first half of the WTCC season in Brno.

The first half of the 2009 FIA World Touring Car Championship comes to an end in Brno (CZ) this weekend. Following the first BMW victory of the season in Valencia (ES), claimed by Augusto Farfus (BR), the BMW national teams again want to play a major role when it comes to fighting for top positions at the “Automotodrom Brno”.

For the first time since the Marrakech (MA) rounds, all the title favourites from BMW, SEAT and Chevrolet will compete with the same compensation weight. Farfus, second in the championship, has to load 40 kilograms of ballast on his BMW 320si WTCC car. The same goes for his team-mate Jörg Müller (DE), BMW Team UK’s Andy Priaulx (GB) and Sergio Hernández (ES) from BMW Team Italy-Spain. Hernández team-mate, Alessandro Zanardi (IT), will take the start at the wheel of his BMW 320si WTCC with its sequential gearbox without carrying any ballast. Last year Zanardi was the dominant force in Brno: After scoring his maiden WTCC pole position, the Italian won the first race and finished second in race two.

Andy Priaulx (BMW Team UK): “As Brno is the scene of my first win in the ETCC days it has always been a special place for me. I like the track. We go there with all of us on the same weight, and the need for a big points’ weekend. It’s an all out attack for the rest of the season.”

Jörg Müller (BMW Team Germany): “Brno definitely is one of my favourites on the calendar. And I cannot complain about my record on this track either, as I scored victories there in 2006 and 2007. Following our one-two in Valencia, everyone in our team is fired up to make it onto the podium again in the Czech Republic.”

Augusto Farfus (BMW Team Germany): “I walked away from the past four races having bagged 31 points. Obviously I want to continue this trend in Brno. The track suits me well. Since I have been driving for BMW, I have never finished worse than fourth there. We will try to be as strong here as we were in Spain.”

Alessandro Zanardi (BMW Team Italy-Spain): “Even if I hadn’t enjoyed such good results there in the past I would still say: Wow! What a circuit. My victory in 2008 was great, but the pole position on the Saturday was even better. It is all about pure performance on the decisive qualifying lap. It is a great feeling to come out as the fastest.”

Sergio Hernández (BMW Team Italy-Spain): “I’m looking forward to our races in Brno an awful lot as BMW Team Italy-Spain has won there in the past two years. Our current form is improving from race weekend to race weekend. Therefore I’m confident we can be very competitive again in the Czech Republic.”