Augusto Farfus got Alfa Romeo's 2006 FIA World Touring Car Championship challenge off to a great start with victory in race two at Monza this afternoon, recovering from a start line incident in race one with his N.technology team mate that had seen him pushed down the order. Neither of the other two N.technology Alfa Romeo drivers scored any points this afternoon: Salvatore Tavano was eliminated at the start of race one and took no further part in today's proceedings while Gianni Morbidelli, who was eventually classified 29th overall, 3 laps down, in race one, battled up the field in race two to finish in 10h place, 9.414 seconds behind his victorious team leader.

Adding to the success today for Farfus and Alfa Romeo was Italian pilot Alessandro Balzan who took the honours in the Independents' Cup in both races at the wheel of his privatly run Alfa 156, capitalising on a ninth place he claimed in the opening race to finish race two in an amazing fourth place overall.

Race 1

Reigning FIA World Touring Car Champion, Andy Priaulx in car number 1 started from pole and led the entire race to cross the line first in the first race of the season. From the very start the Team BMW UK pilot created a gap and was never seriously challenged by the battling field behind him. Yvan Muller had a spectacular race in his WTCC debut to finish second. He was joined by team-mate James Thompson on the podium.

After a bad start, Augusto Farfus was caught in an incident with Alfa Romeo team-mate Salvatore Tavano incurring damage to the rear of his car. He dropped down to 5th leaving Dirk Müller and Yvan Muller fighting for second. This resulted in some breathtaking moments but persistence paid dividends as Yvan overtook on the eight lap. The fight was not over there for Dirk however as Thompson was now on his tail. On the final lap the SEAT and BMW were side by side down the straight but Thompson edged through the first corner to finish on the podium.

There was a spell of two laps run under safety car conditions, after Roberto Colciago crashed at the Biassono bend and his car caught fire on the track following a clash with Jens Edman's Peugeot 407. After the re-start Alex Zanardi, Gabriele Tarquini and Rickard Rydell were competing for 6th position. After various overtaking moves Tarquini passed the chequered flag 5th with Rydell and Zanardi 6th and 7th. Augusto Farfus finished 8th and claimed pole for the second race.

Robert Huff was the leading Chevrolet Lacetti driver in 11th position until lap 8 when he spun and dropped to the back of the field. This left Alain Menu to chase and overtake Marcel Costa of BMW Team Italy Spain for 10th position. In the Independents' category, Alessandro Balzan, driving a privately run Alfa Romeo 156, was victorious and finished in 9th place overall.

Race 2

Before the crowd could catch its breath after the first race, the second was underway and it was to prove to be even more spectacular. The young Brazilian driver, Farfus began from pole in his N.technology Alfa Romeo 156 and unlike Race 1, he got a great start. In the opening stages there was a five man fight for third; Tarquini, Thompson, Dirk Müller, Priaulx and Rydell were in a close pack throughout the opening three laps.
 

Priaulx, Dirk and Thompson all entered a corner together and while Thompson escaped relatively unscathed, Dirk and Priaulx ended the race with their BMW cars in barriers. The leading pack continued, and by now independent driver Alessandro Balzan in his Alfa 156 had come from 9th through to 6th place. This soon improved to 5th after Tarquini had a failed attempt at overtaking Zanardi and fell back to 10th. On lap 5 Balzan continued to storm through, overtaking Yvan Muller for 4th and then Rydell for 3rd. However, a place on the overall podium was not to be as Yvan reclaimed 3rd place on lap 7.

Meanwhile Zanardi and Farfus were having their own contest for victory. Contact was made several times but on the penultimate lap the BMW car's steering obtained damage and Zanardi was out of contention. More action ensued as Balzan dropped down to 6th coming into the final lap and Rydell and Huff collided. The result of these incidents meant Alain Menu achieved a fantastic podium for Chevrolet. And their success did not end there because Larini finished in the points, 7th overall. Making it a great race for Alfa Romeo Balzan crossed the line in an outstanding 4th position overall and claimed his second victory in the Independents' category today.

“Race 2 was spectacular and I am really happy to have won it," said Augusto Farfus afterward. "As for the first race I don't really know what happened with the car because after the crash at the first chicane I lost my rear bumper and therefore a lot of speed, then at the end Rydell hit me. I had a great start in race 2 and Alex and I had a fun and tight fight. As for the accident, it was nothing special. We broke at the same point at the chicane a touched lightly but unfortunately for Alex he broke his steering axle and it ended his race. I am pleased to have won this race with my team and we will work on getting the most out of the Alfa Romeo 156 throughout the season," concluded the Brazilian.

“We were really fast in the test days last week but id didn't expect my car to be strong and competitive on race day," said a delighted Alessandro Balzan. "I started right at the back but the tyres worked well and every lap got better and better. My main aim was to win the independents category. I saw a lot of crashes ahead of me and managed to finish 4th overall. A fantastic weekend for me," added the independent Alfa Romeo pilot.

After the two races at Monza today Yvan Muller (SEAT) has 16pts, courtesy of his two second place finishes, and now leads the 2006 FIA WTCC drivers' series ahead of Farfus on 11pts (1pt for 8th place in race one and 10pts for his race two win). Prilaux is 3rd (10pts), Tarquini 4th (7pts) while Thompson, next up, makes it three SEAT drivers in the top five with 6pts. In the manufacturers' series SEAT lead with 26pts ahead of Alfa Romeo (22pts) and BMW (18pts).

In the Independents' Cup Balzan (Alfa Romeo 156) leads the initial standings with a perfect score of 20pts for his two wins today, ahead of BMW-driving former European Alfa 147GTA Challenge racer Simone Iacone (13pts) and another BMW pilot, Stefano D'Aste (8pts). The next rounds of the 2006 FIA WTCC will take place at Magny-Cours in France on 30th April.