Zanardi takes another win in the WTCC at the wheel of a BMW 320si.
Istanbul (Turkey), 24th September 2006. Alessandro Zanardi (ITA) of BMW Team
Italy-Spain won the 15th round of the FIA World Touring Car Championship. At the
wheel of his BMW 320si WTCC, the 39-year-old celebrated a dominant victory at
the "Istanbul Speed Park". It was Zanardi's second World Championship win after his
triumph in Oschersleben last year. SEAT's Rickard Rydell (SWE) and Gabriele
Tarquini (ITA) finished second and third respectively. BMW Team Germany driver
Dirk Muller (GER) took fourth position. In the second race of the day, which was
started with a two-hour delay following torrential rainfalls, Tarquini claimed victory
ahead of his brand-mate Peter Terting (GER) and Chevrolet's Nicola Larini (ITA). Dirk
Muller (GER) of BMW Team Germany finished seventh, thus being the most
successful of driver of the BMW national teams in this round.
Following the two races on Turkish soil, the chase for the drivers' title is closer than
ever. Despite leaving Istanbul empty-handed, BMW Team UK's Andy Priaulx (GBR)
is still leading the championship with 58 points. Dirk Muller improved to fourth
position, now having 51 points under his belt. In the manufacturers' classification,
BMW is in second place having scored 192 points. SEAT holds the lead with 201
points.
Zanardi had set the fastest lap times in each practice session this weekend and
confirmed his underlined shape at the start of race one. The former Formula One
driver overtook pole-sitter Rydell when entering turn 1 - and defended the lead until
the chequered flag. After ten laps he crossed the line as winner, 1.002 seconds
ahead of the Swede. Following second- and third-place finishes in Brno and Curitiba,
Zanardi and his BMW Team Italy-Spain celebrated their first win of the season.
Behind the top three, the drivers of the BMW national teams were involved in many
exciting duels. Zanardi's team-mate Duncan Huisman (NLD) battled SEAT driver
Yvan Muller (FRA) for a couple of laps. After several attacks and counter-attacks, he
finally took fourth place on lap five. Shortly later, he set the fastest lap of the race,
clocking a time of 2:06.959 minutes. Nevertheless, Dirk Muller managed to pass his
brand-mate on the final lap of the race. The 30-year-old had delivered a mature
performance and kept out of all turmoil. By winning five championship points, Dirk
Muller celebrated his comeback in the WTCC title fight.
However, reigning touring car champion Priaulx and Jorg Muller (GER) experienced a
less successful race. Already on the second lap, Priaulx was pushed off the track by
Luca Rangoni (ITA) and lost many positions. The 32-year-old, carrying the maximum
handicap weight of 80 kilograms, finished 14th and had to have his exhaust changed.
BMW Team Germany driver Jorg Muller was running in sixth place, when the left rear
wheel suspension of his car was damaged in a collision with Yvan Muller on lap four.
He headed into the pits to give his Schnitzer Motorsport crew the opportunity to
repair the damage for the second race.
In the break between the two sprint races, a thunderstorm with heavy rainfalls hit the
"Istanbul Speed Park". Turn 9 was completely flooded. However, when the rain gave
way to sunshine again, conditions improved quickly and race two could be started at
18:15hrs local time.
At the beginning, it appeared as if the drivers of the BMW national teams could once
more fight for top positions. But over the course of the race, the wet track proved to
be difficult territory for the quintet, as none of them succeeded in scoring a podium
result. Nevertheless, Jorg Muller had all reason to be happy with his incredible catch
up. Starting from the pit lane, he ploughed through the field and finished eighth. Dirk
Muller took chequered flag one spot ahead of his team-mate. The 2005 WTCC
runner-up was running in third place for many laps, but could not match his rivals'
pace on the slippery track. He won two championship points for seventh place.
Zanardi and Huisman also struggled with the difficult conditions. Over the course of
the race, Zanardi dropped down from fifth to ninth place. Huisman had to make do
with tenth position. Priaulx suffered a dose of bad luck: The Guernsey-born driver
was on his way to moving up from 14th place. On lap two, however, he was hit by
another car. In this collision, the rear bumper of his BMW 320si WTCC was damaged
and slashed the right rear tyre. As a consequence, Priaulx had to retire with a tyre
failure on lap three.
The FIA World Touring Car Championship will resume on 8th October 2006 at
Valencia's "Circuit de la Comunitat" with rounds 17 and 18 of the exciting series.
Reactions:
Alessandro Zanardi (BMW Team Italy-Spain):
"I'm really happy about my second win in the World Touring Car Championship. It's a
fantastic feeling, if you see your rivals becoming smaller and smaller in your rear
mirror and to realise that victory is drawing closer. My first win in Oschersleben was
unbeatable in terms of emotions. However, my situation has not changed
dramatically since then, as my legs have not grown back again. Therefore, this
moment is also very special for me. My team gave me a car that was almost
unbeatable in the dry today. It's great to win the first race, when everybody gives its
all to score a good result. I made the suggestion during the break to cancel race two
and to award double points to the winner of race one-- No, seriously, there was not
much for us to win in the wet. That's why I'm delighted that the first race went so
good for us."
-credit: bmw
