SEAT 1-2-3 WITH MULLER, TARQUINI AND RYDELL
SEAT Sport's Yvan Muller, who leads the Driver's Championship, took the
first win in Monza from team mate Gabriele Tarquini. Rickard Rydell
finished behind them in third to make it a complete SEAT podium.
But the race was not as simple as it sounds. As they all raced over the
line for the rolling start. Felix Porteiro made contact with James
Thompson, sending the N.technology Honda driver spinning across the
track. He collected third position driver Jordi Gene, Alain Menu, Robert
Huff, Pierre-Yves Corthals and Stefano D'Aste. Gene, Huff and Corthals
escaped relatively cleanly as they slotted back into the race, but Menu
fell back to the bottom of the field. D'Aste rejoined after a long pit
stop and Porteiro was unable to continue, though he managed to get his
damaged car back to the pits for the mechanics to fix for race 2.
Thompson was also out of the race, as his car was left stranded in the
middle of the racetrack.
Yvan Muller led the race at this point from Tarquini, and Rydell, but
further back things were getting interesting. Huff fought with and
overtook Alessandro Zanardi over the finish line as the cars completed
the first lap, demonstrating the speed potential of the Chevrolet
Lacetti. His team mate Nicola Larini, who had a great start getting up to
fourth, was being chased by the BMWs of Augusto Farfus and Andy Priaulx.
Farfus managed to find a way past him, only for the Italian to take him
back again, and then tried to overtake Rydell, but he was forced
backwards as Rydell closed the door. Then Priaulx took Farfus, and it
began to look like the Brazilian was having problems with the car. Within
a lap he was forced to stop at the end of the pit straight with smoke
pouring out of the back of the car.
Half way through the race Tarquini took the lead as he got into Muller's
slipstream, but a couple of laps later Tarquini let his team mate back
through after Muller got a good slipstream. So Muller finished ahead of
Championship rivals Tarquini and Rydell, with Priaulx in fourth and
Monteiro, in the SEAT that lost out in qualifying yesterday, behind him
in fifth.
Larini finished sixth following an incident with Rydell in the final lap
of the race. He tried to pass the SEAT driver, made contact and forced
Rydell to cut the chicane. Rydell slowed down to abide by regulations,
but Larini suffered damage and began to fall back, finishing just ahead
of his team mate. Huff overtook Gene on the final laps to take seventh
position, and Gene who lost out in the first corner will start from pole
for the second race.
Corthals and Franz Engstler had a good fight for the Independents'
Trophy. Corthals struggled on the straights following the first lap
incident with Thompson, but was able to beat Engstler into the corners as
he finally took the win.
-credit: fiawtcc.com
