WTCC Magny Cours

Would have thought the Officials at the track would have to act at the time, FIA could take retrospective action & put drivers on a caution, Have to see if anything happens

A Good Weekend in Magny Cours

Magny Cours was a good weekend for me. A second and a third and now third in the championship points’ table. However, the down side is I go to my home race at Silverstone on the 15th May carrying 50 kilos of ballast. It is a waste of time trying to decide at which circuits this sort of weight will be the biggest disadvantage, as this amount of ballast will hurt anywhere.

Anyway I am now looking forward not to Silverstone, but to the Nürburgring 24 Hour Race next weekend. The weekend before Magny Cours I went back to this awesome track and did another four hour race. Luckily the weather was kind so we ran for the whole time. I really enjoyed this, and again was driving a BMW 320i. In fact I won my class in the race so now have points in the championship. However, the 24 hour event will be in the BMW M3 GTR and so will be very different. BMW had a one two there last year, so I am keeping my fingers crossed for the same again.

While I was in Magny Cours my ‘pupils’ in the Formula BMW UK Championship were at Thruxton for their second meeting of the series. I had to do this again by remote, but was happy to have a report from my co-instructor, Enzo Mucci, that on the whole they behaved themselves on the track. I have also seen that both races were amazing with the Fortec Motorsport drivers Stian Sørlie and Sam Bird battling it out at the front and swapping places all through both races. Stian won both, but there was never more than a few tenths between him and Sam, whose first win I am sure will be very soon free weekend.

The Thruxton races were watched by BMW Motorsport Director, Mario Theissen, and word has filtered back that he was happy with what he saw. He came to our first race a year ago and it seems he was delighted with the way the series has progressed. I want to say a big well done to all the lads and particularly Stian and Sam whose driving tactics I understand were excellent and impressed not only Mario but also Frank Williams and Mark Webber.

Rockingham will be fun as I shall see the boys in action for the first time this season, and also get to drive some fun cars. I am being let loose in a WilliamsF1 BMW, the BMW Le Mans winning car and my own BMW Team UK WTCC BMW 320i. This is all to entertain the crowds, but I am certain I shall be entertaining myself. It is the BMW Power Festival and I am hoping we will get a good crowd to watch us. There will also be a trip of a lifetime for a lucky ticket holder. The holder of the numbered ticket, that will be drawn from those who have booked in advance, will have a ride with me round the Rockingham track in the brand new BMW M5 course car.

 
Full result of the first race of the World Touring Car Championship meeting at the French circuit of Magny-Cours.

1. Jorg Müller BMW Team Deutschland BMW 320i 22m 19.545s 12 laps
2. Andy Priaulx BMW Team UK BMW 320i +2.882secs
3. Rickard Rydell SEAT Sport SEAT Toledo Cupra +7.253secs
4. Gabriele Tarquini Alfa Romeo Racing Team Alfa Romeo 156 +8.334secs
5. Antonio García BMW Team Italy-Spain BMW 320i +9.899secs
6. Dirk Müller BMW Team Deutschland BMW 320i +12.912secs
7. Jordi Gené SEAT Sport SEAT Toledo Cupra +14.115secs
8. Augusto Farfus Alfa Romeo Racing Team Alfa Romeo 156 +15.667secs
9. Peter Terting SEAT Sport SEAT Toledo Cupra +19.453secs
10. Fabrizio Giovanardi Alfa Romeo Racing Team Alfa Romeo 156 +19.587secs
11. James Thompson Alfa Romeo Racing Team Alfa Romeo 156 +23.991secs
12. Roberto Colciago JAS Motorsport Honda Accord Euro R +24.812secs
13. Marc Hennerici Wiechers-Sport BMW 320i +26.543secs
14. Carl Rosenblad Crawford Racing BMW 320i +28.060secs
15. Alex Zanardi BMW Team Italy-Spain BMW 320i +35.192secs
16. Valle Makela GR Asia SEAT Toledo Cupra +35.755secs
17. Nicola Larini Chevrolet Chevrolet Lacetti +38.495secs
18. Salvatore Tavano Antonelli Sport Alfa Romeo 156 GTA +41.644secs
19. Rob Huff Chevrolet Chevrolet Lacetti +44.208secs
20. Gianluca De Lorenzi GDL Racing BMW 320i +47.620secs
21. Giuseppe Cirò Proteam Motorsport BMW 320i +47.792secs
22. Adriano De Micheli JAS Motorsport Honda Accord Euro R +48.627secs
23. Tom Coronel GR Asia SEAT Toledo Cupra +52.701secs
24. Thomas Jäger Hotfiel Sport Ford Focus +59.186secs
25. Stefano Valli Zerocinque Motorsport BMW 320i +1min 08.383secs

Not classified:

DNF. Thomas Klenke Hotfiel Sport Ford Focus 8 laps completed
DNF. Alessandro Balzan Scuderia del Girasole SEAT Toledo Cupra 4 laps completed
DNF. Andrea Larini Antonelli Sport Alfa Romeo 156 GTA 4 laps completed
NCF. Sascha Plöderl RS-Line IPZ Racing Ford Focus ST170 3 laps completed
DNF. Alain Menu Chevrolet Chevrolet Lacetti 0 laps completed
DNF. Adam Lacko IEP Team BMW 320i 0 laps completed
DNF. Stefano D'Aste Proteam Motorsport BMW 320i 0 laps completed

DNS. Frank Diefenbacher RS-Line IPZ Racing Ford Focus ST170 Withdrawn

Fastest lap:

Jorg Müller BMW Team Deutschland BMW 320i 1m 50.826s Lap 3



Another Müller occupied the top spot of the podium, but this time it was Jörg who won Race 1 at Magny Cours. Jörg started from pole and stayed ahead of the field for the entire race. Fellow BMW driver, Andy Priaulx had a spectacular start, overtaking Augusto Farfus and Rickard Rydell before entering the first corner. The 2004 FIA ETCC title holder did not surrender this advantage and crossed the line in second place 2.882 seconds behind the winner.
Rydell represented SEAT Sport on the podium by finishing third in his SEAT Toledo Cupra after an exciting duel with Gabriele Tarquini’s Alfa Romeo. Antonio García, Dirk Müller, Jordi Gené and Farfus filled the other point positions, while Peter Terting made a daring move on the very last corner of the race to overtake Fabrizio Giovanardi, meaning the rookie German claimed ninth place.
Early in the race Chevrolet’s Alain Menu was involved in an incident with Stefano D’Aste which resulted in a premature finish for both; almost at the same time Adam Lacko went off into the gravel trap. Menu’s team-mates, Nicola Larini and Robert Huff however, kept team spirits high by finishing 17th and 19th.
Ford Hotfiel Sport are still suffering with difficulties as Thomas Klenke only completed 8 laps of the race due to a contact with another car. His team-mate Thomas Jäger managed all 12 laps and finished 24th. The third Ford in the race, Sascha Plöderl old Focus, retired with a broken driveshaft.
Marc Hennerici continued his success as an independent driver and obtained maximum points by overtaking rival Carl Rosenblad on the penultimate lap. He crossed the line 13th overall. Alessandro Zanardi overcame a gearbox problem that occurred during qualifying to secure his third consecutive win of the Italian Superturismo Championship, finishing 15th overall.











Full result of the second race of the World Touring Car Championship meeting from the French circuit of Magny-Cours.

1. Jorg Müller BMW Team Deutschland BMW 320i 22m 23.707s 12 laps
2. Dirk Müller BMW Team Deutschland BMW 320i +5.003secs
3. Andy Priaulx BMW Team UK BMW 320i +5.171secs
4. Antonio García BMW Team Italy-Spain BMW 320i +5.480secs
5. Augusto Farfus Alfa Romeo Racing Team Alfa Romeo 156 +6.034secs
6. Jordi Gené SEAT Sport SEAT Toledo Cupra +8.879secs
7. Fabrizio Giovanardi Alfa Romeo Racing Team Alfa Romeo 156 +10.538secs
8. Gabriele Tarquini Alfa Romeo Racing Team Alfa Romeo 156 +10.828secs
9. James Thompson Alfa Romeo Racing Team Alfa Romeo 156 +17.135secs
10. Peter Terting SEAT Sport SEAT Toledo Cupra +19.057secs
11. Rickard Rydell SEAT Sport SEAT Toledo Cupra +21.256secs
12. Roberto Colciago JAS Motorsport Honda Accord Euro R +22.527secs
13. Nicola Larini Chevrolet Chevrolet Lacetti +23.794secs
14. Tom Coronel GR Asia SEAT Toledo Cupra +25.127secs
15. Carl Rosenblad Crawford Racing BMW 320i +26.852secs
16. Rob Huff Chevrolet Chevrolet Lacetti +27.392secs
17. Marc Hennerici Wiechers-Sport BMW 320i +28.843secs
18. Giuseppe Cirò Proteam Motorsport BMW 320i +29.162secs
19. Salvatore Tavano Antonelli Sport Alfa Romeo 156 GTA +31.718secs
20. Gianluca De Lorenzi GDL Racing BMW 320i +32.314secs
21. Adriano De Micheli JAS Motorsport Honda Accord Euro R +32.902secs
22. Thomas Jäger Hotfiel Sport Ford Focus +38.381secs
23. Thomas Klenke Hotfiel Sport Ford Focus +39.227secs
24. Stefano Valli Zerocinque Motorsport BMW 320i +52.259secs
25. Alex Zanardi BMW Team Italy-Spain BMW 320i +53.862secs
26. Sascha Plöderl RS-Line IPZ Racing Ford Focus ST170 +2 laps

Not classified:

DNF. Valle Makela GR Asia SEAT Toledo Cupra 4 laps completed

DNS. Alessandro Balzan Scuderia del Girasole SEAT Toledo Cupra
DNS. Andrea Larini Antonelli Sport Alfa Romeo 156 GTA
DNS. Alain Menu Chevrolet Chevrolet Lacetti
DNS. Adam Lacko IEP Team BMW 320i
DNS. Stefano D'Aste Proteam Motorsport BMW 320i
DNS. Frank Diefenbacher RS-Line IPZ Racing Ford Focus ST170 Withdrawn

Fastest lap:

Jorg Müller BMW Team Deutschland BMW 320i 1m 50.826s Lap 7





BMW have yet again been victorious at Magny-Cours. Not only did they take the race win; the first four to finish were BMW 320i cars. Jörg Müller was first, making it two consecutive wins. The 35 year old German started from 8th on the grid and drove a superb race. After gradually overtaking the seven drivers ahead of him, he edged away and finished just over 5 seconds ahead of the rest. The battle behind provided great entertainment for spectators, with non stop action.
In the early stages Augusto Farfus, who had started on pole, took the lead. On lap 4, under pressure from BMW drivers, the young Brazilian made a mistake and went wide dropping to fifth. Dirk Müller inherited the lead, chased by Antonio García, but on lap 5 Jörg Müller managed to overtake both.
Behind the three leaders Andy Priaulx made some impressive manoeuvres to overtake Farfus and García. Finally he had Dirk Müller in his sights but despite many efforts was unable to capture second spot. Dirk finished just 0.168 seconds ahead of Priaulx and caused some drama on the start/finish grid as he spun. Farfus, who was the best placed of the Alfa Romeo drivers with fifth position, could not swerve in time and hit him. SEAT Sport had two drivers in the top 10 with Gene sixth and Terting tenth.
Positive steps have been made by Ford Hotfiel Sport this weekend as round 4 saw both Ford Focus cars crossing the chequered flag for the first time. Thomas Jäger and Thomas Klenke finished 22nd and 23rd respectively. Chevrolet too had an improvement with Nicola Larini moving closer obtaining a top 10 finish. He finished 13th, whilst team-mate Robert Huff was 16th .
Tom Coronel emerged as the winner of the Independents’ race in his GR Asia SEAT Toledo Cupra. The Dutchman took 14th place overall just ahead of Carl Rosenblad, while his team-mate Valle Mäkelä’s pursuit for points was put to an end after contact was made with Alessandro Zanardi’s BMW during a fight for the ledership of the Italian Championship. Proteam Motorsport’s Giuseppe Cirò finished the race 18th overall and inherited win in the Italian Supertursimo Championship.
After the race Coronel was excluded, his car failing to compy with the ride height, meaning that Rosenblad was promoted to first of the Independents.

Looks like its going to be a close couple of races.

Andy looks to be in reasonable shape, heres hoping!!

Edited by CarlA