Normandy Retro Show ; La Bouille

WTCC Vila Real ; Lopez et Ma Qing Hua font triompher Citroen

Course 1 : López porté en triomphe à Vila Real pour son sixième succès 2015

Auteur de la pole position, José María López remporte à l’issue de la première des deux courses de l’OSCARO.com WTCC Race of Portugal, à Vila Real, sa sixième victoire cette saison dans le Championnat du Monde FIA des Voitures de Tourisme.

Le pilote argentin a pris un excellent envol et n’a plus été inquiété, devançant à l’arrivée son équipier Sébastien Loeb. Ce succès lui permet ainsi de creuser l’écart en tête du championnat.

« Une course très difficile. Bien plus qu’il n’en a paru, confie López. Il faisait très chaud dans la voiture et j’ai ressenti de fortes vibrations à cause des pneus. C’est difficile de freiner, mais il faut être tout le temps à fond. J’étais nerveux avant le départ, mais nous avons faire ce qu’il fallait et je suis heureux pour mon équipe. Je ne pense pas à la deuxième manche encore. Si ce n’est que nous devrons encore marquer de gros points.”

Norbert Michelisz profite du mauvais envol de Hugo Valente pour s’inviter sur la troisième marche du podium avec sa Honda, devant les officielles de Gabriele Tarquini et du héro local Tiago Montiero, respectivement 4e et 5e au classement.

Ma Qing Hua, Yvan Muller, Jaap van Lagen, Nicky Catsburg et Rob Huff complètent ensuite le Top-10.

Valente a rejoint son stand à l’issue du premier tour pour que ses mécaniciens remettent en état sa Chevrolet après un contact, tandis que Néstor Girolami s’est arrêté en piste après avoir suspecté un problème technique

Course 2 : Ma fait briller les couleurs chinoises au Portugal

Ma Qing Hua décroche la victoire à l’issue d’une deuxième course animée lors de l’OSCARO.com WTCC Race of Portugal. Le succès du pilote Citroën à Vila Real fait suite à son triomphe historique, acquis l’an passé en Russie, lorsqu’il devint le premier pilote chinois à remporter une course de championnat du monde FIA.

Yvan Muller s’invite sur la deuxième marche du podium, lui aussi sur Citroën, tandis que le duo de Honda constitué de Gabriele Tarquini et Norbert Michelisz se classe respectivement 3e et 4e, devant José María López, au terme d’une épreuve marquée par plusieurs incidents.

Le pilote LADA Nicky Catsburg occupait la troisième place, jusqu’à ce qu’il se fasse déborder par Tarquini. Le Hollandais fut ensuite impliqué dans une collision avec Michelisz et Sébastien Loeb, qui entraîna le Français contre le mur de pneus. Catsburg put continuer mais tapa plus tard violemment le rail, provoquant un arrêt prématuré de la course.

Pour Tiago Monteiro, les espoirs de briller à domicile furent réduits à néants dès le premier virage lorsque le Portugais fut pris en sandwich entre les LADA de Catsburg et Jaap van Lagen. La Honda de Monteiro arrêta sa course contre le rail, provoquant la neutralisation de l’épreuve sous régime de Safety Car pour nettoyer les débris jonchant la piste. Pour Van Lagen, qui s’était élancé en troisième position, ce fut également l’abandon, à l’instar de Stefano D’Aste qui dut abandonner après avoir percuté la roue arrière arrachée de la LADA.

Race 1: López makes it six with Vila Real WTCC triumph

José María López is a six-time winner in this year’s FIA World Touring Car Championship after he converted pole position into a stylish victory in the first OSCARO.com WTCC Race of Portugal in Vila Real.

Argentine López rocketed off the line and was never headed, beating Citroën team-mate Sébastien Loeb to extend his title advantage.

“It was a very difficult race more difficult than it looked,” said López. “There was a lot of heat in the car and vibrations coming from the tyres. Here it’s difficult to slow down but you need to go flat everywhere. I was nervous before the start because we had done this before but everything went in the right direction and I’m very happy for my team. I don’t think too much about the second race. It will be very difficult, we need some points to keep looking forward.”

Norbert Michelisz benefited from Hugo Valente’s sluggish start, which was caused by clutch setting issues, to snatch third with fellow Honda drivers Gabriele Tarquini and home hero Tiago Montiero fourth and fifth respectively.

Ma Qing Hua, Yvan Muller, Jaap van Lagen, Nicky Catsburg and Rob Huff completed the top 10.

Valente pitted with a broken upright after an incident-filled first lap, while Néstor Girolami stopped with a suspected mechanical fault. 

Race 2: Mighty Ma claims WTCC glory for China in Portugal

China’s Ma Qing Hua has claimed victory in a dramatic second OSCARO.com WTCC Race of Portugal. The Citroën driver’s success in Vila Real followed his historic triumph in Russia last season when he became the first driver from China to win a world championship motor race.

Yvan Muller took the runner-up spot in a second Citroën with Honda pair Gabriele Tarquini and Norbert Michelisz third and fourth respectively and José María López fifth after an incident-packed counter.

LADA driver Nicky Catsburg was in third only to run wide and allow Tarquini to pounce. Catsburg then became embroiled in a collision with Michelisz and Sébastien Loeb, which left Loeb skating into a tyre barrier. Catsburg continued only to crash heavily, which resulted in the race being stopped early.

Hopes of home success were dashed on the charge to the first corner when Tiago Monteiro’s bid to squeeze between LADA drivers Catsburg and Jaap van Lagen ended in a heavy collision. Monteiro’s Honda suffered significant damage after it clouted a retaining wall, which prompted the intervention of the safety car for four laps while the track was cleared of stricken cars and debris. Van Laagen, who had started third, was also out on the spot, while Stefano D’Aste retired when he struck van Lagen’s detached left-rear wheel.

Ram Racing Mercedes wins the 2015 Hankook 24H CIRCUIT PAUL RICARD

 

The #30 Mercedes SLS AMG GT3 of Ram Racing won the Hankook 24H PAUL RICARD after a battle with the #7 Porsche 997 GT3 R HB Racing Team Herberth. Germany’s Thomas Jäger along with English drivers Tom Onslow-Cole, Adam Christodoulou, and Paul White completed 586 laps of the 5.842 kilometer circuit located above the French Riviera. The second place Porsche was driven by Nicolas Armindo, Daniel Allemann, Herbert Handlos, Lukas Schreier and Alfred Renauer.

The leaders had a close battle during the night, swapping the top spot during pit stop exchanges. The Mercedes pulled away thanks in part to better tyre management. The race was decided with 90 minutes remaining when the Porsche briefly stopped on track with electrical problems. It was the first win for Ram Racing after having come close at previous races. Third place was taken by the #2 HP Racing Mercedes (Bleekemolen / Kofler / Tilke / Renger / Proczyk) and fourth by the #4 Scuderia Praha Ferrari. It was a good comeback for both as they collided on the first lap of the race, requiring repairs.

The all-Porsche 997 class was won by French team Ruffier Racing in the #17 991 Cup Drivers Paul Lafargue, Dimitri Enjalbert, Gabriel Abergel, and Patrice Lafargue put in a flawless performance. Second in 997 was the #55 Crubilé Sport 991 (Collard / Perrodo / Mezard / Crubilé) and third was the #77 GDL Racing 991 Cup (Vignali / Terrail / Lim / Iossifidis).

The SP2 class consists of specially prepared endurance cars and was won by the #92 MARC Cars Australia MARC Focus V8. It was driven by James Kaye, Jeff Smith, Peter Leemhuis and Hadrian Morrall. The #93 MARC Cars Australia MARC Mazda 3 V8 was second (Camilleri / B. Niall / Harvey / M. Niall) and the #159 Red Camel-Jordans MARC Mazda 3 V8 third (Nearn / Farmer / R. Breukers / I. Breukers)

The A3T class for turbocharged touring cars was taken by the #208 Peugeot 208 GTi of French entrant Team Altran driven by Steven Palette, Guillaume Roman, Gaetan Bischoff and Gonzalo de Andres. Second in A3T was the #98 NKKP Racing Seat Leon Cup Racer (van den Berge / Hilders / Bessem) and third was he #95 Memac Ogilvy Duel Racing Seat Leon Cup Racer (N. Moutran / S. Moutran / R. Moutran / Quaife).

The SP3 class consists mostly of GT4 spec cars and was won by the Italian entered #206 Nova Race Ginetta G50 driven by Fredrik Blomstedt, Andrea Barenghi, Carlo Mantori and Philippe Cimadomo. Second in SP3 was the #200 Nova Race Ginetta G55 (Fletcher / Magnoni / Ferri) and third the #170 Speedworks Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage GT4 (Modell / Liquorish / Gilbert / Hughes).

The German based #67 Team Securtal Sorg Rennsport won the all BMW M235i Racing CUP1 class after a three-way fight. The drivers were Gunther Felix, Nicolas Griebner, Thomas Muller, Daniel Sorg, and Michael Steffny. Second was #79 (Bonk Motorsport, Bonk / Burghardt / Dumont / Faber / Chkondali) and third #70 (Mission Possible, Dreszer / G. Steffny / Niedertscheider / Gaitzenauer / Engljähringer).

The small touring car category, A2, was won by the #112 Presenza Racing Team Switzerland Renault Clio. It was piloted by Luigi Stanco, Michel Schaap, Christian Dijkhof, Sarah Toniutti and Stefan Tanner. Renault Clios also finished second and third in class. They were, respectively, #122, Autosport GP (Carreras / Nicoud / Mollon / Hurgon / Zaffini), and #126, Team Sally Racing (Sally Pedersen / Obel / Christensen / Marcussen / Jepsen).

The larger touring car category, A5, became a battle for survival with the #75 Hofor Racing BMW E46 M3 just managing to finish. Bernd Küpper, Chantal Kroll, Martin Kroll, Siarhei Paulavets and Fabrice Reicher were the drivers.The #83 Cor Euser Racing BMW M3 was second with Prewitt, O’Reilly, Miller, Briody, and Rice.The #146 Saxon Motorsport BMW 135d GTR was third (J. Morrow / N. Morrow / T. Barrow / S. Allpass)

There were no major incidents and eight brief Code 60 neutralisations to collect stranded cars and scattered debris. The race was run under clear and warm skies.

The 24H Series powered by Hankook now moves on to its penultimate round at the Circuit de Catalunya outside Barcelona for the 24H BARCELONA Trofeu Fermi Vélez on 4-5-6 September