No reward for spirited comeback: BMW misses out on WTCC title.
The BMW national teams in the FIA World Touring Car Championship showed fighting spirit to keep the battle for the World Championship open right up to the season finale in Macau (CN). However, despite scoring a one-two in the final race, the BMW drivers failed to achieve their goal of passing the opposition on the season’s final home straight. With 311 points, BMW finished runner-up in the Manufacturers’ Championship, just three points behind SEAT. Augusto Farfus (BR) from BMW Team Germany was the highest placed BMW driver in third with 113 points. At the wheel of their BMW 320si WTCCs, the five BMW national team drivers claimed ten victories, three pole positions and clocked 12 fastest race laps for the brand over the course of the season. Between 2005 and 2007 BMW had won all Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ Championships. In 1987 Roberto Ravaglia (IT), now the boss at BMW Team Italy-Spain, was triumphant in the first World Touring Car Championship.
BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen said: “Congratulations to SEAT and Gabriele Tarquini on winning both championships. As expected the finale was dramatic, and this was somewhat symbolic of how the season had been for us. The first part of the year was especially difficult for us before we were able to close the gap. The outcome of the first race here in Macau was decided shortly after the start, when our rivals managed to get passed us. This lost Augusto Farfus his chance of winning the drivers’ title. In the final race it was impossible to turn things around in the manufacturers’ standing despite the BMW Team Germany one-two.”
Brazilian Farfus travelled to the finale at the “Guia Circuit” with a theoretical chance of winning the World Championship. However, the BMW Team Germany driver was unable to make inroads into Tarquini’s 13-point lead. Despite this, the 26-year-old could be happy with his season: he stood on the top step of the podium on six occasions, setting a new record, and secured three pole positions for BMW. Alongside Farfus, Andy Priaulx (GB) also claimed victories for BMW in Germany and Japan, while Alessandro Zanardi (IT) and Sergio Hernández (ES) were both triumphant in the Czech Republic. Farfus’ team-mate Jörg Müller (DE) climbed onto the podium six times and finished runner-up on five occasions to narrowly miss out on his 11th World Championship victory.
Difficult start, strong fightback.
The season did not start as planned for the BMW national teams. Not a single BMW driver made it to the podium in Curitiba (BR). At the second overseas event of the season, in Puebla (MX) the team put in a surprisingly strong performance to clinch pole position (Farfus) at the newly resurfaced circuit and claim three podium finishes. However, the WTCC inaugural race weekend in Marrakech (MA) merely confirmed the early season trend: only Farfus and Müller scored valuable points for BMW. The first World Touring Car Championship event to be held in Africa was followed by a dispute: on behalf of all the BMW national teams, BMW Team Germany launched a protest against the SEAT León TDI cars that lined up in the second race. The aim of this protest was to clarify the technical regulations regarding the maximum turbo boost pressure permitted for turbo-diesel engines. SEAT driver Tiago Monteiro (PT) was subsequently disqualified.
There were also plenty of topics of conversation away from the track at the curtain-raiser to the European season in Pau (FR). As well as the maximum turbo boost pressure for turbo-diesel engines, the maximum engine speed of 8,500 rpm was discussed. Nine drivers, among them Priaulx and Hernández, had exceeded this figure while shifting down through the gears. Surprisingly, the Stewards viewed this as a breach of the rules. Both drivers’ times from the second qualifying session were discarded, costing Priaulx his pole position. Despite this, BMW drivers left France with a lot of points. Farfus, in particular, had his sights firmly set on the lead in the Drivers’ Championship after finishing runner-up in both races.
The spell was finally broken in Valencia (ES): Farfus crossed the finish line first for the first time this season. As in previous years, BMW Team Italy-Spain again left its mark on the races in Brno (CZ), with Zanardi and Hernández both celebrating victories. The event in Porto marked the 100th race in the history of the World Touring Car Championship since 2005. It was also the scene of Farfus’ second victory of the season, and the Brazilian then went on to triumph in the second race at Brands Hatch (GB). At BMW’s home event in Oschersleben (DE) it was Priaulx’s turn to join the list of winners, while Farfus notched up victory number four of the season in race two. As expected, Imola (IT) proved to be a difficult circuit for BMW, but the national teams returned to form as the WTCC moved to Japan. It was Priaulx and Müller in race one, followed by Farfus and Priaulx again in race two to claim a pair of one-twos for BMW. Before the World Championship finale, SEAT’s lead in the Manufacturers’ Championship had been reduced from 29 points (after Marrakech) to just three. Farfus and Müller achieved the seventh one-two of the year for BMW in Macau. But that just wasn’t enough to win the titles as their SEAT rivals also managed to collected podium results and plenty of points. Therefore the BMW national were unable to turn things around in the championship standings.
It remains four World Championship titles for the BMW 320si WTCC.Although there was to be no title in 2009, the BMW 320si WTCC once again impressed on many race weekends. Following Priaulx’s triumph and the Manufacturers’ Championship title with the BMW 320i in 2005, the successor was also successful at the first attempt. The BMW 320si made its WTCC debut on 2nd April 2006, and was immediately impressive. Priaulx not only claimed pole position in Monza but also clinched victory in the first race. At the end of the year, BMW and Priaulx were at the top of the sport and successfully defended both titles in 2007.
The BMW national teams ended 2008 empty handed for the first time. The BMW Motorsport engineers reacted to the strengths of the SEAT León TDI with numerous detailed improvements to the BMW 320si WTCC, within the constraints of the Super2000 regulations. The most obvious visual modification was the facelift, which had previously been introduced to the series version of the BMW 3 Series. The BMW national teams raced for the first time with these design modifications in Marrakech. Zanardi’s car featured another innovation: he started 2009 with a sequential, six-speed gearbox for the first time. As a result, however, the regulations meant the Italian was handicapped by an extra 30 kilograms of weight.
From the races in Valencia onwards, the BMW 320si WTCC regularly returned to winning ways. BMW narrowly missed out on winning the Manufacturers’ Championship and its fifth World Championship title with this car by just three points. The ten triumphs achieved this season brings the car’s total to an impressive 36 victories at World Championship level, making it a worthy representative of the sporty BMW 3 Series on race circuits around the world.
Success guarantee for BMW privateers.The demand for BMW 320si WTCC racing kits, with which customer teams around the world are able to compete in accordance with the Super2000 regulations, is unstoppable. Over 60 models have been delivered by BMW Motorsport Distribution to date. Each one has what it takes to be a winner. Colin Turkington (GB), in particular, proved this point in 2009: the driver from the RAC team took the title in the prestigious British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) in his BMW 320si WTCC. In the WTCC Independents’ Trophy, four BMW drivers finished in the top five. BMW privateer Félix Porteiro (ES) was only beaten by Tom Coronel (NL/SEAT). Franz Engstler (DE) was on the brink of a sensation in Pau as his BMW 320si WTCC led the race with a good chance of winning. Unfortunately a spectacular collision with the safety-car denied the old hand his victory. The German went on to finish fourth in the Independents’ Trophy behind Coronel, Porteiro and Stefano D’Aste (IT/BMW). Views on the 2009 FIA World Touring Car Championship:
Augusto Farfus (BMW Team Germany):“After a ropy start overseas, the European season has been a positive one for us. Everyone worked unbelievably hard to keep our chances of winning the title intact. Of course I am disappointed that we missed out on winning the title. Personally I can be happy with my overall performance this year. Congratulations to Gabriele Tarquini. He was very strong over the course of the season.”
Andy Priaulx (BMW Team UK):“Of course I am not happy with the way the season went for me personally. I have won three titles and would have liked to have had a say in the World Championship in Macau again. However, the victories in the second half of the season have given me a big boost. In general, the car’s performance was excellent. I was often battling for pole position, and the race speed was also good. That makes it all the more disappointing to be returning to Europe without a title.”
Jörg Müller (BMW Team Germany): “I should have had a lot more points to my name this year. Right from the start I felt very at home in the car and was always up
