N.Technology's James Thompson put in a stunning drive to third in today’s first FIA World Touring Car Championship race at Anderstorp in Sweden, backing up his performance with a hard-fought fifth in race two.
Thompson, who was one of the highest scorers of the weekend with a total of ten points, ran ninth in the wet in the early stages of race one before launching his charge and passing five cars in the second half of the race. The decisive moment came on lap 10, when he passed the third-placed Chevrolet of Rickard Rydell to make sure of his podium place. It was N.Technology's first podium since Thompson's stunning double victory at Valencia in May.
Thompson put in another spectacular charge in race two, holding sixth place in the early stages before passing Rob Huff's Chevrolet for fifth on lap four. Thompson then passed Gabriele Tarquini on lap ten to secure fifth place and was one of the fastest drivers running on wet drivers in the dry conditions of the closing stages.Olivier Tielemans at the wheel of the Alfa Romeo 156Team-mate Olivier Tielemans enjoyed his best weekend of the year, finishing 12th in race one in challenging conditions and following it up with 21st in race two.
James Thompson, car number 15
"This has been a fantastic weekend. We've been ahead of the BMWs all weekend and we've raced with and beaten Chevrolets and SEATs to score ten points. This season is all about picking up podium finishes, and we've achieved that again. In both races it was a question of being patient in the early stages adjusting to the difficult conditions and working out where the Alfa Romeo 156 was stronger. It was a really enjoyable race and we've proved that there's life in this car yet and that N.Technology is doing a fantastic job of getting the best out of it. Maybe if we had started higher than tenth in race one winning would have been possible, but we have to be happy with this result - it has been a great weekend."
Olivier Tielemans, car number 16
“Race one was one of the best races I have had this year. The team did a great job to make the car so fast in these conditions and I was able to pass lots of cars easily. The conditions were difficult, but although I haven't had much time in the car in the wet I was able to push hard. I made good progress every lap. Race two was very difficult because of the conditions - I was on wet tyres and it was very hard work in the second half of the race."
FIA World Touring Car Championship – Anderstorp
Round 13 results
1. Rob Huff (GBR), Chevrolet Lacetti
2. Tiago Monteiro (POR), SEAT Leon
3. James Thompson (GBR), Alfa Romeo 156
4. Tom Coronel (NED), SEAT Leon
5. Gabriele Tarquini (ITA), SEAT Leon
6. Yvan Muller (FRA), SEAT Leon TDI
7. Nicola Larini (ITA), Chevrolet Lacetti
8. Alain Menu (SUI), Chevrolet Lacetti
13. Olivier Tielemans (NED), Alfa Romeo 156
FIA World Touring Car Championship – Anderstorp
Round 14 provisional results
1. Rickard Rydell (SWE), Chevrolet Lacetti
2. Nicola Larini (ITA), Chevrolet Lacetti
3. Alain Menu (SUI), Chevrolet Lacetti
4. Tom Coronel (NED), SEAT Leon
5. James Thompson (GBR), Alfa Romeo 156
6. Tiago Monteiro (POR), SEAT Leon
7. Gabriele Tarquini (ITA), SEAT Leon
8. Robert Dahlgren (SWE), Volvo S60
21. Olivier Tielemans (NED), Alfa Romeo 156
The next FIA WTCC race weekend will take place in Oschersleben, Germany on 25 and 26 August 2007.
