2011 FIA WTCC Race of the Czech Republic

Czech Republic  2011 FIA WTCC Race of the Czech Republic
Round details
Round 5 of 12 in the 2011 World Touring Car Championship season at Masaryk Circuit in Brno, Czech Republic.
Date 19 June, 2011
Location Brno, Czech Republic
Course Masaryk Circuit
5.403 km
Race One
Laps 10
Pole position
Driver France Yvan Muller Chevrolet RML
Time 2:08.884
Podium
First United Kingdom Robert Huff Chevrolet RML
Second France Yvan Muller Chevrolet RML
Third Switzerland Alain Menu Chevrolet RML
Fastest Lap
Driver United Kingdom Robert Huff Chevrolet RML
Time 2:10.863
Race Two
Laps 10
Podium
First France Yvan Muller Chevrolet RML
Second Netherlands Tom Coronel ROAL Motorsport
Third Switzerland Alain Menu Chevrolet RML
Fastest Lap
Driver France Yvan Muller Chevrolet RML
Time 2:11.640

The 2011 FIA WTCC Race of the Czech Republic (formally the 2011 FIA WTCC Monroe Race of the Czech Republic) was the fifth round of the 2011 World Touring Car Championship season and the sixth running of the FIA WTCC Race of the Czech Republic. It was held on 19 June 2011 at the Masaryk Circuit in Brno, Czech Republic.

Both races were won by Chevrolet RML with Robert Huff winning race one and Yvan Muller winning race two.

Background

After the previous round, Huff was leading the drivers' championship. Kristian Poulsen was tied on points at the top of the Yokohama Independents' Trophy with Javier Villa.

Gabriele Tarquini and Tiago Monteiro became the next two SUNRED Engineering drivers to switch to the new 1.6T engine.[1] Polestar Racing also switched to their own turbo engine in the Volvo C30 driven by Robert Dahlgren.[2]

Report

Free practice

Muller led the opening free practice session with Huff and Alain Menu behind making it a Chevrolet 1–2–3. Norbert Michelisz in fourth was the fastest independent runner and Dahlgren was fifth with the new turbocharged Volvo. Michel Nykjær was the fastest SUNRED driver.[3]

Muller, Huff and Menu finished the second free practice session in the same order as Chevrolet continued to dominate practice. Dahlgren was fourth in the Volvo and Tom Coronel was fifth in the leading BMW. Tarquini was the quickest SUNRED car in sixth but team mate Monteiro didn't set a competitive lap time during the session having suffered from a misfiring engine.[4]

Qualifying

Muller took his first pole position of the season with him and team–mate Huff locking out the front row for Chevrolet. Dahlgren had been fastest in the first segment of qualifying with Huff second and Muller third. Franz Engstler ended the session tenth and would therefore take the reversed grid pole position for race two, lining up alongside Coronel. SUNRED drivers Tiago Monteiro and Fredy Barth suffered turbo problems in their cars and did not set any competitive times during the session.

In Q2, Muller set the fastest time and Huff was second. Coronel in third separated Menu in fourth from the other two Chevrolets. Michelisz, Dahlgren, Poulsen, Tarquini, Darryl O'Young and Engstler rounded out the top ten.[5]

Michelisz later excluded from qualifying when his Zengő-Dension Team car was found to be underweight. This promoted Nykjær to tenth in Q1 and therefore pole position in race two.[6]

Warm-Up

Muller was quickest in the warm–up session on Sunday morning, the pole sitter edging out Dahlgren's Volvo by less than a tenth of a second.[7]

Race One

Muller led the rolling start but Huff made an attempt to take the lead at the first corner. Huff failed to do so but his second attempt at turn seven saw him lead the race. Nykjær and Tarquini made contact at the first corner with Tarquini retiring due to the subsequent damage. Coronel in third was busy keeping Menu behind until three laps from the end when the Chevrolet driver outbraked Coronel for third place with three laps to go. At the end of the race, championship leader Huff led a Chevrolet 1–2–3 with Coronel ending up fourth ahead of independent winner Poulsen. Dahlgren was sixth and O'Young came out on top in the battle for seventh place ahead of Michelisz who came from the back to eighth. Villa and Nykjær completed the top ten while Monteiro continued to struggle and ended up twelfth.[8]

Race Two

Nykjær started on pole position for race two but was quickly passed by the fast starting Coronel who led into the first corner. Muller had made a good start from eighth and took second place from Nykjær at turn eight. Two laps later, Muller had closed in on Coronel and passed the ROAL Motorsport driver. Coronel then made contact with Menu defending second place while Huff was behind the pair in fourth place. Further back, Tarquini and Poulsen battled over position further down the field which ended with Poulsen going through the gravel trap at turn five. Tarquini fell down to sixth and Poulsen recovered to eighth at the end. At the end of the race, Muller claimed the win with Coronel second and Menu third. Race one winner Huff was fourth ahead of race two pole sitter and Yokohama Trophy winner Nykjær. Tarquini, Villa, Poulsen, Dahlgren and Mehdi Bennani completed the top ten.[9]

Results

Qualifying

Pos. No. Name Team Car C Q1 Q2
1 1 France Yvan Muller Chevrolet RML Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 2:10.384 2:08.884
2 2 United Kingdom Robert Huff Chevrolet RML Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 2:10.375 2:09.256
3 15 Netherlands Tom Coronel ROAL Motorsport BMW 320 TC 2:10.831 2:09.717
4 8 Switzerland Alain Menu Chevrolet RML Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 2:10.466 2:09.830
5 30 Sweden Robert Dahlgren Polestar Racing Volvo C30 Drive 2:10.264 2:09.998
6 11 Denmark Kristian Poulsen Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320 TC Y 2:10.459 2:10.326
7 3 Italy Gabriele Tarquini Lukoil-SUNRED SUNRED SR León 1.6T 2:10.729 2:10.491
8 9 Hong Kong Darryl O'Young bamboo-engineering Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T Y 2:10.506 2:10.559
9 12 Germany Franz Engstler Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320 TC Y 2:10.839 2:11.339
10 17 Denmark Michel Nykjær SUNRED Engineering SUNRED SR León 1.6T Y 2:10.959 no time set
11 20 Spain Javier Villa Proteam Racing BMW 320 TC Y 2:11.285
12 25 Morocco Mehdi Bennani Proteam Racing BMW 320 TC Y 2:11.410
13 74 Spain Pepe Oriola SUNRED Engineering SUNRED SR León 1.6T Y 2:11.687
14 10 Japan Yukinori Taniguchi bamboo-engineering Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T Y 2:11.832
15 4 Russia Aleksei Dudukalo Lukoil-SUNRED SEAT León 2.0 TDI Y 2:11.899
16 35 Switzerland Urs Sonderegger Wiechers-Sport BMW 320 TC Y 2:17.051
EX1 5 Hungary Norbert Michelisz Zengő-Dension Team BMW 320 TC Y Excluded Excluded
107% time: 2:19.382
18 Portugal Tiago Monteiro SUNRED Engineering SUNRED SR León 1.6T 2:19.531
7 Switzerland Fredy Barth SEAT Swiss Racing by SUNRED SUNRED SR León 1.6T Y 13:26.922
^1 — Michelisz was excluded from qualifying after his car was found to be underweight after the session.[6]

Race 1

Pos. No. Name Team Car C Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 2 United Kingdom Robert Huff Chevrolet RML Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 10 21:59.507 2 25
2 1 France Yvan Muller Chevrolet RML Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 10 +0.858 1 18
3 8 Switzerland Alain Menu Chevrolet RML Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 10 +11.697 4 15
4 15 Netherlands Tom Coronel ROAL Motorsport BMW 320 TC 10 +13.026 3 12
5 11 Denmark Kristian Poulsen Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320 TC Y 10 +13.772 6 10
6 30 Sweden Robert Dahlgren Polestar Racing Volvo C30 Drive 10 +14.353 5 8
7 9 Hong Kong Darryl O'Young bamboo-engineering Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T Y 10 +21.288 8 6
8 5 Hungary Norbert Michelisz Zengő-Dension Team BMW 320 TC Y 10 +21.584 19 4
9 20 Spain Javier Villa Proteam Racing BMW 320 TC Y 10 +23.436 11 2
10 17 Denmark Michel Nykjær SUNRED Engineering SUNRED SR León 1.6T Y 10 +23.731 10 1
11 25 Morocco Mehdi Bennani Proteam Racing BMW 320 TC Y 10 +24.146 12
12 18 Portugal Tiago Monteiro SUNRED Engineering SUNRED SR León 1.6T 10 +27.624 17
13 74 Spain Pepe Oriola SUNRED Engineering SUNRED SR León 1.6T Y 10 +29.796 13
14 4 Russia Aleksei Dudukalo Lukoil-SUNRED SEAT León 2.0 TDI Y 10 +34.209 15
15 10 Japan Yukinori Taniguchi bamboo-engineering Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T Y 10 +34.828 14
16 12 Germany Franz Engstler Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320 TC Y 10 +39.038 9
17 35 Switzerland Urs Sonderegger Wiechers-Sport BMW 320 TC Y 10 +1:08.893 16
NC 3 Italy Gabriele Tarquini Lukoil-SUNRED SUNRED SR León 1.6T 6 +4 Laps 7
Ret 7 Switzerland Fredy Barth SEAT Swiss Racing by SUNRED SUNRED SR León 1.6T Y 3 Engine 18

Race 2

Pos. No. Name Team Car C Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 1 France Yvan Muller Chevrolet RML Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 10 22:08.247 8 25
2 15 Netherlands Tom Coronel ROAL Motorsport BMW 320 TC 10 +4.183 3 18
3 8 Switzerland Alain Menu Chevrolet RML Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 10 +4.415 6 15
4 2 United Kingdom Robert Huff Chevrolet RML Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 10 +5.033 9 12
5 17 Denmark Michel Nykjær SUNRED Engineering SUNRED SR León 1.6T Y 10 +8.450 1 10
6 3 Italy Gabriele Tarquini Lukoil-SUNRED SUNRED SR León 1.6T 10 +9.118 4 8
7 20 Spain Javier Villa Proteam Racing BMW 320 TC Y 10 +9.381 11 6
8 11 Denmark Kristian Poulsen Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320 TC Y 10 +11.383 7 4
9 30 Sweden Robert Dahlgren Polestar Racing Volvo C30 Drive 10 +11.627 10 2
10 25 Morocco Mehdi Bennani Proteam Racing BMW 320 TC Y 10 +11.988 12 1
11 74 Spain Pepe Oriola SUNRED Engineering SUNRED SR León 1.6T Y 10 +19.966 13
12 18 Portugal Tiago Monteiro SUNRED Engineering SUNRED SR León 1.6T 10 +21.209 17
13 4 Russia Aleksei Dudukalo Lukoil-SUNRED SEAT León 2.0 TDI Y 10 +22.252 15
14 10 Japan Yukinori Taniguchi bamboo-engineering Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T Y 10 +24.809 14
15 5 Hungary Norbert Michelisz Zengő-Dension Team BMW 320 TC Y 10 +42.517 18
16 7 Switzerland Fredy Barth SEAT Swiss Racing by SUNRED SUNRED SR León 1.6T Y 7 +3 Laps 19
Ret 9 Hong Kong Darryl O'Young bamboo-engineering Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T Y 5 Race incident 5
Ret 12 Germany Franz Engstler Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320 TC Y 1 Turbo wastegate 2
Ret 35 Switzerland Urs Sonderegger Wiechers-Sport BMW 320 TC Y 0 Race incident 16

Standings after the event

Drivers' Championship standings
Pos Driver Points
1 United Kingdom Robert Huff 187
2 France Yvan Muller 162
3 Switzerland Alain Menu 134
4 Italy Gabriele Tarquini 83
1 5 Netherlands Tom Coronel 82

Yokohama Independents' Trophy standings
Pos Driver Points
1 Denmark Kristian Poulsen 67
2 Spain Javier Villa 63
3 Hungary Norbert Michelisz 53
4 Hong Kong Darryl O'Young 49
1 5 Denmark Michel Nykjær 42

Manufacturers' Championship standings
Pos Manufacturer Points
1 United States Chevrolet 405
2 Spain SR Customer Racing 238
3 Germany BMW Customer Racing Teams 229
4 Sweden Volvo Polestar Evaluation Team 62

References

  1. Hudson, Neil (10 June 2011). "Tarquini and Monteiro to switch to the 1.6 turbo in Brno". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  2. Abbott, Andrew (17 June 2011). "Volvo set to debut turbo engine". Touring-Cars.net. Andrew Abbott. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  3. Hudson, Neil (18 June 2011). "Muller leads first free practice at Brno". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  4. Hudson, Neil (18 June 2011). "Yvan Muller on top again in Free Practice 2". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  5. Allen, Peter (18 June 2011). "Muller Quickest In Qualifying At Brno". The Checkered Flag. BlackEagleMedia Network. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  6. 1 2 Hudson, Neil (19 June 2011). "Michelisz excluded from qualifying, sent to the back". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  7. Hudson, Neil (19 June 2011). "Yvan Muller quickest in warm-up". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  8. Gent, James (19 June 2011). "Huff stretches lead with Brno win". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  9. Gent, James (19 June 2011). "Muller wins race two at Brno". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 21 February 2013.

External links

World Touring Car Championship
Previous race:
2011 FIA WTCC Race of Hungary
2011 World Touring Car Championship season Next race:
2011 FIA WTCC Race of Portugal
Previous race:
2010 FIA WTCC Race of the Czech Republic
FIA WTCC Race of the Czech Republic Next race:
no race
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