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The World Touring Car Championship moved northwards from Brazil, to Puebla in Mexico. The BMWs would be looking to strike back after being swamped by the SEATs in the last round. The Australian V8 Supercar Championship got under way again with the Clipsal 500 at Adelaide, numerous driver and regulation changes meant that this season would be interesting from the word go.
Through early practice sessions the SEATS seemed to have the upper hand yet again over the rest of the pack with the BMWs struggling. Chevrolet and Lada were left languishing further back. Qualifying was a different story altogether as Augusto Farfus put his BMW on pole, and was closely followed by Andy Priaulx in second, ahead of the armada of SEATs. The rolling start saw the front row pair slip back, but Rickard Rydell seized his opportunity and led the race after the first corner. Priaulx was sent further back in the pack after tussling with Tiago Monteiro. Rydell was looking to pull out a lead but Farfus chased him gallantly throughout. Priaulx was stuck behind the SEAT of Yvan Muller who was in turn behind Gabriele Tarquini. Priaulx made a fantastic pass on Muller and then set about moving past Tarquini. He did so after slight contact, and Muller followed him through. In the middle of the field BMW driver Jorg Muller was battling with Tiago Monteiro, but contact sent them both off track. On rejoining Jorg set about chasing down the lead pack with an obviously fast car. Priaulx, meanwhile, was hot on the heels of Farfus in second. He had closed the gap in double-quick time, but could not find a way past the Brazilian. This battle between the BMWs meant that Rydell could relax somewhat in the closing laps to claim his first win of the 2009 season. Farfus and Priaulx held position to complete the podium. Jorg Muller's determined drive, and good set-up, catapulted him to fifth despite his off. The second race saw Nicola Larini on pole thanks to his eighth place finish in race one along with the reverse grid rule. The Chevrolet team would have been hoping for much better than they saw. Larini was swamped by corner one, then shuffled back through the pack throughout the race. SEAT's Jordi Gene took the lead, and his notoriety for being difficult to pass was evident as he held off Jorg Muller. The German did make a pass early on, but it was reversed immediately by Gene. Again Jorg would suffer at the hands of a SEAT. As he set about chasing Gene down once again, Gabriele Tarquini made contact from behind, which sent him spinning out of second place, he eventually rejoined in 21st. At the front Gene was now followed by Yvan Muller and Andy Priaulx. All three were lapping quickly, but it seemed the latter pairing had the upper hand, and this showed. Muller made a fantastic move on Gene, and was followed by Priaulx. Gene was eventually passed by Rydell, who had moved up from eighth, to battle for the lead again. From thereon in it was a battle between Muller and Priaulx, or on occasion a battle between Priaulx and Rydell. Priaulx clearly had the pace to take the victory, but could not find a way past the SEAT of Muller, which seemingly pulled away every time Priaulx closed the gap. This tied with the pressure from Rydell meant the three crossed the line in the same order.
Jamie Whincup picked up where he left off in 2008 winning both races at the opening round of the V8 Supercar Championship in Adelaide. He put his Team Vodafone Ford Falcon FG on pole after the new qualifying format but started poorly in race one. He fell back allowing team mate Craig Lowndes to assume the lead of the race. Whincup fought back immediately, soon re-took the lead after making good passes on Garth Tander, James Courtney and Paul Dumbrell. Courtney's day went wrong as his cool suit failed. He tolerated the heat for some time, but eventually pitted to cool off. 2007 Champion Garth Tander was running in the top five for much of the race, but a power steering failure late on saw his retirement from the race. His new team mate Will Davison finished third on his debut for the Holden Racing Team despite a spin, which was probably as a result of fluid from Tander's car. At the front it was looking like a Team Vodafone one-two until Lowndes suffered the same fate as Tander. Jamie Whincup led home Lee Holdsworth and Will Davison. Holdsworth celebrated a fantastic result for Garry Rogers Motorsport, especially after the team saw the other of their cars part destroyed earlier in the race, as Michael Caruso was fortunate to walk away from a massive shunt. The start of race two saw a role reversal for the Team Vodafone pair, this time it was Jamie Whincup who got away cleanly with Craig Lowndes falling back. Tander applied pressure early on, and moved past Whincup for the lead. Whincup kept him honest throughout and would later make the pass back for the lead. Mark Winterbottom suffered in the race. He went off track with what seemed to be a tyre problem, rejoining down the order. Craig Lowndes was moving up well after his disastrous start, and eventually rose to fourth applying pressure on Garth Tander for third late on. Tander had been out raced by Will Davison, who made a great pass for second, and set about chasing Whincup. Whincup took the chequered flag, closely followed by Davison, with Tander and Lowndes some way behind.
Next weekend sees the V8 Supercars back in action, albeit in a non-championship role, as they provide support for the opening round of the FI Formula 1 World Championship from Albert Park in Melbourne.
Results
Touring Cars
WTCC
Race 1 Final Positions (Top 10)
1. Rickard Rydell
2. Augusto Farfus
3. Andy Priaulx
4. Yvan Muller
5. Jorg Muller
6. Gabriele Tarquini
7. Jordi Gene
8. Nicola Larini
9. Sergio Hernandez
10. Felix Porteiro
Race 2 Final Positions (Top 10)
1. Yvan Muller
2. Andy Priaulx
3. Rickard Rydell
4. Augusto Farfus
5. Sergio Hernandez
6. Alessandro Zanardi
7. Jordi Gene
8. Gabriele Tarquini
9. Felix Porteiro
10. Nicola Larini
Driver Standings
1. Yvan Muller 30 Pts
1= Rickard Rydell 30 Pts
3. Augusto Farfus 20 Pts
4. Gabriele Tarquini 19 Pts
5. Jordi Gene 18 Pts
6. Andy Priaulx 16 Pts
7. Jorg Muller 8 Pts
8. Sergio Hernandez 7 Pts
9. Alessandro Zanardi 3 Pts
9= Felix Porteiro 3 Pts
Manufacturer Standings
1. SEAT 67 Pts
2. BMW 49 Pts
3. LADA 20 Pts
4. CHEVROLET 18 Pts
V8 Supercar Championship
Race 1 Final Positions (Top 10)
1. Jamie Whincup
2. Lee Holdsworth
3. Will Davison
4. Steven Johnson
5. Jason Richards
6. Shane Van Gisbergen
7. Todd Kelly
8. Racing Russell Ingall
9. Cameron McConville
10. Rick Kelly
Race 2 Final Positions (Top 10)
1. Jamie Whincup
2. Will Davison
3. Garth Tander
4. Craig Lowndes
5. Lee Holdsworth
6. Steven Johnson
7. Jason Richards
8. Greg Murphy
9. Steven Richards
10. Rick Kelly
Driver Standings
1. Jamie Whincup 300 Pts
2. Will Davison 267 Pts
3. Lee Holdsworth 249 Pts
4. Steven Johnson 222 Pts
5. Jason Richards 207 Pts
6. Craig Lowndes 168 Pts
6= Shane Van Gisbergen 168 Pts
8. Rick Kelly 156 Pts
9. Russell Ingall 150 Pts
10. Jason Bright 141 Pts
Team Standings
1. Team Vodafone 468 Pts
2. Toll Holden Racing 396 Pts
3. Brad Jones Racing 333 Pts
4. Garry Rogers Motorsport 306 Pts
5. Jim Beam Racing 300 Pts
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