WTCC: Priaulx fights back in Mexico

Castrol-backed BMW Team UK driver Andy Priaulx put in a stunning performance to claim an against-the-odds top eight finish in the second round of the World Touring Car Championship.

Despite the tight and twisty Puebla circuit in Mexico being the most difficult for the rear-wheel-drive BMW 320si, Priaulx fought hard in the second race of the day to keep his world championship defence on target with a point.

After qualifying only 12th, the result of a mistake on what would have been a much faster qualifying lap, Priaulx fought his way through to tenth in race one. This earned him tenth on the grid for the second race, and he held off the Chevrolet of Rob Huff after a spectacular race-long battle.

"I'm really pleased just to get a point," said Priaulx. "It might not sound much but it's very important from a championship point of view. This is not a good track for us because it is very tight and low grip, and we just cannot fight with the SEATs or Chevrolets."

Such was the pace of the SEATS that after Jordi Gene and Rickard Rydell had claimed a one-two finish in race one, the marque swept the top six places in the second race behind winner Tiago Monteiro.

But despite the challenges of the circuit and the pace of its rivals, the Castrol-backed BMWs could have picked up even more points without some bad luck. BMW Team Germany's Augusto Farfus put in a stunning lap to qualify fifth, but dropped out of the points in the first race as he struggled with overheating tyres in the high temperatures. He followed this up with a tenth place in race two.

Team-mate Jorg Muller was also a contender for points, but he was spun in the first corner by Castrol-backed BMW Team Italy-Spain driver Alex Zanardi, who had himself been hit by another car. Muller and Zanardi both finished down the order, and were unable to fight their way back to the front in race two.

The fifth Castrol BMW, that of Team Italy-Spain's Felix Porteiro, also had an unrewarded weekend. The Spaniard was also delayed in the first corner and could only finish 16th in race one before a mechanical problem wrecked his second race.

The next race is at Valencia in Spain on May 18.

Race 1 results:

* 1 Jordi Gene – SEAT
* 2 Rickard Rydell – SEAT
* 3 Nicola Larini – CHEVROLET
* 4 Tom Coronel – SEAT
* 5 Gabriele Tarquini – SEAT
* 6 Yvan Muller – SEAT

Race 2 results:

* 1 Tiago Monteiro - SEAT
* 2 Rickard Rydell - SEAT
* 3 Gabriele Tarquini – SEAT
* 4 Yvan Muller – SEAT
* 5 Jordi Gene – SEAT
* 6 Tom Coronel – SEAT

BMW's still confident

Despite the pace of the SEATs in Mexico, the Castrol-backed BMW squad is still well-placed in the prestigious manufacturers' championship. The German marque currently lies second overall, ahead of Chevrolet and Honda, and just 29 points behind the SEATs. With the opening two rounds always expected to favour the turbodiesel SEATs because of the high altitudes of the Curitiba and Puebla circuits, this leaves BMW in a strong position to take a remarkable fourth consecutive title. BMW has won both the drivers' and manufacturers' title in every year the championship has run, dating back to 1988. BMW's Andy Priaulx focuses on the task ahead

Puebla success

The Puebla circuit, located 100kms from Mexico City, returned to the World Touring Car Championship calendar after an absence of one year. Used for the WTCC in both 2005 and 2006, the venue had problems with the track surface breaking up. But with the circuit's asphalt being relayed ahead of this year's round the event has been declared a success. A near-capacity crowd of 65,000 attended the 2008 running of the WTCC "Race of Mexico" and as a result of this success the championship is expected to return to the track next year.

For more information on the Castrol-sponsored BMW team please visit the Racing and Sponsorship section of our homepage:

http://www.castrol.com/castrol/subsection.do?categoryId=9014119&contentId=7042094

For more information on Castrol's sponsorship activities related to sports please visit:

http://www.castrol.com/castrol/genericsection.do?categoryId=3208&contentId=7034605

http://www.castrolindex.com

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Castrol is the world's leading specialist provider of lubricant products. Most people know Castrol oil for vehicles such as car oil, engine oil and synthetic oil as well as motorcycle oil. But there's not just Castrol motor oil, we also produce lubricants for vehicles in transport and construction industries, such as heavy goods vehicles, buses and earth moving machinery. Castrol UK feature the brands EDGE, Magnatec, GTX, SLX Professional, Elixion, Enduron and Tection among others.

This release was published on openPR.