ROUNDS 09 & 10 – VALENCIA
RACE 1 & 2 REPORT
SEAT AND BMW SHARE THE SPANISH GLORY
SEAT and BMW dominated one race apiece in the fifth event of the season.
The turbodiesel León cars filled the four top positions in the first race, marking a triumphant moment for SEAT in their home race meeting. Yvan Muller scored his third victory of the season making it clear that it won’t be easy for anybody (including his own team-mates) to deprive him of the World Champion’s crown.
However, in the second race, Augusto Farfus and Jörg Müller managed to overturn the situation. The BMW Team Germany duo claimed a 1-2 of crucial importance for the German Manufacturer, as it not only marked BMW’s first victory so far this year, but also re-launched their hopes in the title fight that now sees Farfus lying second, only three points behind Muller.
Chevrolet’s winning streak came to an end after four consecutive successes in Marrakech and Pau. The Spanish weekend was not positive for the drivers of the Cruze cars who all remained out of the points. As for LADA, their hope of making a step forward with the new engine were totally hindered by a number of technical issues.
In the Independents‘ Trophy, Stefano D’Aste obtained his first victory of the season, but the fight for the title seems to be an affair between Tom Coronel (winner of the first race), Félix Porteiro and Franz Engstler who are covered by only two points.
The championship will resume in Brno, Czech Republic, on May 21st, for rounds 11 and 12.