20.11.2006
Bad luck for Chevrolet in Macau
All three Chevrolet drivers suffered serious accidents in the last two races of the 2006 World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) in Macau, China. The two races in China where again rich in incidents, as always in the streets of Macau, and proclaimed Andy Priaulx and BMW as 2006 WTCC Champion.
In race one, Chevrolet drivers Alain Menu and Nicola Larini managed to pass unscathed through the collective accident at the Lisboa corner and even managed to gain some positions, running eighth and tenth respectively in the initial laps. Despite losing the bumper after he was hit by Thompson (Seat) in lap 2, Menu was pretty fast, setting twice the fastest lap of the race. Unfortunately, two laps from the end, he hit the barriers in the Guia section.
One lap earlier, Larini’s race had also ended brutally against a barrier. “I had been trying to pass Thompson for a number of laps”, explained the Italian, “I was much quicker but he was swinging across the track not to let me go. Eventually I managed to overtake him in the straight, but he hit me twice at the braking point, sending me slightly into the guard-rail. I managed to escape but something had been damaged and I lost a rear wheel two corners later”. The car could not be repaired for the second race.
Rob Huff had a worse start of the race as he was trapped in the pile-up at first corner. When he could free himself and rejoin the race, he managed to run a brilliant and relatively quiet race, passing Couto, Gené and Thompson and finishing ninth.
Unfortunately, the second race was going to be pretty short for the Englishman. He took an excellent start, was not involved in the incident that occurred again in the Lisboa corner, but was an innocent victim of Tarquini’s crash in the Solidão esses:
Menu, who started from the pits, was 14th after the safety-car period, managed to gain some positions with a car which was obviously not “perfectly straight” after the crash in Race 1 and finished tenth.
Eric Neve, Chevrolet Europe Motorsport Manager, commented: “First of all, I would like to congratulate BMW and Andy Priaulx for their third consecutive success in both championships. It’s an impressive result, given the level of competitiveness that the WTCC has achieved. For us, it has been a frustrating week-end concluding a very good season. Two victories and five finishes in the podium are the proof that we have grown tremendously as a team.”.
MACAU RACE 1 RESULT
1. A Priaulx (BMW 320 si) 9 laps in 23m44s490 (139.19 kmh)
2. D Huisman (BMW 320si) -1s020
3. Y Muller (Seat León) -1s385
4. F Giovanardi (Honda Accord) -2s661
5. A Farfus (Alfa Romeo 156) -9s596
9. R. Huff (Chevrolet Lacetti) -26s631
DNF A Menu (Chevrolet Lacetti) Accident lap 8
DNF N. Larini (Chevrolet Lacetti) Accident lap 7
MACAU RACE 2 RESULT
1. J Müller (BMW 320 si) 11 laps in 36m01s074 (112.14 kmh)
2. Y Muller (Seat León) -2s102
3. T Coronel (Seat León) -2s697
4. J Thompson (Seat León) -4s473
5. A Priaulx (BMW 320si) -5s273
10. A Menu (Chevrolet Lacetti) -19s376
DNF R Huff (Chevrolet Lacetti) Accident lap 1
DNS N Larini (Chevrolet Lacetti)
CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL POSITIONS
Drivers: 1. A Priaulx (BMW), 73 pts; 2. J Müller (BMW), 72; 3. A Farfus (Alfa Romeo), 64; 4. Y Muller (Seat), 62; 5. G Tarquini (Seat), 57; ...12. N Larini (Chevrolet), 24; ...15. A Menu (Chevrolet), 21; 16. R Huff (Chevrolet), 20 , etc.
Manufacturers: 1. BMW, 254 pts; 2. Seat, 235; 3. Alfa Romeo, 154; 4. Chevrolet, 128.