ON TRACK AND IN THE POINTS

Reigning FIA World Touring Car Champion, Andy Priaulx, is celebrating after regaining the championship lead in the Czech Republic this weekend.

Today’s rounds 13 and 14 of the competition put the BMW driver nine points clear of countryman James Thompson, who had an abysmal weekend leaving Brno empty-handed.

There was success too for Newmarket’s Rob Huff, who masterminded his first WTCC victory in race two, successfully defending against four-times race winner, Priaulx, from start to finish.

Huff, who drives for Chevrolet, said: "It's unbelievable. What a fantastic day, especially after the huge crash I had at Mexico, when I had to be taken away in a helicopter to hospital.

“The boys rebuilt the car in a week so this is for them. It's my first win, a long time coming, but fantastic. What a great effort from the whole team."

Priaulx, who had his highest points-scoring weekend of the season, said: "I'm delighted. I never expected to do much with 60kg of ballast*. The team really worked hard over the last few weeks.

“I don't want to take anything away from Rob because he drove brilliantly, but I have to think of the championship. I’ve won four races but it didn’t help me because of the weight. With 60kg here, it was the best result for me to get on the podium.”

Previous championship leader, James Thompson, had a disastrous qualifying session on Saturday, registering only the 20th fastest time. His bad fortune continued into both races as the SEAT driver finished out of the points in 14th position in race one and failed to complete the second race after problems with his power-steering.

"Brno was definitely not the place to be carrying seventy kilos!” said Thompson, from Harrogate, who earned the success ballast after a dominant performance in Mexico last month. “Once I qualified so far back, it was impossible to race. The speed difference between the cars was just massive.

“What happened in the second race put me out of my misery. I had a vibration at the front of the car and the team told me on the radio to pull in, in case it was an engine problem.

“It would have been great to take one or two points from here, but at least I go to the next race with less weight. I’m still second in the Championship, so it’s not all doom and gloom.”

The next round of the WTCC will take place in Istanbul, Turkey, on the September 23rd.

Notes to editors:

*Success ballast is a WTCC feature designed to ensure close racing. After each round, drivers receive weight penalties according to their championship position and points scored. The maximum weight penalty is 80 kg.

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 title was decided in the final round, Priaulx finishing with 101 points to Dirk Müller’s 86 and Fabrizio Giovanardi’s 81.

The 2005 WTCC saw 12 winners in 20 races.

FIA WTCC Drivers’ Championship (top 6):

1          Andy Priaulx                BMW                        58 points

2          James Thompson      SEAT                        49 points

3          Augusto Farfus Jr       Alfa Romeo              46 points

4          Dirk Müller                   BMW                        45 points

5          Yvan Muller                  SEAT                       45 points

6          Rickard Rydell            SEAT                        41 points

FIA WTCC Manufacturers’ Championship:

1          BMW                          179 points

2          SEAT                         172 points

3          Alfa Romeo               111 points

4          Chevrolet                     82 points