MotorSportVoice - 2008 - WTCC - United Kingdom (Round 7)

Brands Hatch provided the setting for the seventh round of the FIA World Touring Car Championship. The undulating Kent countryside circuit exhibited temperatures higher than any of those on the WTCC calendar so far. The partisan British crowd all had high expectations for the British trio of Andy Priaulx, Rob Huff and James Thompson.

Te qualifying session was a success for two of the Britons as Huff took third place and Priaulx took fourth. However, they were outclassed by Augusto Farfus who snatched pole position, and also by former BTCC star Alain Menu, who claimed second. James Thompson could only manage thirteenth fastest.

The rolling start of race one saw intense action from the line, as Menu challenged Farfus for the lead, contact was made but both continued, but only for a short distance. More contact ensued, and Farfus’ car spun into the wall at high speed, causing his retirement from the race. He managed to get the car back to the pits so the team could use the time remaining for the race to repair the car for the second race. Rob Huff inherited the lead ahead of Jorg Muller and Yvan Muller who had both leapt up from further back in the field. Priaulx was pressuring Yvan Muller but even though it seemed that the Frenchman had a slower car, and was holding the chasing pack up, the Briton could find no way past. Huff had seized the moment and was pulling out a huge gap to second placed Jorg Muller, who was in turn streaking ahead of the chasing pack. Priaulx could still not find a way past the SEAT of Yvan Muller, and this allowed Alex Zanardi and Alain Menu to pile the pressure onto him. The Brands Hatch event featured a new driver and a new car as Robert Dahlgren took to the track in his Volvo C30, prepared by Volvo Olsbergs Green Racing. He was giving a good account of both himself and the team, as he sat comfortably in front of many series regulars, and showed little respect for seniority as he battled with James Thompson. The pair would exchange positions a number of times during the race. With the race entering its final stages, Chevrolet driver Nicola Larini suffered from a front left puncture, but worse was to strike for the Chevrolet team, and indeed Rob Huff. He suffered a puncture in the same tyre, which saw his chances of claiming a race win on his 100th WTCC start disintegrate. The distraught Huff was forced to limp back to the pits as he watched as Jorg Muller, Yvan Muller and Andy Priaulx sweep by to take their places on the podium. Try as he may, Priaulx could not find a way past the SEAT of Yvan Muller, and eventually settled for third behind the two Mullers. Jorg crossed the line to take his first win of the 2008 season. In the closing laps, Alain Menu eased off and eventually finished eighth, giving him pole position for the second race. In a post race interview he stated that he had backed off to try and prevent a similar tyre failure, that had ruined both Huff and Larini’s race.

The grid for the second race saw Alain Menu sit on pole, with Gabriele Tarquini alongside. The second row featured Felix Porteiro and Tom Coronel. As expected the rear wheel driven BMW of Porteiro made an excellent start, as he jumped into first by the first corner. Alex Zanardi made a good start in his BMW from further back in the pack, as he moved into third place with a similar move. Behind the leaders, James Thompson and Jordi Gene made contact, and Gene was sent into the tyre wall at high speed destroying his SEAT Sport car, but thankfully he walked away. The incident was an unavoidable one, Thompson had come around the first corner wide, and footage even showed that he changed down a gear and braked to avoid Gene who drifted wide after spinning earlier, the contact was minimal, but was enough to cause the accident. The safety car was readying for deployment to allow the debris from that incident to be cleared up, but racing continued through the lap. Jorg Muller made an excellent pass on both Yvan Muller and Andy Priaulx, and by the end of the first lap Augusto Farfus had made his way from 24th on the grid to sit in 16th. The safety car was recalled at the end of lap five, as Porteiro did well at the restart, but a brave move from Alain Menu a few laps later saw him relinquish first place. Jorg Muller made another fine move, as he passed Tarquini, and moved into fourth place. Farfus and Rob Huff both overtook Tiago Monteiro, but within a corner Huff passed Farfus, and then Farfus lost out to a fight back from Monteiro. More disaster was on the cards for the British fans, as Andy Priaulx retired from the race with a puncture. Further back in the pack Farfus passed Sergio Hernandez and Rickard Rydell, pulling himself up to a finishing position of tenth from twenty-fourth. Jorg Muller tried to find a way passed Alex Zanardi in the closing laps, but Zanardi fended off the German. Alain Menu took the chequered flag, and was followed by Felix Porteiro and Alex Zanardi.

The WTCC now enters a mid season break, before moving to the German circuit of Oschersleben from the 30th – 31st August 2008.