2011 FIA WTCC Race of Belgium

2011 FIA WTCC Race of Belgium
Race details
	Round 2 of 12 in the 2011 World Touring Car Championship at Circuit Zolder in Zolder, Belgium.
Date	24 April, 2011
Location	Zolder, Belgium
Course	Circuit Zolder ; 4.011 kilometres (2.492 mi)
Race One
Laps
Laps	15
Pole position
Driver
Time
Podium
First
Second
Third
Fastest Lap
Driver
Time
Race Two
Laps
Laps	13
Podium
First
Second
Third
Fastest Lap
Driver
Time

Last updated July 02, 2022

The 2011 FIA WTCC Race of Belgium (formally the 2011 FIA WTCC Monroe Race of Belgium) was the second round of the 2011 World Touring Car Championship season. It was held at Circuit Zolder on 24 April 2011 and was the third running of the Race of Belgium, which ran at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in 2005 before leaving the calendar for four seasons until returning in the 2010 season at Zolder.

Background

After the Race of Brazil, Huff was leading the drivers' championship by four points over Chevrolet teammate Alain Menu. Kristian Poulsen was leading the Yokohama Independents' Trophy.

Chevrolet RML reverted to a three car operation having run guest driver Cacá Bueno in Brazil. bamboo–engineering switched to the Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T, replacing the Chevrolet Lacettis they ran in the opening round.^[1] Wiechers-Sport returned to the series with their new driver Urs Sonderegger in a BMW 320 TC.^[2] Norbert Michelisz and the Zengő-Dension Team returned with a turbocharged BMW having missed the opening round to test the new car.^[3]

Report

Testing and free practice

The test session on Friday saw Tarquini go fastest, leading Menu and championship leader Huff.^[4]

Huff was quickest in the free practice session on Saturday morning with Yvan Muller second making it a Chevrolet 1–2.^[5]

Muller led Huff and Menu in the final free practice session with Michel Nykjær the fastest SEAT driver in fourth. Fabio Fabiani missed the breaking point for turn one during the session, he ended up rolling backwards into the car but continued.^[6]

Qualifying

Chevrolet stayed on top in qualifying with Huff taking his second pole position of the year. Tiago Monteiro had been quickest in Q1 but Brazil podium finisher Tom Coronel failed to get through to the second session and lined up eleventh. Having been fourth in the afternoon practice session, Nykjær ended up 20th having not set a time. He had clipped one of the barriers at the chicane and was unable to continue in the session due to damage. Javier Villa didn't take part in qualifying due to engine issues.

In Q2, Huff set the fastest time to secure pole position and a late lap from Menu made it an all–Chevrolet front row. Tarquini finished third and Muller fourth, having run wide on his final flying lap. Monteiro was fifth and Poulsen in sixth was the leading independent driver. Michelisz was seventh in his first competitive session with the BMW.^[7]

Warm-Up

Proteam Racing's Villa topped the Sunday morning warm–up session with pole sitter Huff third.^[8]

Race One

The first race saw many drivers crash out and end their races prematurely. At the beginning Huff had a great get away from pole whilst Tarquini attempted to pass Menu put failed. Coronel had got a great get way but spun on the third lap and was hit by Franz Engstler. The damage was so much that Coronel wouldn't start race two. Meanwhile, further down the order, Aleksei Dudukalo and Yukinori Taniguchi were racing hard until Dudukalo put the Chevrolet into a small spin where Marchy Lee collected Taniguchi. Taniguchi managed to continue on in the race but Lee had to make a retirement. On lap eleven Poulsen and Michelisz were having a door to door battle, while Muller slipped past Tarquini for third. On the final lap Villa (who had started at the back of the grid) passed Darryl O'Young for ninth whilst Huff upfront took his second victory of the season.

Race Two

In race two there were new complications with the grid as Fredy Barth who was set for pole position had too much damage to compete along with others. This meant a reshuffle of the grid putting Tarquini on pole. Tarquini kept the three Chevrolets behind him at bay for thirteen laps despite a battle with Huff on lap five where the two made contact that would send Huff down to sixth by the end of the race due to the damage from the collision. O'Young was working his way up the order from ninth and finished the race fourth after Muller started to suffer problems and retired. This left Menu to fight for the win with Tarquini but was not good enough and behind them Monteiro completed the podium positions.

Results

Qualifying

Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Car	C	Q1	Q2
1	2	Robert Huff	Chevrolet RML	Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T		1:39.373	1:38.458
2	8	Alain Menu	Chevrolet RML	Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T		1:39.367	1:38.598
3	3	Gabriele Tarquini	Lukoil-SUNRED	SEAT León 2.0 TDI		1:39.493	1:38.723
4	1	Yvan Muller	Chevrolet RML	Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T		1:39.365	1:38.738
5	18	Tiago Monteiro	SUNRED Engineering	SEAT León 2.0 TDI		1:38.952	1:38.907
6	11	Kristian Poulsen	Liqui Moly Team Engstler	BMW 320 TC	Y	1:39.293	1:39.398
7	5	Norbert Michelisz	Zengő-Dension Team	BMW 320 TC	Y	1:39.417	1:39.450
8	12	Franz Engstler	Liqui Moly Team Engstler	BMW 320 TC	Y	1:39.583	1:39.962
9	7	Fredy Barth	SEAT Swiss Racing by SUNRED	SEAT León 2.0 TDI	Y	1:39.638	1:40.015
10	25	Mehdi Bennani	Proteam Racing	BMW 320 TC	Y	1:39.328	1:40.438
11	15	Tom Coronel	ROAL Motorsport	BMW 320 TC		1:39.680
12	74	Pepe Oriola	SUNRED Engineering	SEAT León 2.0 TDI	Y	1:39.780
13	30	Robert Dahlgren	Polestar Racing	Volvo C30		1:39.807
14	9	Darryl O'Young	bamboo-engineering	Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T	Y	1:39.931
15	4	Aleksei Dudukalo	Lukoil-SUNRED	SEAT León 2.0 TDI	Y	1:40.110
16	65	Marchy Lee	DeTeam KK Motorsport	BMW 320 TC	Y	1:40.406
17	10	Yukinori Taniguchi	bamboo-engineering	Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T	Y	1:41.712
18	35	Urs Sonderegger	Wiechers-Sport	BMW 320 TC	Y	1:43.537
19	21	Fabio Fabiani	Proteam Racing	BMW 320si	Y	1:44.820
20	17	Michel Nykjær	SUNRED Engineering	SEAT León 2.0 TDI	Y	no time set
21	20	Javier Villa	Proteam Racing	BMW 320 TC	Y	no time set

Race 1

Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Car	C	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	2	Robert Huff	Chevrolet RML	Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T		15	29:18.807	1	25
2	8	Alain Menu	Chevrolet RML	Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T		15	+1.244	2	18
3	1	Yvan Muller	Chevrolet RML	Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T		15	+1.740	4	15
4	3	Gabriele Tarquini	Lukoil-SUNRED	SEAT León 2.0 TDI		15	+3.790	3	12
5	18	Tiago Monteiro	SUNRED Engineering	SEAT León 2.0 TDI		15	+5.102	5	10
6	11	Kristian Poulsen	Liqui Moly Team Engstler	BMW 320 TC	Y	15	+8.987	6	8
7	5	Norbert Michelisz	Zengő-Dension Team	BMW 320 TC	Y	15	+10.878	7	6
8	17	Michel Nykjær	SUNRED Engineering	SEAT León 2.0 TDI	Y	15	+12.032	20	4
9	20	Javier Villa	Proteam Racing	BMW 320 TC	Y	15	+12.845	21	2
10	9	Darryl O'Young	bamboo-engineering	Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T	Y	15	+12.901	14	1
11	74	Pepe Oriola	SUNRED Engineering	SEAT León 2.0 TDI	Y	15	+14.656	12
12	4	Aleksei Dudukalo	Lukoil-SUNRED	SEAT León 2.0 TDI	Y	15	+17.538	15
13	30	Robert Dahlgren	Polestar Racing	Volvo C30		15	+18.687	13
14	10	Yukinori Taniguchi	bamboo-engineering	Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T	Y	15	+25.864	17
15	35	Urs Sonderegger	Wiechers-Sport	BMW 320 TC	Y	15	+42.236	18
16	21	Fabio Fabiani	Proteam Racing	BMW 320si	Y	15	+1:07.741	19
Ret	7	Fredy Barth	SEAT Swiss Racing by SUNRED	SEAT León 2.0 TDI	Y	2	Race incident	9
Ret	15	Tom Coronel	ROAL Motorsport	BMW 320 TC		2	Race incident	11
Ret	25	Mehdi Bennani	Proteam Racing	BMW 320 TC	Y	2	Race incident	10
Ret	12	Franz Engstler	Liqui Moly Team Engstler	BMW 320 TC	Y	2	Race incident	8
Ret	65	Marchy Lee	DeTeam KK Motorsport	BMW 320 TC	Y	2	Race incident	16

Bold denotes Fastest lap.

Race 2

Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Car	C	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	3	Gabriele Tarquini	Lukoil-SUNRED	SEAT León 2.0 TDI		13	22:07.752	1	25
2	8	Alain Menu	Chevrolet RML	Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T		13	+0.448	3	18
3	18	Tiago Monteiro	SUNRED Engineering	SEAT León 2.0 TDI		13	+0.886	6	15
4	9	Darryl O'Young	bamboo-engineering	Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T	Y	13	+1.614	9	12
5	17	Michel Nykjær	SUNRED Engineering	SEAT León 2.0 TDI	Y	13	+5.702	13	10
6	2	Robert Huff	Chevrolet RML	Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T		13	+5.901	2	8
7	30	Robert Dahlgren	Polestar Racing	Volvo C30		13	+12.352	8	6
8	5	Norbert Michelisz	Zengő-Dension Team	BMW 320 TC	Y	13	+16.721	16	4
9	4	Aleksei Dudukalo	Lukoil-SUNRED	SEAT León 2.0 TDI	Y	13	+20.141	10	2
10	20	Javier Villa	Proteam Racing	BMW 320 TC	Y	13	+28.827	14	1
11	25	Mehdi Bennani	Proteam Racing	BMW 320 TC	Y	13	+42.066	15
12	12	Franz Engstler	Liqui Moly Team Engstler	BMW 320 TC	Y	13	+48.235	17
13	21	Fabio Fabiani	Proteam Racing	BMW 320si	Y	12	+1 Lap	12
14	74	Pepe Oriola	SUNRED Engineering	SEAT León 2.0 TDI	Y	11	+2 Laps	7
15	35	Urs Sonderegger	Wiechers-Sport	BMW 320 TC	Y	9	+4 Laps	11
Ret	1	Yvan Muller	Chevrolet RML	Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T		7	Oil radiator	4
Ret	11	Kristian Poulsen	Liqui Moly Team Engstler	BMW 320 TC	Y	0	Race incident	5
DNS	15	Tom Coronel	ROAL Motorsport	BMW 320 TC		0	Did not start	18
DNS	7	Fredy Barth	SEAT Swiss Racing by SUNRED	SEAT León 2.0 TDI	Y	0	Did not start	–
DNS	65	Marchy Lee	DeTeam KK Motorsport	BMW 320 TC	Y	0	Did not start	19
DSQ	10	Yukinori Taniguchi	bamboo-engineering	Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T	Y	12	Disqualified	20

Bold denotes Fastest lap.

Standings after the event

Drivers' Championship standings

	Pos	Driver	Points
	1	Robert Huff	70
	2	Alain Menu	69
3	3	Gabriele Tarquini	51
1	4	Yvan Muller	48
3	5	Tiago Monteiro	31

Yokohama Independents' Trophy standings

	Pos	Driver	Points
	1	Kristian Poulsen	26
1	2	Javier Villa	23
2	3	Michel Nykjær	23
3	4	Darryl O'Young	19
3	5	Franz Engstler	19

Manufacturers' Championship standings

	Pos	Manufacturer	Points
	1	Chevrolet	156
1	2	SR Customer Racing	107
1	3	BMW Customer Racing Teams	85
	4	Volvo Polestar Evaluation Team	28

Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of drivers' standings.

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References

Results Booklet PDF at MST Systems

↑ Allen, Peter (20 April 2011). "Bamboo Make Turbo Cruze Switch For Zolder". The Checkered Flag. BlackEagleMedia Network. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
↑ Casillo, Pietro (9 March 2011). "Sonderegger: "I started racing because of WTCC"". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Archived from the original on 12 April 2013. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
↑ Allen, Peter (23 March 2011). "Michelisz An Interested Spectator Ahead Of BMW Debut". The Checkered Flag. BlackEagleMedia Network. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
↑ Hudson, Neil (22 April 2011). "Gabriele Tarquini leads Zolder Friday test". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Archived from the original on 12 April 2013. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
↑ Glendenning, Mark (23 April 2011). "Huff leads first Zolder practice". Autosport . Haymarket Publications . Retrieved 14 February 2013.
↑ Glendenning, Mark (23 April 2011). "Chevrolet dominates second practice". Autosport . Haymarket Publications . Retrieved 14 February 2013.
↑ Glendenning, Mark (23 April 2011). "Huff takes Zolder WTCC pole". Autosport . Haymarket Publications . Retrieved 14 February 2013.
↑ Hudson, Neil (24 April 2011). "Javier Villa fastest in morning warm-up". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Archived from the original on 12 April 2013. Retrieved 14 February 2013.

External links

World Touring Car Championship official website

World Touring Car Championship
Previous race: 2011 FIA WTCC Race of Brazil	2011 World Touring Car Championship season	Next race: 2011 FIA WTCC Race of Italy
Previous race: 2010 FIA WTCC Race of Belgium	FIA WTCC Race of Belgium	Next race: 2014 FIA WTCC Race of Belgium

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Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
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[1] Allen, Peter (20 April 2011). "Bamboo Make Turbo Cruze Switch For Zolder". The Checkered Flag. BlackEagleMedia Network. Retrieved 14 February 2013.

[2] Casillo, Pietro (9 March 2011). "Sonderegger: "I started racing because of WTCC"". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Archived from the original on 12 April 2013. Retrieved 14 February 2013.

[3] Allen, Peter (23 March 2011). "Michelisz An Interested Spectator Ahead Of BMW Debut". The Checkered Flag. BlackEagleMedia Network. Retrieved 14 February 2013.

[4] Hudson, Neil (22 April 2011). "Gabriele Tarquini leads Zolder Friday test". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Archived from the original on 12 April 2013. Retrieved 14 February 2013.

[5] Glendenning, Mark (23 April 2011). "Huff leads first Zolder practice". Autosport . Haymarket Publications . Retrieved 14 February 2013.

[6] Glendenning, Mark (23 April 2011). "Chevrolet dominates second practice". Autosport . Haymarket Publications . Retrieved 14 February 2013.

[7] Glendenning, Mark (23 April 2011). "Huff takes Zolder WTCC pole". Autosport . Haymarket Publications . Retrieved 14 February 2013.

[8] Hudson, Neil (24 April 2011). "Javier Villa fastest in morning warm-up". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Archived from the original on 12 April 2013. Retrieved 14 February 2013.

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2011 FIA WTCC Race of Belgium

Contents

Background

Report

Testing and free practice

Qualifying

Warm-Up

Race One

Race Two

Results

Qualifying

Race 1

Race 2

Standings after the event

Related Research Articles

References

External links