British drivers Andy Priaulx and James Thompson have moved up to first and second places in the FIA World Touring Championship (WTCC) after Sunday’s two races at Curitiba, Brazil.
Defending champion, Priaulx (BMW), scored his fourth win of the season in Sunday’s drama-ridden second race, which marked the mid-point in the season.
The 31-year-old, from Guernsey, had only been able to come home eighth in the day’s opening race - but with the reverse grid rule, that put him on pole for the following round, which he lead all the way.
“Qualifying is so close this year that you can have a good car and still be 19th or 20th on the grid,” said Priaulx. “Gianni (Morbidelli) was very quick and passed me in the first race and then I was in eighth place and I knew I couldn’t afford to make a mistake. Jörg (Müller) was behind me so it was pretty tough.
“The second race was even tougher because I made a break and was getting into a rhythm before the safety car.
“Then after I got a good re-start I thought, ‘phew!’ but it happened again. At no point did I think I had the race won because it was one of those races where you could easily slip back.
”At any rate, I was pleased to be at the front of the second race because it looked a bit crazy back there!” Thompson, 31, from Harrogate, claimed fifth and fourth paces, helping his SEAT team take the lead of the Manufacturers’ Championship from BMW.
Thompson’s team-mate, Spaniard Jordi Gené, won the day’s first race. The previous leader of the series, former British Touring Car champion Yvan Muller, from France, slipped to fifth in the standings after failing to score any points this weekend.
The next round of the WTCC is at Pueblo, Mexico, on July 29th / 30th.
WTCC Manufacturers’ Championship
1, SEAT 127 points; 2, BMW 126 pts; 3, Alfa Romeo 75 pts; 4, Chevrolet 62 pts.
WTCC Drivers’ Championship
1, Andy Priaulx 44 points; 2, James Thompson 41 pts; 3, Gabriele Tarquini 40 pts; 4, Rickard Rydell 34 pts; 5, Yvan Muller 33 pts; 6, Dirk M üller 32 pts; 7, Peter Terting 32 pts; 8, Jörg Müller 30 pts; 9, Agusto Farfus 28 pts; 10, Jordi Gené 24 pts.
The FIA World Touring Car Championship was born out of the European Touring Car Championship, which it replaced in 2005. The three championships granted full FIA World Championship status are the Formula 1 World Championship, World Rally Championship and the World Touring Car Championship. The first WTCC Champion was Andy Priaulx.
The full WTCC calendar for 2006 is as follows:
Round Date Country Circuit
1 & 2 April 1st / 2nd Italy Monza 3 & 4 April 29th / 30th France Magny-Cours 5 & 6 May 20th / 21st Great Britain Brands Hatch 7 & 8 June 3rd / 4th Germany Oschersleben 9 & 10 July 1st / 2nd Brazil Curitiba 11 & 12 July 29th / 30th Mexico Puebla 13 & 14 September 2nd / 3rd Czech Republic Brno 15 & 16 September 23rd / 24th Turkey Istanbul 17 & 18 October 7th / 8th Spain Valencia 19 & 20 November 18th / 19th China Macau
