Race Preview: Will SEAT dominate again?
This weekend the WTCC series arrives at Valencia for the third round. The Circuito Ricardo Tormo, Valencia is located 20km North of Valencia, which sits on the East Coast of Spain. Valencia is just over 4km in length with 14 turns and 1 long start/finish straight. SEAT have caused some upset in the paddock by heavily dominating the WTCC series finishing with a 1-2-3-4-5 at Puebla at the last round. Will their domination be repeated at Valencia or could the new restrictions pin them back?
Previously at Valencia
James Thompson took the race win in his N. Technology Alfa Romeo 156 at Valencia in 2007. A crash at the start of the race took out 6 leading cars, Tiago Monteiro, Gabriele Targuini, Alex Zanardi, Felix Porteiro, Roberto Colciago and Rob Huff.
The season so far
SEAT are currently dominating the series. At the previous race in Puebla SEAT took the top 5 spots causing some to question whether Diesel cars had a place in the WTCC. Rickard Rydell currently leads the championship with 26 points, but is closely followed by Gabriele Tarquini with 24 points and Yvan Muller on 22.
Quotes prior to the race
Rickard Rydell – SEAT Sport
“The excellent level we’ve managed to achieve at the first two races will be difficult to maintain in Valencia. The upcoming race is important for SEAT because we’re competing on home ground, and my objective is to rack up as many points as possible.” Portuguese team-mate Tiago Monteiro, winner of the last race, shares this opinion, since “this track won’t be good, and we’ve got our work cut out for us with the extra burden we’ll be carrying thanks to our previous results.”
Yvan Muller – SEAT Sport
“the weekend in Valencia is going to be complicated. It’ll probably be very hot, and the twisty track is better suited to BMW.” Sharing his thoughts, Gabriele Tarquini said “the Valencia track is completely different from the ones in Brazil and Mexico. I think we might put up a fight during the race and pull off a good classification, but BMW is the favourite team.”
Jordi Gené – SEAT Sport
“we’re looking forward to the race in Valencia. We’ve always done well in Cheste, and I hope this year won’t be an exception, but we have to be realistic since we’ll be carrying so much more weight than our rivals.”
Andy Priaulx – BMW Team UK
“I’m confident we shall be able to move closer to our competitors in Valencia than we were in the Mexican rounds. The races in Spain used to be extremely thrilling and action-packed, so they will be entertaining events for the crowds. It is the start of the European season – and I hope it will begin well for us.”
Jörg Müller – BMW Team Germany
“For me, Valencia is a kind of a second home. I’m there very often, particularly when doing my job as a Formula BMW instructor. In the past, Alfa Romeo used to be our toughest competitor on this track. But this year they aren’t racing in the WTCC, therefore, I’m more confident about the first round of the European season.”
Augusto Farfus – BMW Team Germany
“In Valencia the handicap weights are usually a key factor. This year things look rather positive for us, as we are much lighter than – for instance – the SEAT Diesel drivers. I’ve scored just three points to date, but I want to change this in Spain.”
Félix Porteiro – BMW Team Italy-Spain
“For me, the races in Spain are the most important ones of the entire season. It’s just great to race in front of your family and friends. In winter testing, we found several details on the car we were able to improve specially for this circuit. At the end of the straight top speed will be vital as most of the overtaking takes place there.”
Alessandro Zanardi – BMW Team Italy-Spain
“The venue for the kick off to the European season isn’t exactly what you would call a BMW circuit. However, this doesn’t mean we can’t be successful at Valencia. The qualifying certainly will be difficult, but in the races we should prove to be competitive.”
Schedule – Sunday 18 May (subject to change)
08.30 – Int. GT Open Warm up
09.00 – FIA WTCC Warm up
09.40 – PTCC
10.40 – Int. GT Open
12.05 – FIA WTCC Race 1
13.05 – SEAT Eurocup
14.15 – Int. Formula Master
15.50 – FIA WTCC Race 2
