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Qualifying for
round two of the 2006 FIA World Touring Car Championship
took place this afternoon at Magny-Cours. While former Alfa
Romeo factory pilot Gabriele Tarquini grabbed pole position
for the SEAT brand, the three official N.technology Alfa
Romeo drivers struggled to get the Alfa 156 onto the pace
today at the French circuit, and so Salvatore Tavano,
Augusto Farfus and Gianni Morbidelli will line up in 19th,
22nd and 23rd places on the grid respectively for tomorrow's
opening race.
Practice 1
The fastest lap of the opening
practice session at Magny-Cours
this morning was set by the
young German, Peter Terting in
his SEAT León. His time of
1:49.855 was 0.060 of a second
better than Jörg Müller’s
quickest run for BMW Team
Germany with the third best time
being set by Terting’s team-mate
Rickard Rydell. All six of the
SEAT Sport drivers were in the
top ten. Championship leader
Yvan Muller, Gabriele Tarquini
and James Thompson were 5th, 6th
and 7th fastest respectively
with Gené 9th. Dirk Müller
posted a time of 1:50.169
placing him 4th on the time
sheet while Andy Priaulx was
further down in 8th. The top ten
was completed by a Chevrolet,
driven by Rob Huff with a time
of 1:51.053.
Alfa Romeo struggled with the
pace as Gianni Morbidelli, the
quickest of the N.technology
team of three, achieved only the
16th best time overall. Tom
Coronel set the fastest time of
the independent field, a
1:1:51.083 in his GR Asia SEAT
Toledo Cupra; he was classified
11th fastest overall. Alessandro
Zanardi had a broken wire in his
driving aid system and therefore
had to stop the session with 5
minutes remaining. Wiechers-Sport's
Diego Romanini also had to
retire from the free practice
after he suffered a drive shaft
problem and ground to a halt on
the finish straight.
Practice 2
He
was
second
fastest
this
morning
but
in
the
second
practice
session
Jörg
Müller,
winner
of
both
WTCC
races
here
in
Magny-Cours
last
year,
completed
the
fastest
lap
in
his
BMW
Team
Germany
320si
with
a
time
of
1:50.190.
Tom
Coronel
of
independent
team
GR
Asia
put
in a
storming
lap
of
1:50.360
which
was
the
second
fastest
of
the
entire
field.
Again,
SEAT
Sport's
Rickard
Rydell
occupied
third
spot,
0.265
seconds
off
the
pace.
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Following on from his stunning display at Monza
during round one of the FIA World Touring Car
Championship, Alessandro Balzan in the Antonelli
Sport Alfa 156 eclipsed all three N.technology Alfa
Romeo drivers' to claim 18th slot on the grid for
tomorrow's opening race. |
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The N.technology Alfa Romeo drivers struggled to get
the Alfa 156 onto the pace today at Magny-Cours with
Salvatore Tavano (above), Augusto Farfus and Gianni
Morbidelli eventually lining up in 19th, 22nd and
23rd places on the grid. |
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Behind him in 4th, 5th and 6th
was a trio of his team
companions, Gabriele Tarquini,
Yvan Muller and James Thompson
with only Dirk Müller in his BMW
separating them from Peter
Terting who was 8th quickest.
Alessandro Zanardi's electrical
problem has been solved and he
posted a time of 1:51.293,
placing him 10th – one position
below Andy Priaulx. Nicola
Larini of Chevrolet drove his
Lacetti around the track in the
12th quickest time of 1:51.720.
The N.technology Alfas still
appear to have some work to do
as Augusto Farfus posted the
teams best time which was 18th
overall.
Qualifying
SEAT Sport secured the whole
front row for tomorrow’s Race 1.
Gabriele Tarquini was the
fastest man after setting a
1:49.306 which is a new S2000
lap record for the French track.
Alongside him when the lights go
out will be team-mate Rickard
Rydell who stole second position
from BMW Team Germany"s Jörg
Müller on his very last lap and
by the tiny margin of just 0.001
seconds. Jörg, who set the
previous lap record in 2004 not
only has SEATs in front of him,
but alongside and behind. Jordi
Gené set a time of 1:49.798
placing in 4th on the grid while
Peter Terting will line up 5th.
Dirk Müller of BMW Team Germany
and Alessandro Zanardi of BMW
Team Italy-Spain qualified 6th
and 7th respectively while
reigning champion Priaulx will
begin Race 1 from position nine.
Continuing his presence among
the works drivers was GR Asia
man Tom Coronel. His time of
1:50.053 was the fastest of the
independents and 8th best of the
entire field. Drivers'
championship leader, Yvan Muller
completed the 12th quickest lap
in his SEAT León.
The N.technology team were
headed by Salvatore Tavano who
achieved a best lap in 1:50.795
placing him 19th. Farfus and
Morbidelli occupied 22nd and
23rd respectively, the former
spinning into the gravel trap at
the Grande Courbe in the final
minutes of the session. Naspetti
of GDL Racing (provisionally
qualified 17th) and Marchetti of
DB Motorsport (provisionally
qualified 27th) will be dropped
10 places on the grid due to
engine changes.
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