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Powered byMARCH 2009 • issue 17

Despite BMW fighting hard from start to finish, the drivers could not keep SEAT from victory at rounds

three and four of the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) in Puebla, Mexico. BMW’s Augusto Farfus and Andy Priaulx had excellent runs in qualifying; Farfus secured pole with a fastest lap of 1:37.682, with Andy Priaulx completing the front row. However, at the rolling start, SEAT’s Rickard Rydell came storming through from fourth on the grid to take the lead. Farfus and Priaulx continued to put pressure on the Swedish driver, but could not catch his SEAT León TDI. Having qualified third, Tarquini slipped down the field to a sixth-place finish, whilst team-mate Yvan Muller improved his position to cross the line fourth. Chevrolet’s Nicola Larini drove a strong race to finish eighth from an eleventh-place start, securing the first point for the new Chevrolet Cruze, and pole for race two. Unfortunately Larini’s lead did not last long, as the SEATs and BMWs charged through, led by the Spanish manufacturer’s Jordi Gené. Gené managed to hold onto his position for eight laps before Y. Muller completed his sprint to the lead, having already passed six cars to climb from eighth on the reverse grid. Brit Priaulx put pressure on the Frenchman in his BMW 320si, attempting to close the gap between himself and the win, but it was not enough and Y. Muller claimed SEAT’s fourth consecutive victory. Rydell completed the race two podium, with Farfus in fourth and Sergio Hernández, newcomer to BMW Team Italy-Spain, finishing fifth from a ninth-place start.

With two podium finishes, Rydell has moved to joint first place on the Drivers’ standings, alongside Y. Muller. Farfus breaks-up the SEATs in third, with fellow BMW driver Priaulx, just falling outside the top five.

SEAT ONTO A WINNER IN MEXICO

North African driver Mehdi Bennani will join the WTCC for

rounds five and six, held in Marrakech, Morocco, on 3 May. The

25-year-old will get behind the wheel of an Exagon Engineering

petrol-powered SEAT León, and will be the first North African

driver to compete in an FIA world championship. Bennani has

previously raced in Formula Renault, Formula BMW, World

Series by Renault and the Euro F3000 Series.

BENNANI TO JOINWTCC

WHAT’S THE POINTRACE 1 RESULT

1. Rickard RYDELL SEAT León TDI

2. Augusto FARFUS BMW 320si

3. Andy PRIAULX BMW 320si

4. Yvan MULLER SEAT León TDI

5. Jörg MÜLLER BMW 320si

6. Gabriele TARQUINI SEAT León TDI

7. Jordi GENÉ SEAT León TDI

8. Nicola LARINI Chevrolet Cruze LT

RACE 2 RESULT

1. Yvan MULLER SEAT León TDI

2. Andy PRIAULX BMW 320si

3. Rickard RYDELL SEAT León TDI

4. Augusto FARFUS BMW 320si

5. Sergio HERNÁNDEZ BMW 320si

6. Alex ZANARDI BMW 320si

7. Jordi GENÉ SEAT León TDI

8. Gabriele TARQUINI SEAT León TDI

ChAmpIONShIp pOINTS

1. Yvan MULLER 30

2. Rickard RYDELL 30

3. Augusto FARFUS 20

4. Gabriele TARQUINI 19

5. Jordi GENE 18

6. Andy PRIAULX 16

7. Jorg Muller 08

8. Sergio Hernández 07

FASTEST LAp

Augusto FARFUS Qualifying 1:37.682

Andy PRIAULX Race 1:38.076 (Race 1)

Puebla, MexicoPuebla, MexicoPuebla, MexicoPuebla, Mexico

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MARRAKECH PREVIEWWith the WTCC visiting Marrakech for the first time on 01-03 May, Yokohama’s Motorsport Technical Department Manager, Susumu Watanabe, introduces the track and talks about the performance of the ADVANs:“Marrakech is a virtual unknown for everyone attending; we know the layout

of the circuit, but little else. We’re expecting the ambient temperature to be similar to that of the first round at Curitiba, and there are several long straights that cool the tyres. Typically, 100-110 degrees is the operating window of a touring car tyre, even at a circuit like Marrakech, so I don’t expect the ADVANs to be challenged.”

CIRCUIT INFOmARRAKECh:

YOKOhAmA INDEpENDENTS’ TROphY

Félix Porteiro secured his fourth victory in the Independents’ Trophy behind the wheel of his

Scuderia Proteam-prepared BMW 320si. After setting fastest Independents’ lap in qualifying, he drove straight to victory in both races, finishing tenth overall in race one and eighth in race two.Stefano D’Aste of Wiechers-Sport finished race one in second place (12th overall), followed by Franz Engstler, who secured third after crossing the line in 14th place. The German driver finished second in race two, leaving Tom Coronel and D’Aste behind him.After his double victory, Porteiro said: “I have won four races in the Independents’ Trophy. I took a good start in race one but I was hit and lost eight positions. Luckily my car was not damaged and I could start recovering.”

Circuit de MarrakechLap distance: 4,624mRace distance: 2 x 11Location: Southern outskirts of Marrakech

BEhIND ThE WhEELIMPROVING ALWAYS THE AIM: ROB HUFF

Highest-ranking Chevrolet driver of 2008, Rob Huff, completed

the top three of the WTCC Drivers’ standings last year. With a new car, Huff has had a difficult start to the season, having retired from two races with mechanical problems. However the Brit is determined to get back on the pace; we caught-up with him to get his views on the Yokohama ADVAN tyres and his plans for this season.“Yokohama provided excellent support last year; the ADVANs are very easy tyres to understand. I believe I made the most out of them during qualifying and races

throughout the season. The Yokohama team are great to work with, are always receptive to driver feedback and did their best to even-out the front-wheel and rear-wheel drive cars.“I’m excited to be out in a brand new car for 2009; I’m really pleased to be driving with Chevrolet again and help with its development of the Cruze. Yokohama has lent its full support during testing and I’m looking forward to a good season. I have improved year-on-year during my racing career, so despite set-backs, I’m hoping to get some good results.”

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The Yokohama-equipped Panoz Esperante GTLM secured third

place in the GT2 class at the opening round of the American Le Mans Series (ALMS), held at Sebring, Florida, on 18-21 March. Having qualified sixth in class, and 18th overall, drivers Dominik Farnbacher and Ian James worked their way through the field to

improve their position by eight places, finishing on their class podium and tenth overall. The Audi R15 TDI, driven by Tom Kristensen, Allan McNish and Dindo Capello took the overall victory, crossing the finish line just 22.279 seconds ahead of the Peugeot 908 HDI of Franck Montagny, Sebastien Bourdais and Stephane Sarrazin.

Eighteen-year-old International Formula

Master (IFM) driver Josef Kral is tipped to be a strong competitor this year. The Czech, who drove for Team JVA last season, has now

signed with champions JD Motorsport, and is hoping to be in the running for the 2009 title. We spoke to Josef during his preparations for the first meeting.

“So far we have completed two test sessions. Valencia was very good and we now have a new lap record. The Yokohama ADVANs work very well and are one of the best tyres I have used. During the session, the tyres were very consistent, and did not make any remarkable changes between the laps.“Hopefully I will win the Series; I really want to be the champion. I have improved a lot, and I think with the support of JD Motorsport, I will be able to do very well this season.”

The Yokohama-supported International Formula

Master (IFM) series will travel to Belgium this

week for a two-day test at Spa-Francorchamps. This is the first time

that the young drivers will be able to test the upgraded IFM car on a

track where they will support the Formula One Championship later

in the year. One final two-day test at Hungaroring, Hungary, will take

place before the season-opener in Pau, France, in May.

TESTING TImE FOR IFm

KRAL RETURNS FOR THE TITLE

YOKOhAmA DOES ThE DOUBLEYokohama secured both the GT500 and

GT300 class wins in Okayama, Japan, at the first round of the Japanese GT on 22 March. Team HIS ADVAN Kondo GT-R secured third place on the grid during GT500 qualifying; drivers Joao Paulo Lima de Oliveira and Seiji Ara then took an early lead and maintained their pace on a wet track to take the win. “The machine’s settings turned out to be perfect for the rainy weather,” said Joao Paulo Lima de Oliveira. “The choice of tyres was a good one; it felt very good out there on the course.”Team Manager Masahiko Kondo said,

“I think that this revives Yokohama’s reputation as the tyre maker that wins in the rain. The conditions this time made it a very difficult race, but our two drivers did their job well. I had a feeling inside me that something good was going to happen this weekend!”Manabu Orido and Tatsuya Kataoka claimed the GT300 class victory in the Yokohama-equipped Weds Sport IS350. “Yokohama Rubber made new rain tyres for us in the GT300 class,” said Orido. “I am especially happy to see that Yokohama tyres won both the GT500 and GT300 races.”

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Japanese GT: GT300 class winners Kataoka and Orido

WTCC drivers take racing to the

streets!

Rydell makes his move

Yvan Muller secures the fourth consecutive victory for SEAT

WTCC cars grid for race two

Jörg Müller battles with Jordi Gené

WTCC girls impress Nicola Larini

Yvan Muller clinches the lead from

Gené

Yokohama will support Turkish rally driver Burcu Çetinkaya in the CIR Rally Adriatico, Italy, on 03-04 April. Çetinkaya will compete in the Abarth Grande Punto S2000, run by Procar, alongside Fabrizia Pons, who co-drove Çetinkaya’s idol Michele Mouton to four world championship victories in the 80s. Çetinkaya is a regular competitor in the Fiesta SportTrophy International and finished second in the championship last year.

YOKOhAmA EXTEND IRCSUppORT

Yokohama will manufacture

approximately 10,000 tyres

for the WTCC and Swedish

Touring Car Championship

this seasonFA

CT

Japanese GT: The HIS ADVAN Kondo

GT-R at Okayama, Japan