Yvan Muller Storms To Race 2 Victory At Monza In Treacherous Conditions

Yvan Muller stormed to a sensational victory in the second World Touring Car Championship race at Monza, starting his 2013 campaign in sensational style with two consecutive race victories. Michel Nykjær finished a competitive 2nd, as Gabriele Tarquini only just hung on for 3rd ahead of rookie Marc Basseng.

Despite taking place several hours after the first race around Italy’s legendary Autodromo Nazionale Monza, the weather conditions had failed to improve as the rain continued to lash down upon the circuit. However, the race stewards elected not to start the race under safety car conditions, unlike the first race. This saw proceedings get underway in the traditional standing-start format. Both Robert Huff and Tom Boardman started the race from the pits, with Darryl O’Young and Marc Basseng starting the race on the front row of the grid.

At the start Gabriele Tarquini enjoyed another of his absolutely sensational starts. scything his way through the order from 5th to the lead by the opening three corners. Franz Engstler ran straight on and through the escape road at Turn 1, as the field tip-toed their way through the opening lap in almost undriveable conditions. With visibility absolutely atrocious, it was no surprise that several drivers made minor mistakes on the opening lap including Fredy Barth who spun through the Ascari chicane.

After starting from 22nd and last on the grid after crashing out of the opening race, many were surprised when Stefano D’Aste had worked his way up to 12th by Lap 2. Alex MacDowall suffered a disastrous end to the second lap, after running extensively wide through the gravel at the final corner. At the start of Lap 3, many drivers ran down the escape road after striking an almighty puddle which was forming at Turn 1, including both Jean-Philippe Dayraut, Mehdi Bennani and Alex MacDowell.

By Lap 4, opening race winner Yvan Muller was already up to 2nd position after starting 9th and was clearly catching the Honda of Gabriele Tarquini. Towards the end of the lap, Muller had muscled his way around the Italian driver for the lead, whereas rookie Marc Basseng was impressing many by holding onto 3rd position. Mehdi Bennani was issued with a drive-thru penalty for exceeding track limits, just as Marc Basseng’s luck ran out as he ran down the escape road at Turn 1 and lost 3rd position to Michel Nykjær.

As the race entered its closing stages, the Danish driver began to reel in Gabriele Tarquini for 2nd. The duo battled hard for the position throughout Lap 8, before Nykjær managed to make the move stick through the Ascari chicane. Further down the order saw Tom Boardman spin at Turns 4 and 5, whereas Gabriele Tarquini began to come to under severe pressure from Marc Basseng. As Yvan Muller crossed the line to secure his second consecutive race victory of the day, with Michel Nykjær 2nd, Gabriele Tarquini only just managed to hold on for 3rd ahead of the charging Marc Basseng by less than a tenth of a second.

Despite the utterly treacherous weather conditions, the opening race weekend of the new World Touring Car Championship season was one of pure excitement, and should remain an enthralling spectacle throughout the entire season. The paddock will reconvene in several weeks time for the Race of Morocco, around the tight and twisty confines of Marrakech’s Circuit International Automobile Moulay El Hassan.

Results - 10 laps:

Pos  Driver                 Team/Car                Time/Gap
 1.  Yvan Muller            RML Chevrolet         23m27.254s
 2.  Michel Nykjaer         NIKA Chevrolet          + 2.482s
 3.  Gabriele Tarquini      Honda                   + 4.994s
 4.  Marc Basseng           Munnich SEAT            + 5.081s
 5.  Tom Chilton            RML Chevrolet           + 5.612s
 6.  Pepe Oriola            Tuenti SEAT             + 6.755s
 7.  James Nash             Bamboo Chevrolet       + 14.445s
 8.  Tiago Monteiro         Honda                  + 20.573s
 9.  Stefano d'Aste         PB BMW                 + 23.722s
10.  Rob Huff               Munnich SEAT           + 25.442s
11.  Tom Coronel            ROAL BMW               + 37.126s
12.  Darryl O'Young         ROAL BMW               + 41.394s
13.  Franz Engstler         Engstler BMW           + 43.904s
14.  Fredy Barth            Wiechers BMW           + 45.921s
15.  Fernando Monje         Campos SEAT            + 50.678s
16.  Tom Boardman           Special Tuning SEAT    + 53.591s
17.  Charles Ng             Engstler BMW           + 59.157s
18.  Jean-Philippe Dayraut  Anome BMW            + 1m06.537s
19.  Mehdi Bennani          Proteam BMW          + 1m26.721s
20.  Alex MacDowall         Bamboo Chevrolet         + 1 lap
21.  Rene Munnich           Munnich SEAT             + 1 lap
22.  Norbert Michelisz      Zengo Honda              + 1 lap

Picture Copyright © WTCC

Yvan Muller Takes Dominant Race 1 Victory In The Heavy Rain At Monza

Yvan Muller sailed to a dominant victory during the opening race of the World Touring Car Championship, which was held in utterly treacherous weather conditions around the legendary Autodromo Nazionale Monza. Tom Chilton finished a close 2nd, with fellow countryman Alex MacDowall 3rd.

Due to the adverse weather conditions, the race started under safety car conditions. This decision was justified on the opening lap, when Danish driver Michel Nykjær ran off the circuit for Nika Racing. However, the safety car was soon brought in after the opening lap, allowing the race to truly begin. Poleman Yvan Muller led at the front, ahead of Tom Chilton and Alex MacDowall. Further down the order saw many drivers jostling for position in the inclement weather conditions, as Franz Engstler bumped over the kerbs through Turns 1 and 2.

The conditions failed to improve as the opening laps ticked away, as Engstler ran straight on at Turn 1 on the next lap in the worsening weather conditions. After starting 22nd and last for the opening race of the weekend, reigning World Champion Robert Huff had managed to claw his way up to 17th by Lap 3. Michel Nykjær returned to the pits after his opening lap excursion to retire with a driveshaft failure. However, the Dane’s mechanics managed to correct the issue on his Chevrolet-powered machine, and he returned to the action on Lap 6.

Fredy Barth became the next driver to make a mistake in the tricky weather conditions, as the Swiss driver spun at the Ascari chicane. Despite an impressive opening few laps from Robert Huff, both he and Darryl O’Young ran straight on at Turn 1. The safety car was called upon for a second time on Lap 5, when Stefano D’Aste spun into the barriers on the exit of the Ascari chicane. This saw the Italian driver retire from the race, after suffering damage to his PB Racing machine.

The second safety car period lasted for only two laps, before Yvan Muller once again assumed control at the front ahead of Tom Chilton and Alex MacDowall. Robert Huff continued to climb through the order, with the Briton running in an extremely impressive 9th by Lap 8. Marc Basseng ran extensively wide at Curve di Lesmo, whereas Robert Huff once again ran straight on at Turn 1 along with Portuguese driver Tiago Monteiro. Marc Basseng’s debut race in the World Touring Car Championship failed improve, as on Lap 9 the German was issued with a drive-thru penalty for failing to have all four wheels down when the three minute boards were displayed at the start of the race.

With the rain unrelenting upon the Autodromo Nazionale Monza, further mayhem continued to ensue as the race wore on. Darryl O’Young ran wide at the Curve di Lesmo, in similar fashion to Marc Basseng. Pepe Oriola retired on Lap 9, as Marc Basseng continued to struggle and flew straight on at Turn 1 at phenomenal speeds. By Lap 10 Robert Huff had managed to work his way up to 6th, despite a strong battle for position with his fellow countryman of James Nash.

The race was brought to an incident-filled conclusion, as Tom Boardman suffered a broken steering arm after a collision with James Nasr at the Curve di Lesmo. The Briton was forced to come to halt right in the middle of the circuit, however the race officials decided against deploying the safety car with only one lap remaining. Despite the carnage further back, Yvan Muller stormed to a dominant lights-to-flag victory ahead of Tom Chilton and Alex MacDowall. Robert Huff finished an impressive 6th, after starting way down in 22nd and last position.

Results - 12 laps:

Pos  Driver                 Team/Car                Time/Gap
 1.  Yvan Muller            RML Chevrolet         30m02.783s
 2.  Tom Chilton            RML Chevrolet           + 0.923s
 3.  Alex MacDowall         Bamboo Chevrolet        + 5.101s
 4.  Gabriele Tarquini      Honda                   + 8.053s
 5.  Tiago Monteiro         Honda                  + 15.261s
 6.  Rob Huff               Munnich SEAT           + 17.349s
 7.  James Nash             Bamboo Chevrolet       + 19.964s
 8.  Norbert Michelisz      Zengo Honda            + 20.338s
 9.  Tom Coronel            ROAL BMW               + 28.837s
10.  Fredy Barth            Wiechers BMW           + 37.740s
11.  Jean-Philippe Dayraut  Anome BMW              + 39.226s
12.  Fernando Monje         Campos SEAT            + 41.656s
13.  Darryl O'Young         ROAL BMW               + 48.116s
14.  Marc Basseng           Munnich SEAT           + 50.920s
15.  Charles Ng             Engstler BMW           + 54.412s
16.  Rene Munnich           Munnich SEAT           + 58.733s
17.  Mehdi Bennani          Proteam BMW          + 2m05.913s

Retirements:

     Tom Boardman           Special Tuning SEAT      10 laps
     Franz Engstler         Engstler BMW              9 laps
     Michel Nykjaer         NIKA Chevrolet            9 laps
     Pepe Oriola            Tuenti SEAT               8 laps
     Stefano d'Aste         PB BMW                    3 laps
     Aleksei Dudukalo       Lada                         DNS
     James Thompson         Lada                         DNS

Picture Copyright © WTCC