 1: THREE ALFAS SET THE PACE
Fabrizio Giovanardi, Gabriele Tarquini and Augusto Farfus set the three fastest times of the session in their AutoDelta Alfa Romeo 156 cars. The three SEAT Sports drivers were classified immediately after them, Frank Diefenbacher 4th, Rickard Rydell 5th and Jordi Gené 6th. Seventh and eighth-fastest were Oregon Team’s independents Luca Rangoni and Salvatore Tavano.
BMW drivers were not as fast as they use to be. Despite his ninth position, Antonio García emerged as the best of them, ahead of the three leaders of the Drivers’ Championship: Andy Priaulx, Jörg and Dirk Müller.
The whole session was dominated by the Alfa Romeo men. Tarquini set an early mark at 2:00.346, but then Giovanardi broke the 2:00 wall at 1:59.519, improving further to 1:59.380 and finally to 1:59.281. Tarquini improved as well, to be second fastest with a lap in 1:59.507, while Farfus set the third-fastest time at 1:59.822. Diefenbacher was always the quickest for SEAT sport; halfway through the session he clocked a time of 2:00.041 – good enough for fourth – but then he hit the tyres at the Villeneuve chicane destroying the front of his Toledo car.
Other drivers made mistakes, such as Alessandro Zanardi – who went off into the gravel at the Acque Minerali, and Luca Rangoni.
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Das Wolperdinger
AHN-NYUNG-HEE GA-SEH-YO
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CarlA
Really Senior Member I
BMWCC & Coupe Register Member
Joined: 27-March-2004
Location: Sheffield
Status: Offline
Points: 255
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Posted: 04-September-2004 at 11:35 |
What a funny result !!
| POS |
NO |
NAME |
BEST LAP |
GAP |
SPEED |
LAPS |
LAST LAP |
| 1 |
2 |
GIOVANARDI |
1:58.460 |
|
149.91 |
6 |
1:58.460 |
| 2 |
1 |
TARQUINI |
1:58.924 |
0.464 |
149.32 |
9 |
2:10.580 |
| 3 |
3 |
FARFUS JR. |
1:59.111 |
0.651 |
149.09 |
9 |
2:20.168 |
| 4 |
9 |
GENE |
1:59.221 |
0.761 |
148.95 |
10 |
2:22.727 |
| 5 |
44 |
TAVANO |
1:59.254 |
0.794 |
148.91 |
11 |
2:20.792 |
| 6 |
46 |
RANGONI |
1:59.482 |
1.022 |
148.63 |
12 |
2:24.271 |
| 7 |
8 |
RYDELL |
1:59.684 |
1.224 |
148.38 |
6 |
3:05.407 |
| 8 |
14 |
BALZAN |
1:59.902 |
1.442 |
148.11 |
12 |
2:15.405 |
| 9 |
11 |
PRIAULX |
1:59.929 |
1.469 |
148.07 |
6 |
2:03.098 |
| 10 |
5 |
GARCIA |
2:00.524 |
2.064 |
147.34 |
9 |
2:08.146 |
Lets hope Andy can get a couple of places in race 1 and be on the front row for race 2.
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Peter H
Really Senior Member II
Joined: 03-January-2004
Location: Worcestershire/Ost Bayern
Status: Offline
Points: 927
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Posted: 04-September-2004 at 12:30 |
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Well, the BMW`s improved over the two practices, depends on alfa`s tactics, Tompson at snetterton so ?
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Das Wolperdinger
AHN-NYUNG-HEE GA-SEH-YO
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Peter H
Really Senior Member II
Joined: 03-January-2004
Location: Worcestershire/Ost Bayern
Status: Offline
Points: 927
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Posted: 04-September-2004 at 17:19 |
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NEWS [ 826 ] - 4 Sep 2004
QUALIFYING QUOTES 2
Salvatore TAVANO – Oregon Team, 5th
“We realized this morning, with a bit of surprise I should say, that despite it was so hot all the Alfas were very fast. We have worked very well on the set-up, and we can see the results. Now we have to wait and see how much the front tyres will degrade on the race distance. I’m sure that the second half of the race will be tough.“
Luca RANGONI – Oregon Team, 6th
“I was expecting such a result, because we have worked very well this morning. It’s a shame for the problem I had at the beginning of the qualifying: a piece of the front roll-bar was broken, and this resulted in me wasting a set of tyres. Otherwise I think I could have achieved a position within the top-four. I want to be realistic for the races: we know that if it’s very hot we will be struggling, but I will try my best to get the most out of the first race.”
Alessandro BALZAN – JAS Motorsport, 8th
“I’m delighted. This has been my best qualifying so far since the beginning of the year. We are consistently improving, but I did not expect to be so quick today. Unfortunately I couldn’t use properly my last set of new tyres due to the red flag. We have nearly filled our gap from the Oregon Alfas, and we can still improve a bit. My only regret is that, despite being eighth overall, I’m still third of the Independents.”
Andy PRIAULX – BMW Team Great Britain, 9th
"It’s not an ideal situation. It’s a bit like Valencia, when the Alfas were a second quicker than anybody else. I’m not suprised to see that they were fastest, because we know that this track, with the kerbs and everything, is good for them and for SEAT; however they surprised me for being so much faster. But tomorrow we have two races, and maybe we can make up for today and score some good points for the championship. Definitely I didn’t give up my chances of winning tomorrow with the reverse grid."
Dirk MÜLLER – BMW Team Deutschland, 19th
"It was a very bad qualifying for me. I had gearbox problems and couldn’t do better than that. I lost all the gears, and I managed to post at least one lap time, but nothing more. We have been very surprised by the Alfa Romeos’ pace. In Vallelunga we were lapping in the same times, as well as when we tested here in February; then, all of a sudden, we are two seconds behind. I don’t know what’s going on.”
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Das Wolperdinger
AHN-NYUNG-HEE GA-SEH-YO
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Peter H
Really Senior Member II
Joined: 03-January-2004
Location: Worcestershire/Ost Bayern
Status: Offline
Points: 927
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Posted: 05-September-2004 at 15:51 |
NEWS [ 829 ] - 5 Sep 2004
TARQUINI WINS BOTH RACES AND CLOSES IN
Alfa Romeo was back in a dominating way on his home ground, before a large and cheering crowd. The AutoDelta red cars finished 1-2-3 in both races, like in Valencia earlier this year, though Augusto Farfus’s was later penalized in the second race. Gabriele Tarquini came home twice in first, and significantly closed the gap from the championship lead. The Italian driver, who was fourth in the Drivers’ classification, 20 points behind, before Imola, moved up to second and reduced the gap to 7 points only. Dirk Müller retained the lead, while Jörg Müller and Andy Priaulx are now equal in third place, only one point behind Tarquini. The Championship is still wide opened, with four drivers in 8 points, with four rounds to go.
The first race was quite uneventful, nearly anaesthetized by Alfa Romeo supremacy. Tarquini and Giovanardi led from the lights to the flag, and only Farfus’s third place was endangered by Gené, Priaulx and Tavano.
Race 2 was a totally different story, with the BMWs on top of the reverse grid, and the Alfas obliged to fight their way through the field. A number of overtakings thrilled the crowd, until the race turned to drama. After two collisions eliminated J. Müller and Priaulx, a spectacular pile-up in front of the main grandstand involved Zanardi, Tavano and D’Aste, resulting in a safety-car period. Though the race was neutralized for three laps, this phase turned to be crucial for the final result. And it might even influence the title fight because of the additional point earned by D. Müller. Farfus did not comply with the safety-car procedure, as he let the distance between the Tarquini-Giovanardi duo and his own car exceed the 5-car length. The Stewards imposed him a drive-through penalty which cannot be appealed; because the penalty was given at the end of the race, it was turned into a 30-second time penalty.
In the Independents Trophy, Oregon Team’s Salvatore Tavano won the first race, but the hero of the day was Alessandro Balzan, who won the second race in the JAS Motorsport Honda Civic, and also finished sixth overall, scoring his and Honda’s first points of the season. Balzan has now moved to second in the Trophy, 29 points behind Tom Coronel. Tavano’s team-mate, Michele Bartyan, came home seventh in Race 2, also scoring his first championship points.
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Das Wolperdinger
AHN-NYUNG-HEE GA-SEH-YO
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Peter H
Really Senior Member II
Joined: 03-January-2004
Location: Worcestershire/Ost Bayern
Status: Offline
Points: 927
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Posted: 07-September-2004 at 16:14 |
| Andy's Weekend of Mixed Fortunes
07-09-2004 | |
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Imola – My Weekend of Mixed Fortunes and Fan Support
Imola is over and in many ways I am relieved as it was a weekend of highs and lows.
The highs came after qualifying and the first race when I was easily the quickest BMW 320i driver in both of these. We knew it was not going to be easy for us due to our lack of experience at the track, but both Bart Mampaey, my Team Manager, and myself were in fairly buoyant mood after my fifth place in race one.
Then things changed for race two. I got a good start and managed to get up to Dirk Müller and Jörg Müller who started from the front row of the grid due to finishing eighth and seventh respectively in race one. I didn’t expect either of them to make my life easy as we are fighting for the championship, and eventually the pack of Alfas behind us caught up with me.
That was when things really started to get rough. I was literally rammed by the red cars of Gabriele Tarquini, Augusto Farrfus and Savatore Tavano. While the first two battered me it was the hit from behind by Tavano that finally put paid to my race. I was very upset and felt the Stewards should have taken some action. It was not to be so I have to put it down to experience and now look forward rather than back. I am still in with a shout for the championship and am only eight points off Dirk in the tables. We still have forty points to race for and I can assure you I am going to fight as hard as the next driver.
On the up side of the weekend, I had some great local support as some of my fans had made it all the way from Guernsey and it was great to see them on the grid with a Guernsey flag to cheer me on. It is not an easy journey from the island where I live to Imola, just down the road from Bologna, so I was really chuffed to see them there. I am proud of my Guernsey heritage and so it was a special moment for me.
While I was having my dramas in Italy I hear the boys in the Formula BMW UK Championship were also having a tough time in Rockingham. There were so many pace car laps that both races were stopped after thirty minutes and I understand there was a considerable amount of damage. I shall look forward to hearing first hand from the drivers who I look after in our Education and Coaching programme exactly what happened, but I was delighted that Jack Goldstraw finally got his first Rookie win and that Matt Harris had a better weekend at last. They have both been working hard all year so it is good to see this rewarded. I am sorry for the boys that had a bad weekend, but it is all part of the learning exercise.
I am now looking forward to the championship finals weekend in Donington on the 25th and 26th September. It should be quite nerve wracking for Philip Glew and Tim Bridgman as there is only 3.5 points between them at the top of the table, but I think Ross Curnow is in a much better position as he has a 34 point cushion over Sam Bird. However, we have all seen amazing finishes to series and know that it is not over until that final chequered flag in Donington. |
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Das Wolperdinger
AHN-NYUNG-HEE GA-SEH-YO
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CarlA
Really Senior Member I
BMWCC & Coupe Register Member
Joined: 27-March-2004
Location: Sheffield
Status: Offline
Points: 255
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Posted: 08-September-2004 at 16:05 |
Oh what a bad result a DNF in race 2 did not help the cause
Still in with a chance though.
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ETCC Imola
