Roal Motorsport Slovakia event summary

Cerqui and Coronel best of the BMW drivers in Slovakia

Alberto Cerqui, BMW 320 TC, ROAL Motorsport

Photo by: xpb.cc

30/04/2012 - The positive season of ROAL Motorsport in FIA WTCC 2012 kept its momentum also in Slovakia: in fact, team's drivers have been again the best BMW drivers in the fourth round of the season thanks to the fourth place of Alberto Cerqui (IT) in race one and that of Tom Coronel (NED) in race two.

On Saturday, Q1 ended two minutes early as it was red flagged but Cerqui managed anyway to get into the top twelve for the first time (2'14.331), therefore entering in Q2. Less lucky was Cornel instead who had to abort his decisive lap and was relegated to the thirteenth position (2'14.490). In Q2 Cerqui aimed to the tenth place that was worth the pole start in race two, but he ended twelfth (2'15.288).

A good start in race one allowed the ROAL Motorsport's driver to gain three positions. The successive laps lived a long battle with Stefano d'Aste (BMW), with the latter being overtaken by Cerqui during lap eight, a position that was promoted to fourth place due to the retirement of some rivals. The champion from Brescia crossed the line in fourth position, best of the BMW drivers and second in the Yokohama Drivers' Trophy.

Coronel fought instead throughout the race keeping himself in the top ten; despite finishing eighth he was relegated to the fourteenth place of the classification as a consequence of the thirty seconds penalty issued by stewards due to a contact with a rival.

The Dutch driver promptly counter-charged in race two where, thanks to a stunning start, he scored a good recover allowing him to cross the finish line in fourth position, first of the BMW drivers. Positive was also Cerqui's race as he ended eighth absolute and fourth in the Yokohama Drivers' Trophy.

Roberto Ravaglia (ROAL Motorsport, Team Principal): "The team achieved the best possible result with the material we have in this occasion too. The red flag in Q1 penalyzed Coronel who certainly had the potential to get into Q2. Tom used all his experience in the race and obtained important points for the classification in race two. Cerqui for the first time centered Q2 and his race pace has been similar to that of his team mate, showing a positive growth from the previous rounds".

Coronel is currently fourth in the classification at 89 points, 32 short of the third place. In the Yokohama Drivers' Trophy Cerqui is fifth instead at 25 points, 13 short of the fourth place. In the Yokohama Teams' Trophy, ROAL Motorsport strengthened its leadership reaching 73 points, enjoying 20 points advantage to the closest rivals. The FIA WTCC will be back on track next weekend in Budapest (H).