O’Young grabs first independent podium of the season at Curitiba

• WTCC TO RESUME IN US AFTER 8-WEEK SUMMER BREAK

(23 July, Hong Kong) Hong Kong race driver Darryl O’Young recorded his first independent podium of the 2012 World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) season in Brazil after grabbing an overall P7 finish in the opening race at Curitiba yesterday.

Darryl O'Young, SEAT Leon WTCC, Special Tuning Racing

Photo by: xpb.cc

Starting from overall P7 in the first race, the Hong Kong number one driver had a good start and managed to keep his position despite a gearbox problem.

“I started feeling a problem with the 3rd gear during the race. It was costing me a lot of time and I was very worried about finishing the race. We managed to get to the end but the guys had to take the gearbox out before race 2,” said O’Young.

The Team STR engineers tried but failed to repair the gearbox within the limited time and Darryl was forced to retire from the second race, which he was set to benefit from the reverse grid and would have started in overall P4.

The result meant O’Young retained his position in the Yokohama Drivers’ Trophy standing with 34 points, 15 adrift of 7th-place Mehdi Bennani.

WTCC will now enter its summer break of the season before round 17 & 18 resume in the United States in late September. It will be the first time ever that a WTCC event be held on US soil.

Qualifying 1 at Curitiba – Independent P4 & Overall P9
"Qualifying went very well in Brazil on a circuit that saw the Chevrolets untouchable."

Qualifying 2 at Curitiba – Independent P3 & Overall P7
"I drove a strong lap in Q2 that put us P7 overall and P3 independents, which really are the maximum results we could get in Curitiba."

Race 1 at Curitiba (2012 round 15) – Independent P3 & Overall P7 \"I am happy with our first independent podium of the year and it’s a move in the right direction."

Race 2 at Curitiba (2012 round 16) – DNS

Source: O’Young Racing