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Four BMW drivers qualify for top-ten positions in wet Valencia qualifying. |
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Saturday, 17 May 2008 |
Valencia, 17th May 2008. In qualifying for the fifth round of the FIA
World Touring Car Championship in Valencia (ES), the BMW national team
drivers kept alive their hopes of a successful race weekend despite
very difficult conditions. BMW Team UK’s Andy Priaulx (GB) clocked a
1:59.941-minute lap, thus emerging as the fastest BMW driver at the
“Circuit de la Comunitat” and securing fifth on the grid.
Behind the defending champion, BMW Team Germany’s Jörg Müller (DE) and
Augusto Farfus (BR) and BMW Team Italy-Spain’s Alessandro Zanardi (IT)
finished sixth, seventh and eighth respectively. Zanardi’s team-mate
Félix Porteiro (ES) will start from 12th. SEAT driver Yvan Muller (FR)
claimed pole position with a time of 1:58.816 minutes.
Half an hour before the start of qualifying a heavy rain shower
arrived at the 4.005-kilometre track. The track stayed wet as it rained
during the entire 30-minute session. Due to the weather the Spanish
fans witnessed many spins and off-track excursions – included in these
were the BMW drivers. Turn 8 specially posed a challenge as numerous
cars made full use of the run-off area here.
“This qualifying session was very close,” said Priaulx, who is
currently ranked fifth in the Drivers’ Championship. “I think most of
us had at least one off during the 30 minutes. I’m very happy with
fifth place. I hope we can get a good result from there and feel
positive for both races. It was the first test of the new wet tyres and
it went well.”
The BMW Team Germany drivers are equally determined to make it to
the front in the two sprint races. “At least the rain didn’t come as a
surprise,” commented Müller. “Therefore, my car felt quite good in the
wet. The run-off area in turn 8 is relatively generous, so a lot of
drivers experimented there. When I was on my way back onto the track
after a minor off Yvan Muller – also off the racing line – was heading
straight in my direction. Fortunately he managed to regain control of
his car just in time to avoid an accident.” Farfus added: “In this
qualifying luck was an important factor if you wanted to do a perfect
lap. I’m not really disappointed, but you always want to be quicker and
make the most of your chances. In free practice we proved we are
competitive in dry conditions, so I’m confident for tomorrow.”
The fifth round of the World Touring Car Championship will start at
12:05hrs local time (11:05hrs BST). The second race of the day gets
underway at 15:50hrs (14:50hrs BST). The two races are covered live by
Eurosport (Race 1 –
Eurosport 2, Race 2 – Eurosport International) and the official BMW Motorsport Website, at www.bmw-motorsport.com, online.
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