2005 FIA WTCC Race of San Marino explained

The 2005 FIA WTCC Race Of San Marino was the fourth round of the 2005 World Touring Car Championship season. It was held at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari. The two races were won by Fabrizio Giovanardi and Dirk Müller.

Report

Qualifying

After a disappointing start to the season with only 13 points from the first three weekends, Fabrizio Giovanardi bounced back in Imola with a dominant pole position for Alfa Romeo after dominating qualifying with a time of 1:58.573. Antonio García was second for BMW nearly six-tenths of a second behind, and SEAT also did a good job with Jordi Gené qualifying third. Two more Alfas driven by Augusto Farfus and Gabriele Tarquini followed ahead of Roberto Colciago who was driving for Honda.[1]

Race 1

Gabriele Tarquini and Peter Terting, who qualified fifth and seventh were both given ten-lace grid penalties for an incident in the previous race and an engine change respectively. García started well and overtook polesitter Fabrizio Giovanardi at the line, with reigning champion Andy Priaulx jumping up to second in his BMW. Championship leader Dirk Müller got the better of second row starters Jordi Gené and Augusto Farfus, with Roberto Colciago and James Thompson, in another Alfa following. Tarquini and Jörg Müller, second and third in the championship, collided which sent the former to the back of the field, and the BMW man had to pit for repairs. At the front, Giovanardi dealt with Priaulx on the first lap, and García on the second, and was never caught again. Colciago overtook Farfus on the same lap, and then tried to do the same on Gené, however there was contact and the Spaniard crashed. Colciago continued, but was passed by Farfus on the next lap. The rest of the race was quiet, with Giovanardi easily winning from García in a lonely second. Priaulx was third ahead of Dirk Müller, Farfus, Colciago, Thompson and Alex Zanardi's BMW. A 12th-place finish was enough for Alessandro Balzan to win the Independent's Trophy.[2]

Race 2

Alex Zanardi started on pole on the reversed grid, and he had no problem converting it into a lead early on. The other BMWs were all very strong off the line, with Dirk Müller, Priaulx and García jumping into 2nd, 3rd and 5th from 5th, 6th and 7th respectively. James Thompson's Alfa, who started 2nd was 4th splitting the BMWs, and his teammates Farfus and Giovanardi were 6th and 8th, with Rickard Rydell's SEAT splitting them. Giovanardi started to move up the order, passing both Rydell and Farfus on the second lap. Zanardi was unable to hold his lead for long, with his teammates Dirk Müller and Priaulx passing him and then pulling away. Behind, there was contact between García and Giovanardi while fighting for fifth, which pushed the Spaniard down the order, whereas Farfus took advantage and passed a rattled Giovanardi two laps later. Dirk Müller and Priaulx ran comfortably at the front, with the Englishman despite staying with a second, not able to make an impression on his teammate. Thompson in fourth had just started to put pressure on Zanardi when he made a mistake and was passed by his two teammates, Rydell and Jason Plato in another SEAT. There was contact with the latter, which sent Thompson packing down the order. Dirk Müller took his second win of the season, with Priaulx in second. The battle for third between Zanardi and Farfus reached a head on the final lap, when an overtaking attempt from Farfus resulted in a collision, sending both off the track. Giovanardi thus took third, with Rydell fourth, whereas Farfus rejoined fifth and Zanardi had to settle for sixth, with the SEATS of Peter Terting and Plato completing the points. Neither Gabriele Tarquini nor Jörg Müller was able to get into the points, despite fighting drives. Balzan won the Independent's Trophy after finishing 13th, however he was disqualified for an underweight car, handing it to countryman Stefano D'Aste.[2]

Classification

Race 1

Pos No Driver Team Car Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
16 Fabrizio Giovanardi Alfa Romeo Racing Team Alfa Romeo 1561122:12.202110
25 Antonio García BMW Team Italy-Spain BMW 320i11+3.14628
31 Andy Priaulx BMW Team UK BMW 320i11+8.13156
443 Dirk Müller BMW Team Deutschland BMW 320i11+9.12675
57 Augusto Farfus Alfa Romeo Racing Team Alfa Romeo 15611+12.29944
626 Roberto Colciago JAS Motorsport Honda Accord Euro R11+15.17563
73 James Thompson Alfa Romeo Racing Team Alfa Romeo 15611+16.99582
84 Alex Zanardi BMW Team Italy-Spain BMW 320i11+17.476131
98 SEAT Toledo Cupra11+17.9749
1010 SEAT Toledo Cupra11+18.34117
1111 SEAT Toledo Cupra11+23.78811
1255 IT SEAT Toledo Cupra11+25.68015
1322 Chevrolet Lacetti11+34.61920
1423 Chevrolet Lacetti11+35.49518
152 Alfa Romeo 15611+41.03414
1628 IT BMW 320i11+41.81616
1714 Ford Focus11+43.74625
1820 IT SEAT Toledo Cupra11+47.15621
1951 IT Alfa Romeo 15611+51.96024
2021 Chevrolet Lacetti11+52.56922
2153 IT BMW 320i11+55.59928
2230 IT BMW 320i11+57.30219
2352 IT Alfa Romeo 15611+1:07.31927
2454 IT BMW 320i11+1:07.92229
2518 IT SEAT Toledo Cupra11+1:08.25330
2615 Ford Focus11+2:13.77431
2742 BMW 320i10+1 Lap12
Ret36 IT RS-Line IPZ RacingFord Focus ST1705Accident32
Ret31 IT BMW 320i5Retirement23
Ret27 IT Honda Accord Euro R2Accident10
Ret32 IT BMW 320i2Accident26
Ret9 SEAT Toledo Cupra1Collision3

Race 2

Pos No Driver Team Car Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
143 Dirk Müller BMW Team Deutschland BMW 320i1122:17.549510
21 Andy Priaulx BMW Team UK BMW 320i11+2.02768
36 Fabrizio Giovanardi Alfa Romeo Racing Team Alfa Romeo 15611+5.82286
48 Rickard Rydell SEAT Sport SEAT Toledo Cupra11+6.78695
57 Augusto Farfus Alfa Romeo Racing Team Alfa Romeo 15611+8.79544
64 Alex Zanardi BMW Team Italy-Spain BMW 320i11+10.44713
710 Peter Terting SEAT Sport SEAT Toledo Cupra11+10.713102
811 Jason Plato SEAT Sport SEAT Toledo Cupra11+11.135111
95 BMW 320i11+12.1157
102 Alfa Romeo 15611+12.44615
1122 Chevrolet Lacetti11+15.64413
1242 BMW 320i11+15.80527
139 SEAT Toledo Cupra11+20.37032
1423 Chevrolet Lacetti11+23.13814
1530 IT BMW 320i11+34.18722
1614 Ford Focus11+35.64017
1753 IT BMW 320i11+39.01821
1818 IT SEAT Toledo Cupra11+40.00025
1915 Ford Focus11+44.65126
2051 IT Alfa Romeo 15611+2:13.24619
213 Alfa Romeo 15610+1 Lap2
2252 IT Alfa Romeo 1568+3 Laps23
Ret26 Honda Accord Euro R4Accident3
Ret28 IT BMW 320i4Retirement16
Ret20 IT SEAT Toledo Cupra4Accident18
Ret21 Chevrolet Lacetti0Retirement20
DNS54 IT BMW 320i024
DNS36 IT RS-Line IPZ RacingFord Focus ST170028
DNS31 IT BMW 320i029
DNS27 IT Honda Accord Euro R030
DNS32 IT BMW 320i031
DSQ55 IT SEAT Toledo Cupra11Disqualified12

Standings after the races

Drivers' Championship standings
PosDriverPoints
1 Dirk Müller47
2 Andy Priaulx41
3 Gabriele Tarquini30
4 Fabrizio Giovanardi29
5 Augusto Farfus29
Manufacturers' Championship standings
PosConstructorPoints
1 BMW113
2 Alfa Romeo100
3 SEAT75
4 Chevrolet22
5 Ford2

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://www.fiawtcc.com/archives/2005/reports/R07_08_Qualifying.pdf Qualifying report
  2. http://www.fiawtcc.com/archives/2005/reports/R07_08_Races.pdf Race report