2012 FIA WTCC Race of Morocco

2012 Race of Morocco
Race details
	Round 3 of 12 in the 2012 World Touring Car Championship at Marrakech Street Circuit in Marrakech, Morocco.
Date	15 April, 2012
Location	Marrakech, Morocco
Course	Marrakech Street Circuit ; 4.545 kilometres (2.824 mi)
Race One
Laps
Laps	11
Pole position
Driver
Time
Podium
First
Second
Third
Fastest Lap
Driver
Time
Race Two
Laps
Laps	11
Podium
First
Second
Third
Fastest Lap
Driver
Time

Last updated July 02, 2022

The 2012 FIA WTCC Race of Morocco was the third round of the 2012 World Touring Car Championship season and the third running of the FIA WTCC Race of Morocco. It was held on 15 April 2012 at Marrakech Street Circuit in Marrakech, Morocco. Both races were won by Chevrolet with Alain Menu winning race one and Yvan Muller winning race two.

Background

After Valencia it was Chevrolet driver Yvan Muller who was leading the championship, 27 points clear of his nearest rival Menu who was three points clear of ROAL Motorsport driver Tom Coronel. Pepe Oriola was leading the Yokohama Independents' Trophy.

Having made his WTCC debut at Valencia, Fernando Monje would not return to race at Marrakech in preparation for his return to the European Touring Car Cup at the Slovakiaring.^[1] Gábor Wéber would also miss the event due to financial concerns, leaving Norbert Michelisz as the sole driver for Zengő Motorsport.^[2]

Report

Free Practice

Lukoil Racing Team's Gabriele Tarquini was fastest in the first free practice session ahead of the Chevrolets of Yvan Muller and Robert Huff. Team AON's Tom Chilton was a surprise fourth fastest, backing up his performance from Fridays test session. Franz Engstler was the fastest of the BMWs.^[3]

In the second session it was Menu was topped the times, his teammates Muller and Huff were second and third once again. Tarquini was the fastest SEAT in fourth ahead of Oriola and the Ford Focus of Chilton in sixth.^[4]

Qualifying

Menu continued his pace from the second free practice session to take pole position by 0.028s ahead of Huff. Muller and Coronel set benchmark times early on in Q2 but they had to settle for fourth and third respectively. Tiago Monteiro was tenth and looked to take pole position for race two.^[5] After Tarquini was removed from qualifying for running an underweight car, James Nash moved up to take pole position for race two.^[6]^[7]

Warm-Up

Yvan Muller was fastest in the Sunday morning warm up session with pole sitter Menu in fourth.^[8]

Race One

The Chevrolet trio of Menu, Huff and Muller led away from the start while behind them, Oriola made a great getaway and got ahead of Coronel for fourth. Local driver Mehdi Bennani and James Nash collided at the first turn, forcing both to retire. There was a brief scare for Alex MacDowall when he missed the braking point at turn 5 in his bamboo-engineering Chevrolet Cruze and collected the BMW of Coronel, both escaped any series damage and continued. The safety car was deployed while the stricken Ford of Nash was recovered with the race resuming on lap three. Isaac Tutumlu crashed his Proteam Racing into the wall at turn 4 and retired. On lap 5, Monteiro retired with gearbox problems in his SUNRED León. Menu led a Chevrolet 1-2-3 with Oriola the Yokohama Trophy winner in fourth. Chilton scored Ford's maiden points in the WTCC with a seventh-place finish.^[9]

Race Two

Nash led away from pole position while Coronel jumped up from eighth on the grid to third behind Engstler at the first corner. Chilton collected the rear bumper of Monteiro and dropped back down the field. Nash had to defend well from the BMW of Engstler until the German was overtaken by the Chevrolets of Muller and Huff on lap 4. On the following lap the two leading Chevrolets demoted Nash to third, one lap further on Menu also overtook the 2011 British Touring Car Championship Independents' Champion to secure third. Nash succumbed to attacks from Coronel and Stefano D'Aste on lap 9, while his teammate Chilton retired with turbo problems. At the finish, Muller led another Chevrolet 1-2-3 in reverse of the order they finished race one, D'Aste was the winning independent in fourth place and pole sitter Nash eventually finished sixth. After the race, the stewards issued bamboo-engineering driver Pasquale di Sabatino with a 30-second penalty for repeatedly cutting the chicanes, this dropped him from 12th to 15th in the classification.^[9]

Results

Qualifying

Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Car	C	Q1	Q2	Points
1	8	Alain Menu	Chevrolet	Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T		1:43.753	1:43.901	5
2	2	Robert Huff	Chevrolet	Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T		1:44.973	1:43.929	4
3	15	Tom Coronel	ROAL Motorsport	BMW 320 TC		1:45.000	1:43.968	3
4	1	Yvan Muller	Chevrolet	Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T		1:44.482	1:44.201	2
5	74	Pepe Oriola	Tuenti Racing	SEAT León WTCC	Y	1:44.919	1:44.498	1
6	11	Alex MacDowall	bamboo-engineering	Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T	Y	1:45.281	1:44.544
7	23	Tom Chilton	Team Aon	Ford Focus S2000 TC		1:44.638	1:44.681
8	6	Franz Engstler	Liqui Moly Team Engstler	BMW 320 TC	Y	1:45.125	1:44.822
9	18	Tiago Monteiro	Tuenti Racing	SR León 1.6T		1:44.966	1:44.870
10	14	James Nash	Team Aon	Ford Focus S2000 TC		1:45.137	1:44.982
11	26	Stefano D'Aste	Wiechers-Sport	BMW 320 TC	Y	1:45.178	1:51.464
12	3	Gabriele Tarquini	Lukoil Racing	SEAT León WTCC		1:45.378	DSQ
13	5	Norbert Michelisz	Zengő Motorsport	BMW 320 TC	Y	1:45.495	DNQ
14	12	Pasquale di Sabatino	bamboo-engineering	Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T	Y	1:45.692	DNQ
15	25	Mehdi Bennani	Proteam Racing	BMW 320 TC	Y	1:45.707	DNQ
16	20	Darryl O'Young	Special Tuning Racing	SEAT León WTCC	Y	1:45.834	DNQ
17	7	Charles Ng	Liqui Moly Team Engstler	BMW 320 TC	Y	1:45.965	DNQ
18	16	Alberto Cerqui	ROAL Motorsport	BMW 320 TC	Y	1:46.041	DNQ
19	22	Tom Boardman	Special Tuning Racing	SEAT León TDi	Y	1:46.562	DNQ
20	24	Isaac Tutumlu	Proteam Racing	BMW 320 TC	Y	1:47.294	DNQ
21	40	Andrea Barlesi	SUNRED Engineering	SR León 1.6T	Y	1:47.872	DNQ
	4	Aleksei Dudukalo	Lukoil Racing	SEAT León WTCC	Y	2:49.620	DNQ

Bold denotes Pole position for second race.

Race 1

Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Car	C	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	8	Alain Menu	Chevrolet	Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T		12	22.28.931	1	25
2	2	Robert Huff	Chevrolet	Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T		12	+1.074	2	18
3	1	Yvan Muller	Chevrolet	Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T		12	+1.554	4	15
4	74	Pepe Oriola	Tuenti Racing	SEAT León WTCC	Y	12	+2.268	5	12
5	26	Stefano D'Aste	Wiechers-Sport	BMW 320 TC	Y	12	+5.713	11	10
6	6	Franz Engstler	Liqui Moly Team Engstler	BMW 320 TC	Y	12	+8.075	8	8
7	23	Tom Chilton	Team Aon	Ford Focus S2000 TC		12	+9.290	7	6
8	15	Tom Coronel	ROAL Motorsport	BMW 320 TC		12	+16.069	3	4
9	5	Norbert Michelisz	Zengő Motorsport	BMW 320 TC	Y	12	+17.696	13	2
10	20	Darryl O'Young	Special Tuning Racing	SEAT León WTCC	Y	12	+19.284	16	1
11	3	Gabriele Tarquini	Lukoil Racing	SEAT León WTCC		12	+26.413	12
12	11	Alex MacDowall	bamboo-engineering	Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T	Y	12	+38.647	6
13	40	Andrea Barlesi	SUNRED Engineering	SR León 1.6T	Y	12	+44.139	20
14	22	Tom Boardman	Special Tuning Racing	SEAT León TDi	Y	12	+48.598	18
15	16	Alberto Cerqui	ROAL Motorsport	BMW 320 TC	Y	12	+50.097	21
16	4	Aleksei Dudukalo	Lukoil Racing	SEAT León WTCC	Y	12	+50.377	22
17	12	Pasquale di Sabatino	bamboo-engineering	Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T	Y	11	+1 Lap	14
NC	18	Tiago Monteiro	Tuenti Racing	SR León 1.6T		7	+5 Laps	9
Ret	7	Charles Ng	Liqui Moly Team Engstler	BMW 320 TC	Y	6	Engine	17
Ret	24	Isaac Tutumlu	Proteam Racing	BMW 320 TC	Y	2	Collision	19
Ret	25	Mehdi Bennani	Proteam Racing	BMW 320 TC	Y	2	Collision	15
Ret	14	James Nash	Team Aon	Ford Focus S2000 TC		0	Collision	10

Bold denotes Fastest lap.

Race 2

Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Car	C	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	1	Yvan Muller	Chevrolet	Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T		11	19:36.836	7	25
2	2	Robert Huff	Chevrolet	Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T		11	+0.381	9	18
3	8	Alain Menu	Chevrolet	Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T		11	+0.970	10	15
4	15	Tom Coronel	ROAL Motorsport	BMW 320 TC		11	+2.153	8	12
5	26	Stefano D'Aste	Wiechers-Sport	BMW 320 TC	Y	11	+2.641	11	10
6	14	James Nash	Team Aon	Ford Focus S2000 TC		11	+5.052	1	8
7	74	Pepe Oriola	Tuenti Racing	SEAT León WTCC	Y	11	+5.589	6	6
8	6	Franz Engstler	Liqui Moly Team Engstler	BMW 320 TC	Y	11	+5.610	3	4
9	18	Tiago Monteiro	Tuenti Racing	SR León 1.6T		11	+7.374	2	2
10	20	Darryl O'Young	Special Tuning Racing	SEAT León WTCC	Y	11	+12.861	15	1
11	4	Aleksei Dudukalo	Lukoil Racing	SEAT León WTCC	Y	11	+13.587	21
12	25	Mehdi Bennani	Proteam Racing	BMW 320 TC	Y	11	+18.629	20
13	7	Charles Ng	Liqui Moly Team Engstler	BMW 320 TC	Y	11	+29.173	16
14	40	Andrea Barlesi	SUNRED Engineering	SR León 1.6T	Y	11	+31.619	19
15	12	Pasquale di Sabatino	bamboo-engineering	Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T	Y	11	+44.273	14
16	23	Tom Chilton	Team Aon	Ford Focus S2000 TC		8	+3 Laps	4
Ret	5	Norbert Michelisz	Zengő Motorsport	BMW 320 TC	Y	5	Suspension	13
Ret	16	Alberto Cerqui	ROAL Motorsport	BMW 320 TC	Y	2	Driveshaft	17
Ret	11	Alex MacDowall	bamboo-engineering	Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T	Y	0	Driveshaft	5
Ret	3	Gabriele Tarquini	Lukoil Racing	SEAT León WTCC		0	Suspension	12
DNS	22	Tom Boardman	Special Tuning Racing	SEAT León TDi	Y	0	Withdrew
DNS	24	Isaac Tutumlu	Proteam Racing	BMW 320 TC	Y	0	Collision damage	18

Bold denotes Fastest lap.

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings

	Pos	Driver	Points
	1	Yvan Muller	130
	2	Alain Menu	106
1	3	Robert Huff	97
1	4	Tom Coronel	77
1	5	Stefano D'Aste	45

Yokohama Independents' Trophy standings

	Pos	Driver	Points
	1	Pepe Oriola	51
	2	Stefano D'Aste	47
1	3	Franz Engstler	37
1	4	Norbert Michelisz	32
	5	Alex MacDowall	19

Manufacturers' Championship standings

Pos	Manufacturer	Points
1	Chevrolet	268
2	BMW Customer Racing Teams	161
3	SEAT Racing Technology	144

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

Related Research Articles

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The 2012 FIA WTCC Race of Spain was the second round of the 2012 World Touring Car Championship season and the eighth running of the FIA WTCC Race of Spain. It was held on 1 April 2012 at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, Spain. Chevrolet driver Yvan Muller took pole position for the first race, with Wiechers-Sport's Stefano D'Aste on pole for the second race after the top ten qualifiers were reversed. Both races were won by Chevrolet with Muller winning race one and Alain Menu winning race two.

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The 2012 FIA WTCC Race of Austria was the sixth round of the 2012 World Touring Car Championship season and the inaugural running of the FIA WTCC Race of Austria. It was held on May 20, 2012 at the Salzburgring, east of Salzburg in Austria. The first race was won by Robert Huff for Chevrolet and the second race was won by Stefano D'Aste for Wiechers-Sport.

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The 2012 FIA WTCC Race of Slovakia was the fourth round of the 2012 World Touring Car Championship season and the maiden running of the FIA WTCC Race of Slovakia. It was held on 29 April 2012 at the Automotodróm Slovakia Ring in Orechová Potôň, Slovakia. The first race was won by Gabriele Tarquini for Lukoil Racing Team and the second race was won by Robert Huff for Chevrolet.

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The 2013 FIA WTCC Race of Morocco was the second round of the 2013 World Touring Car Championship season and the fourth running of the FIA WTCC Race of Morocco. It was held on 7 April 2013 at the Marrakech Street Circuit in Marrakech, Morocco.

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The 2013 FIA WTCC Race of Austria was the fifth round of the 2013 World Touring Car Championship season and the second running of the FIA WTCC Race of Austria. It was held on 19 May 2013 at the Salzburgring in Salzburg, Austria.

The 2013 FIA WTCC Race of Portugal was the seventh round of the 2013 World Touring Car Championship season, the seventh running of the FIA WTCC Race of Portugal and the final European round of the season. It was held on 30 June 2013 at the Circuito da Boavista street circuit in Porto, Portugal.

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References

↑ Hudson, Neil. "Fernando Monje to miss Morocco". TouringCarTimes. Archived from the original on 8 February 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
↑ Hudson, Neil. "Gábor Wéber will also miss Marrakech". TouringCarTimes. Archived from the original on 4 February 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
↑ Abbott, Andrew. "Tarquini sets the pace in FP1". TouringCars.net. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
↑ Abbott, Andrew. "Menu fastest in second practice". TouringCars.net. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
↑ "Menu lands Morocco pole". Sky Sports . BSkyB. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
↑ Meissner, Johan. "Tarquini excluded from Marrakech qualifying [updated]". TouringCarTimes. Archived from the original on 5 February 2013. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
↑ Meissner, Johan. "James Nash to start on pole position in race two". TouringCarTimes. Archived from the original on 4 February 2013. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
↑ Meissner, Johan. "Yvan Muller on top in Marrakech warm up". TouringCarTimes. Archived from the original on 5 February 2013. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
1 2 "ROUNDS 5 & 6 – MARRAKECH, MOROCCO RACE REPORT" (PDF). World Touring Car Championship . Retrieved 5 August 2012.^{[ permanent dead link ]}

External links

World Touring Car Championship
Previous race: 2012 FIA WTCC Race of Spain	2012 World Touring Car Championship season	Next race: 2012 FIA WTCC Race of Slovakia
Previous race: 2010 FIA WTCC Race of Morocco	FIA WTCC Race of Morocco	Next race: 2013 FIA WTCC Race of Morocco

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[1] Hudson, Neil. "Fernando Monje to miss Morocco". TouringCarTimes. Archived from the original on 8 February 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2012.

[2] Hudson, Neil. "Gábor Wéber will also miss Marrakech". TouringCarTimes. Archived from the original on 4 February 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2012.

[3] Abbott, Andrew. "Tarquini sets the pace in FP1". TouringCars.net. Retrieved 5 August 2012.

[4] Abbott, Andrew. "Menu fastest in second practice". TouringCars.net. Retrieved 5 August 2012.

[5] "Menu lands Morocco pole". Sky Sports . BSkyB. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 5 August 2012.

[6] Meissner, Johan. "Tarquini excluded from Marrakech qualifying [updated]". TouringCarTimes. Archived from the original on 5 February 2013. Retrieved 5 August 2012.

[7] Meissner, Johan. "James Nash to start on pole position in race two". TouringCarTimes. Archived from the original on 4 February 2013. Retrieved 5 August 2012.

[8] Meissner, Johan. "Yvan Muller on top in Marrakech warm up". TouringCarTimes. Archived from the original on 5 February 2013. Retrieved 5 August 2012.

[results-9] 1 2 "ROUNDS 5 & 6 – MARRAKECH, MOROCCO RACE REPORT" (PDF). World Touring Car Championship . Retrieved 5 August 2012.^{[ permanent dead link ]}

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2012 FIA WTCC Race of Morocco

Contents

Background

Report

Free Practice

Qualifying

Warm-Up

Race One

Race Two

Results

Qualifying

Race 1

Race 2

Standings after the race

Related Research Articles

References

External links