2012 FIA WTCC Race of Italy

Last updated
Flag of Italy.svg 2012 Race of Italy
Race details
Monza track map.svg
Date11 March, 2012
Location Monza, Italy
Course Autodromo Nazionale di Monza
5.793 kilometres (3.600 mi)
Race One
Laps 9
Pole position
Driver Flag of Italy.svg Gabriele Tarquini Lukoil Racing Team
Time 1:57.917
Podium
First Flag of France.svg Yvan Muller Chevrolet
Second Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Robert Huff Chevrolet
Third Flag of Italy.svg Gabriele Tarquini Lukoil Racing Team
Fastest Lap
Driver Flag of Sweden.svg Rickard Rydell Chevrolet Motorsport Sweden
Time 1:59.116
Race Two
Laps 9
Podium
First Flag of France.svg Yvan Muller Chevrolet
Second Flag of Switzerland.svg Alain Menu Chevrolet
Third Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Robert Huff Chevrolet
Fastest Lap
Driver Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Robert Huff Chevrolet
Time 1:59.000

The 2012 FIA WTCC Race of Italy was the opening round of the 2012 World Touring Car Championship season and the eighth running of the FIA WTCC Race of Italy. It was held on 11 March 2012 at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza in Monza, Italy. Lukoil Racing driver Gabriele Tarquini took pole position for the first race, with Zengő Motorsport's Norbert Michelisz on pole for the second race after the top ten qualifiers were reversed. [1] Both races were won by Yvan Muller for Chevrolet.

Contents

Background

Chevrolet and BMW would once again be represented on the grid while SEAT returned with an official customer programme. Ford would also be on the grid courtesy of the independently run Team Aon Ford Focus driven by Tom Chilton and James Nash.

Chevrolet retained their lineup of defending drivers' champion Yvan Muller, Robert Huff and Alain Menu. [2] Darryl O'Young switched from bamboo-engineering to Special Tuning Racing. [3] He was to be joined by Tom Boardman but due to a shortage of the new Oreca built SEAT 1.6T engine his return to the championship was delayed until the Race of Spain. [4] 2011 STCC champion Rickard Rydell returned to the championship for the first round of the season driving a Chevrolet Motorsport Sweden Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T. [5] Gábor Wéber joined Norbert Michelisz at Zengő Motorsport, Alex MacDowall and Pasquale di Sabatino lined up at bamboo-engineering and former Superstars Series driver Alberto Cerqui joined Tom Coronel at ROAL Motorsport. Charles Ng returned to Liqui Moly Team Engstler for a full season having raced for the team at the end of 2011. [6] Andrea Barlesi joined SUNRED Engineering in an old specification SEAT León TDI and Isaac Tutumlu joined Mehdi Bennani at Proteam Racing.

The qualifying format was changed prior to the event, with 12 cars progressing through to Q2 where the top 5 cars would score points. The top ten cars in Q2 would then be reversed to form the race two grid. [7]

Report

Free Practice

Chevrolet cars dominated the free testing session on Thursday; Muller led Huff, Menu, series rookie MacDowall and Rydell at the top of the times while Michelisz was best of the rest in his BMW 320 TC. [8]

Track action resumed on Saturday morning when Huff set the fastest time in the works Chevrolet in Free Practice 1, 0.241 seconds ahead of the Lukoil Racing Team SEAT of Gabriele Tarquini. The session was briefly stopped to clear oil from the track which had caught out Pepe Oriola and Tom Chilton. [9]

It was the turn of Menu to set the fastest time in the second free practice session, setting his fastest time at the beginning of the session and remaining there until the end. Tarquini was second once again with the SEAT producing consistent straight line speed. Although the session was not stopped, yellow flags went out as the SEAT of Barlesi was removed from the gravel trap at the Parabolica. [10]

Qualifying

Tarquini took pole position, the first non-Chevrolet pole since the 2010 Race of Spain, where pole was also taken by Tarquini in a SEAT. Muller would start on the front row but he only made it into Q2 thanks to a tow from his team mates, who lined up behind him on the second row. Q1 had been red flagged with under two minutes remaining as the ROAL Motorsport car of Cerqui ended up in the gravel trap at the Parabolica. The session was restarted but without enough time to complete a timed lap so most of the cars remained in the pits. Twelve cars progressed to Q2 with Oriola taking the independents' trophy pole and Michelisz claiming the reversed grid pole for race two. [11]

Warm-Up

Muller was fastest in the Sunday morning warm up session, that was stopped due to a fire for Special Tuning Racing driver O'Young. He stopped the car and evacuated; the damage was sufficient enough to rule him out of participating in the rest of the weekend. [12]

Race One

Tarquini started from pole but was soon passed by Muller. A mistake by Muller at the end of the lap allowed Tarquini to regain the lead but the positions switched back on lap two. Huff later passed Tarquini for second to seal a Chevrolet 1–2. A first lap collision forced Tiago Monteiro to retire and delayed Stefano D'Aste and Franz Engstler. Rydell ran as high as third during the race but had to settle for fourth at the end, ahead of Coronel and independents' trophy winner Oriola. Menu finished a distant seventh from his team mates and MacDowall was the top rookie with eighth. [13]

Race Two

Michelisz started on the reversed grid pole position and escaped many of the tangles that caught out some of the more experienced drivers behind him. A second lap nudge from Huff approaching the first chicane sent Muller into a spin and caught out Tarquini behind. Muller went through the chicane and across the grass backwards but he recovered without losing much time while Tarquini punctured a tyre and retired. From there, Muller picked off the cars ahead one at a time to catch up with race leader Michelisz. Passing Michelisz proved difficult and at one point, third placed Coronel was able to take second from Muller before losing it again shortly after. Michelisz struck a pigeon on lap seven and Muller passed him later on that lap. Michelisz lost some pace after this and dropped down the order, to fifth by the end of the lap, eventually finishing eighth. Rydell had a bad start and recovered to tenth place to score another point in his one off outing. Muller led a Chevrolet 1–2–3 with Menu second and Huff third; D'Aste was the Yokohama Trophy winner after finishing fifth. [14]

Results

Qualifying

Pos.No.NameTeamCarCQ1Q2Points
13 Flag of Italy.svg Gabriele Tarquini Lukoil Racing SEAT León WTCC 1:58.0041:57.9155
21 Flag of France.svg Yvan Muller Chevrolet Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 1:58.1911:57.9744
32 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Robert Huff Chevrolet Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 1:58.2431:58.1063
48 Flag of Switzerland.svg Alain Menu Chevrolet Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 1:58.5271:58.2002
59 Flag of Sweden.svg Rickard Rydell Chevrolet Motorsport Sweden Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 1:59.1441:58.3191
615 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Tom Coronel ROAL Motorsport BMW 320 TC 1:59.1201:58.389
774 Flag of Spain.svg Pepe Oriola Tuenti Racing SEAT León WTCC Y1:58.5321:58.412
811 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Alex MacDowall bamboo-engineering Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T Y1:59.2621:58.507
94 Flag of Russia.svg Aleksei Dudukalo Lukoil Racing SEAT León WTCC Y1:58.9421:58.649
105 Flag of Hungary.svg Norbert Michelisz Zengő Motorsport BMW 320 TC Y1:58.5241:58.652
1126 Flag of Italy.svg Stefano D'Aste Wiechers-Sport BMW 320 TC Y1:59.1871:58.931
1227 Flag of Hungary.svg Gábor Wéber Zengő Motorsport BMW 320 TC Y1:59.3501:59.348
136 Flag of Germany.svg Franz Engstler Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320 TC Y1:59.435
1414 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg James Nash Team Aon Ford Focus S2000 TC 1:59.563
1523 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Tom Chilton Team Aon Ford Focus S2000 TC 1:59.723
1618 Flag of Portugal.svg Tiago Monteiro Tuenti Racing SEAT León TDi 1:59.743
1716 Flag of Italy.svg Alberto Cerqui ROAL Motorsport BMW 320 TC Y1:59.841
1812 Flag of Italy.svg Pasquale Di Sabatino bamboo-engineering Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T Y1:59.891
197 Flag of Hong Kong.svg Charles Ng Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320 TC Y1:59.949
2025 Flag of Morocco.svg Mehdi Bennani Proteam Racing BMW 320 TC Y2:00.300
2140 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Andrea Barlesi SUNRED Engineering SEAT León TDI Y2:00.394
2224 Flag of Spain.svg Isaac Tutumlu Proteam Racing BMW 320 TC Y2:01.333
2320 Flag of Hong Kong.svg Darryl O'Young Special Tuning Racing SEAT León WTCC YNo time

Race 1

Pos.No.NameTeamCarCLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints
11 Flag of France.svg Yvan Muller Chevrolet Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 1226:01.705225
22 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Robert Huff Chevrolet Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 12+0.446318
33 Flag of Italy.svg Gabriele Tarquini Lukoil Racing SEAT León WTCC 12+2.305115
49 Flag of Sweden.svg Rickard Rydell Chevrolet Motorsport Sweden Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 12+2.745512
515 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Tom Coronel ROAL Motorsport BMW 320 TC 12+3.796610
674 Flag of Spain.svg Pepe Oriola Tuenti Racing SEAT León WTCC Y12+6.11178
78 Flag of Switzerland.svg Alain Menu Chevrolet Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 12+6.32646
811 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Alex MacDowall bamboo-engineering Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T Y12+8.28784
95 Flag of Hungary.svg Norbert Michelisz Zengő Motorsport BMW 320 TC Y12+8.431102
1016 Flag of Italy.svg Alberto Cerqui ROAL Motorsport BMW 320 TC Y12+9.257161
1126 Flag of Italy.svg Stefano D'Aste Wiechers-Sport BMW 320 TC Y12+9.46511
126 Flag of Germany.svg Franz Engstler Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320 TC Y12+12.08212
1323 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Tom Chilton Team Aon Ford Focus S2000 TC 12+12.66814
1412 Flag of Italy.svg Pasquale Di Sabatino bamboo-engineering Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T Y12+15.88617
157 Flag of Hong Kong.svg Charles Ng Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320 TC Y12+48.13518
1614 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg James Nash Team Aon Ford Focus S2000 TC 12+56.50313
1727 Flag of Hungary.svg Gábor Wéber Zengő Motorsport BMW 320 TC Y11Damage22
184 Flag of Russia.svg Aleksei Dudukalo Lukoil Racing SEAT León WTCC Y10Mechanical9
Ret24 Flag of Spain.svg Isaac Tutumlu Proteam Racing BMW 320 TC Y2Engine21
Ret40 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Andrea Barlesi SUNRED Engineering SEAT León TDI Y1Collision20
Ret25 Flag of Morocco.svg Mehdi Bennani Proteam Racing BMW 320 TC Y1Collision19
Ret18 Flag of Portugal.svg Tiago Monteiro Tuenti Racing SEAT León TDi 0Collision15
DNS20 Flag of Hong Kong.svg Darryl O'Young Special Tuning Racing SEAT León WTCC YFire at warm-up

Race 2

Pos.No.NameTeamCarCLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints
11 Flag of France.svg Yvan Muller Chevrolet Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 1020:07.643925
28 Flag of Switzerland.svg Alain Menu Chevrolet Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 10+0.307718
32 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Robert Huff Chevrolet Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 10+0.613815
415 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Tom Coronel ROAL Motorsport BMW 320 TC 10+0.993512
526 Flag of Italy.svg Stefano D'Aste Wiechers-Sport BMW 320 TC Y10+6.1251110
66 Flag of Germany.svg Franz Engstler Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320 TC Y10+6.705128
711 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Alex MacDowall bamboo-engineering Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T Y10+7.24736
85 Flag of Hungary.svg Norbert Michelisz Zengő Motorsport BMW 320 TC Y10+10.23814
916 Flag of Italy.svg Alberto Cerqui ROAL Motorsport BMW 320 TC Y10+12.663162
109 Flag of Sweden.svg Rickard Rydell Chevrolet Motorsport Sweden Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 10+14.06661
1127 Flag of Hungary.svg Gábor Wéber Zengő Motorsport BMW 320 TC Y10+14.20222
1274 Flag of Spain.svg Pepe Oriola Tuenti Racing SEAT León WTCC Y10+14.5754
1314 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg James Nash Team Aon Ford Focus S2000 TC 10+18.27913
1425 Flag of Morocco.svg Mehdi Bennani Proteam Racing BMW 320 TC Y10+18.77519
1540 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Andrea Barlesi SUNRED Engineering SEAT León TDI Y10+24.88020
1623 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Tom Chilton Team Aon Ford Focus S2000 TC 10+25.58614
1724 Flag of Spain.svg Isaac Tutumlu Proteam Racing BMW 320 TC Y10+35.12921
1818 Flag of Portugal.svg Tiago Monteiro Tuenti Racing SEAT León TDi 9Mechanical15
1912 Flag of Italy.svg Pasquale Di Sabatino bamboo-engineering Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T Y8Mechanical17
Ret3 Flag of Italy.svg Gabriele Tarquini Lukoil Racing SEAT León WTCC 1Accident10
Ret7 Flag of Hong Kong.svg Charles Ng Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320 TC Y1Mechanical18
DNS4 Flag of Russia.svg Aleksei Dudukalo Lukoil Racing SEAT León WTCC Y0Electrical2
DNS20 Flag of Hong Kong.svg Darryl O'Young Special Tuning Racing SEAT León WTCC YFire at warm-up

Standings after the round

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References

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