Asian Motor Sports

(PRESS RELEASE) Weather: rainy, with a wet track. Attendance: 28,000 over the three days, 18,000 on Sunday

On a rainy and cold day, SEAT and Chevrolet shared the honours on the first visit of the FIA World Touring Car Championship to Brands Hatch.

Despite the weather, a good crowd came to the racetrack to attend rounds 5 and 6 that were both run on soaked asphalt. The first race was decided at the start, when pole sitter Rickard Rydell nearly stalled his engine, leaving his team-mate Yvan Muller to jump into the lead. The Frenchman led the whole distance, while James Thompson, Peter Terting, Robert Huff and Rydell were fighting behind him. Eventually the German youngster claimed second position from Thompson and Huff.

SEAT secured a 1-2-3 finish with Frenchman Yvan Muller taking the chequered flag ahead of team-mates Peter Terting and James Thompson. Robert Huff of Chevrolet had a podium finish in his sites on the last lap but despite being nose to tail with Thompson, he was unable to pass and settled for 4th. Rickard Rydell, had a bad start in his SEAT León and had dropped from pole to 3rd after the first corner, the Swede eventually finished 5th. Yvan Muller however, shot off the line and led the field from the first corner onwards to claim his first WTCC victory.

The SEAT drivers did give the team cause for concern however when on lap 13 Terting touched Thompson and then went through on the inside line for 2nd.

In the second race Andy Priaulx took an early lead, but he then committed one of his rare mistakes, handing command to Alain Menu. The Swiss driver put in a superb performance, resisting the pressure from Rydell and Thompson and giving Chevrolet their first win since they joined WTCC. These results enabled Yvan Muller and SEAT to get back into the lead of both the Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ championships. The WTCC Race of UK was not a lucky one for BMW and Alfa Romeo. Dirk Müller and Andy Priaulx collected a few points apiece for the German manufacturer, while Gianni Morbidelli was the only Alfa driver to score (7th in Race 2). Tom Coronel grabbed another success in the Independents’ Trophy, while JAS Motorsport’s Scotsman Ryan Sharp came home first in the second race.

The FIA WTCC will resume at Oschersleben, Germany, on June 3 and 4.

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