2013 FIA WTCC Race of Argentina

Argentina  2013 FIA WTCC Race of Argentina
Round details
Round 8 of 12 in the 2013 World Touring Car Championship season at Autódromo Termas de Río Hondo in Termas de Río Hondo, Argentina.
Date 4 August, 2013
Location Termas de Río Hondo, Argentina
Course Autódromo Termas de Río Hondo
4.806 km
Race One
Laps 12
Pole position
Driver France Yvan Muller RML
Time 1:47.920
Podium
First France Yvan Muller RML
Second Spain Pepe Oriola Tuenti Racing Team
Third United Kingdom Tom Chilton RML
Fastest Lap
Driver France Yvan Muller RML
Time 1:50.524
Race Two
Laps 11
Podium
First Argentina José María López Wiechers-Sport
Second Italy Gabriele Tarquini Castrol Honda Team
Third Spain Pepe Oriola Tuenti Racing Team
Fastest Lap
Driver France Yvan Muller RML
Time 1:50.248

The 2013 FIA WTCC Race of Argentina was the eighth round of the 2013 World Touring Car Championship season and the maiden running of the FIA WTCC Race of Argentina. It was held on 4 August 2013 at the Autódromo Termas de Río Hondo in Termas de Río Hondo, Santiago del Estero Province, Argentina.

Race one was won by Yvan Muller for RML while race two was won by local driver José María López on his debut weekend in the World Touring Car Championship while driving for Wiechers-Sport.

Background

Muller was leading the drivers' championship by 122 points over Michel Nykjær who was leading the Yokohama Independents' Trophy.

The Honda Civic WTCCs, SEAT León WTCCs and BMW 320 TCs lost all additional ballast when the compensation weights were re-calculated. The Chevrolet Cruzes retained their 40 kg of ballast while the Lada Grantas remained 20 kg below the baseweight.[1]

José María López joined Wiechers-Sport for the round, substituting for regular driver Fredy Barth.[2] Following heavy damage sustained in the previous round, Tom Boardman and the Special Tuning Racing team elected to skip the Race of Argentina to repair the car before shipping to the United States.[3]

Campos Racing's Hugo Valente came to the event with a 10–place grid penalty for race one after ignoring yellow flags in race one in Portugal.[4]

Report

Testing and free practice

Muller led an RML 1–2 in Friday's test session, López was eleventh quickest in his first WTCC session.[5]

Muller and teammate Tom Chilton were first and second once again in free practice one, Tiago Monteiro was third for Honda and fourth placed López was the quickest independent driver. The session had been red flagged early on when a technical failure cut off the timing and video systems.[6]

Chilton led a Chevrolet 1–2–3 in free practice two ahead of Muller and bamboo-engineering's Alex MacDowall. The session was red flagged when René Münnich got his Münnich Motorsport SEAT stuck in a gravel trap. His teammate Robert Huff stopped on the track three minutes from the end as a result of a suspected turbocharger failure.[7] Münnich Motorsport were forced to change the engine in Huff's car after free practice two, earning the reigning champion a penalty which would see him start at the back of the grid for race one.[8] Monteiro would also be sent to the back of the grid for race one following an engine change.

Qualifying

Nykjær led the cars out at the start of Q1, Muller then went to the top of the times straight away while MacDowall was the first driver to go off the track. López was running as high as third during the session while for a brief time both Lukoil Lada Sport cars were inside the top twelve before Mikhail Kozlovskiy was bumped down the order by improvements for other drivers, notably James Nash and Marc Basseng. After lengthy repairs, Huff left the pits in time to do one flying lap which was only good enough for 14th, putting him out of qualifying. Valente was the only SEAT driver to get through to Q2 when Basseng was displaced by Nash while López was the only BMW driver to do so. A misunderstanding between the ROAL Motorsport pair of Tom Coronel and Darryl O'Young saw the pair eliminated from qualifying in the first session.

After a short break, Q2 began and Muller went to the top of the times once again. A group of cars formed up for a final flying lap at the end of the session with both Muller and Chilton improving their times; Muller stayed on top while Chilton was second despite an off at the final corner. Pepe Oriola was the other driver to go off on the final tour. López had caught up with the back of the train of cars which was driving slowly around the circuit before going off on a final fast lap but he still finished tenth to secure pole position for race two.[9]

After qualifying, Muller, Chilton, Nash, MacDowall, Tarquini, Monteiro and Oriola were called to the stewards to explain the slow train of cars at the end of Q2 but no further action was taken.[10] Kozlovskiy was lost all his lap times for a breach of parc fermé regulations when a laptop was connected to his car.[11]

Warm-Up

López was quickest in the warm–up session on Sunday morning, edging out the Chevrolet of MacDowall. Huff was third while Kozlovskiy was fourth for Lada.[12]

Race One

Muller was on pole position for the first race, the first attempt at the rolling start was aborted when second placed Chilton failed to drive through the grid boxes. The race was started when the cars came around again, Chilton ran wide at the first corner and lost places to Nykjær and Oriola. On lap five Chilton reclaimed second place ahead of Oriola. Michelisz lost his front splitter following collisions with Nykjær and Nash which caused the three of them to slow down allowing Tarquini to move past the group into fourth place. López was also able to catch up with them having run in a distant 8th place and he picked them off one–by–one to finish 5th. Oriola passed Chilton at the end of the race to split with RML cars, Muller won by a comfortable margin of 4.9 seconds ahead of Oriola. López in fifth was the Yokohama Trophy winner in his first WTCC race while Huff and Monteiro came through from the back of the grid to score points in 8th and 10th respectively.[13]

Race Two

López started on pole position for the second race and maintained his first place at the start, at the end of the first lap he had built up a lead of 1.8 seconds ahead of Monteiro. Nykjær separated the Hondas as Tarquini was running fourth, by the end of the second lap Muller had closed in on the trio fighting for second place. Tarquini tried a move on Nykjær at turn thirteen, he ran wide and Nykjær did likewise trying to defend which allowed Muller and Nash through while Tarquini was now battling with Oriola and Michelisz for 6th place. On lap three Nykjær tried to dive up the inside of Nash at turn seven but the pair collided and allowed Tarquini through while MacDowall and Chilton collided further back. Monteiro was running second ahead of Muller on lap five and the pair were closing in on López when Muller ran into the back of him in the braking area for turn five, putting Monteiro off the road and dropping the Honda driver down to ninth once he had recovered to the track. On the same lap Huff was disputing sixth place with Michelisz; there was light contact between the pair before Huff dropped back slightly into Thompson who then bumped the SEAT and broke its front left suspension causing Huff to go off into the gravel. On lap seven Muller was issued with a drive–through penalty for his collision with Monteiro which was served immediately. O'Young and Valente came together on lap nine, they had been contesting eighth place until Valente tapped the back of the ROAL BMW and O'Young spun off the circuit. Thompson had been running behind them but one lap later he slowed down with technical problems. At the end of lap eleven López passed the checkered flag to take his first overall WTCC victory and the first WTCC victory for an Argentine driver, Tarquini and Oriola completed the podium.[14]

Results

Qualifying

Pos. No. Name Team Car C Q1 Q2 Points
1 12 France Yvan Muller RML Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 1:49.158 1:47.920 5
2 23 United Kingdom Tom Chilton RML Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 1:49.690 1:48.423 4
3 5 Hungary Norbert Michelisz Zengő Motorsport Honda Civic WTCC 1:49.247 1:48.855 3
4 3 Italy Gabriele Tarquini Castrol Honda World Touring Car Team Honda Civic WTCC 1:49.545 1:48.919 2
5 74 Spain Pepe Oriola Tuenti Racing Team Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 1:49.762 1:48.979 1
6 9 United Kingdom Alex MacDowall bamboo-engineering Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T Y 1:50.132 1:49.039
7 18 Portugal Tiago Monteiro Castrol Honda World Touring Car Team Honda Civic WTCC 1:49.517 1:49.177
8 14 United Kingdom James Nash bamboo-engineering Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T Y 1:49.938 1:49.236
9 17 Denmark Michel Nykjær NIKA Racing Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T Y 1:49.252 1:49.406
10 72 Argentina José María López Wiechers-Sport BMW 320 TC Y 1:49.819 1:49.674
11 20 France Hugo Valente Campos Racing SEAT León WTCC Y 1:50.212 1:50.130
12 10 United Kingdom James Thompson Lukoil Lada Sport Lada Granta 1:49.953 1:50.353
13 38 Germany Marc Basseng ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport SEAT León WTCC 1:50.272
14 1 United Kingdom Robert Huff ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport SEAT León WTCC 1:50.314
15 19 Spain Fernando Monje Campos Racing SEAT León WTCC Y 1:50.583
16 15 Netherlands Tom Coronel ROAL Motorsport BMW 320 TC 1:50.744
17 26 Italy Stefano D'Aste PB Racing BMW 320 TC Y 1:50.788
18 7 Hong Kong Charles Ng Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320 TC Y 1:51.328
19 55 Hong Kong Darryl O'Young ROAL Motorsport BMW 320 TC Y 1:51.345
20 37 Germany René Münnich ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport SEAT León WTCC Y 1:51.368
21 25 Morocco Mehdi Bennani Proteam Racing BMW 320 TC Y 1:51.862
22 6 Germany Franz Engstler Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320 TC Y 1:51.866
107% time: 1:56.799
EX1 8 Russia Mikhail Kozlovskiy Lukoil Lada Sport Lada Granta Excluded
^1 Kozlovskiy had all of his times from qualifying deleted after a breach of parc fermé regulations after Q1.[11]

Race 1

Pos. No. Name Team Car C Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 12 France Yvan Muller RML Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 12 22:56.896 1 25
2 74 Spain Pepe Oriola Tuenti Racing Team Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 12 +4.924 5 18
3 23 United Kingdom Tom Chilton RML Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 12 +7.813 2 15
4 3 Italy Gabriele Tarquini Castrol Honda World Touring Car Team Honda Civic WTCC 12 +7.989 4 12
5 72 Argentina José María López Wiechers-Sport BMW 320 TC Y 12 +8.846 9 10
6 17 Denmark Michel Nykjær NIKA Racing Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T Y 12 +10.214 8 8
7 5 Hungary Norbert Michelisz Zengő Motorsport Honda Civic WTCC 12 +12.833 3 6
8 1 United Kingdom Robert Huff ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport SEAT León WTCC 12 +13.960 23 4
9 14 United Kingdom James Nash bamboo-engineering Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T Y 12 +14.636 7 2
10 18 Portugal Tiago Monteiro Castrol Honda World Touring Car Team Honda Civic WTCC 12 +14.870 22 1
11 9 United Kingdom Alex MacDowall bamboo-engineering Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T Y 12 +15.743 6
12 38 Germany Marc Basseng ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport SEAT León WTCC 12 +16.619 11
13 20 France Hugo Valente Campos Racing SEAT León WTCC Y 12 +17.333 20
14 26 Italy Stefano D'Aste PB Racing BMW 320 TC Y 12 +19.858 14
15 55 Hong Kong Darryl O'Young ROAL Motorsport BMW 320 TC Y 12 +20.247 16
16 19 Spain Fernando Monje Campos Racing SEAT León WTCC Y 12 +23.563 12
17 7 Hong Kong Charles Ng Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320 TC Y 12 +23.782 15
18 37 Germany René Münnich ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport SEAT León WTCC Y 12 +30.675 17
19 6 Germany Franz Engstler Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320 TC Y 12 +33.536 19
20 25 Morocco Mehdi Bennani Proteam Racing BMW 320 TC Y 12 +36.459 18
Ret 10 United Kingdom James Thompson Lukoil Lada Sport Lada Granta 8 Mechanical 10
NC 15 Netherlands Tom Coronel ROAL Motorsport BMW 320 TC 7 +5 Laps 13
Ret 8 Russia Mikhail Kozlovskiy Lukoil Lada Sport Lada Granta 2 Suspension 21

Race 2

Pos. No. Name Team Car C Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 72 Argentina José María López Wiechers-Sport BMW 320 TC Y 11 20:28.525 1 25
2 3 Italy Gabriele Tarquini Castrol Honda World Touring Car Team Honda Civic WTCC 11 +3.619 7 18
3 74 Spain Pepe Oriola Tuenti Racing Team Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 11 +3.989 6 15
4 17 Denmark Michel Nykjær NIKA Racing Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T Y 11 +4.945 2 12
5 5 Hungary Norbert Michelisz Zengő Motorsport Honda Civic WTCC 11 +7.135 8 10
6 18 Portugal Tiago Monteiro Castrol Honda World Touring Car Team Honda Civic WTCC 11 +7.517 4 8
7 14 United Kingdom James Nash bamboo-engineering Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T Y 11 +13.866 3 6
8 20 France Hugo Valente Campos Racing SEAT León WTCC Y 11 +16.422 11 4
9 15 Netherlands Tom Coronel ROAL Motorsport BMW 320 TC 11 +16.767 16 2
10 26 Italy Stefano D'Aste PB Racing BMW 320 TC Y 11 +18.320 17 1
11 9 United Kingdom Alex MacDowall bamboo-engineering Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T Y 11 +19.073 5
12 23 United Kingdom Tom Chilton RML Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 11 +19.634 9
13 12 France Yvan Muller RML Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 11 +20.232 10
14 19 Spain Fernando Monje Campos Racing SEAT León WTCC Y 11 +23.092 15
15 6 Germany Franz Engstler Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320 TC Y 11 +23.515 21
16 8 Russia Mikhail Kozlovskiy Lukoil Lada Sport Lada Granta 11 +26.544 23
17 37 Germany René Münnich ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport SEAT León WTCC Y 11 +27.050 22
18 55 Hong Kong Darryl O'Young ROAL Motorsport BMW 320 TC Y 11 +36.055 19
19 7 Hong Kong Charles Ng Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320 TC Y 11 +36.476 18
20 10 United Kingdom James Thompson Lukoil Lada Sport Lada Granta 10 +1 Lap 12
21 25 Morocco Mehdi Bennani Proteam Racing BMW 320 TC Y 8 +3 Laps 20
Ret 38 Germany Marc Basseng ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport SEAT León WTCC 7 Race incident 13
Ret 1 United Kingdom Robert Huff ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport SEAT León WTCC 4 Race incident 14

Standings after the event

Drivers' Championship standings
Pos Driver Points
1 France Yvan Muller 312
2 Denmark Michel Nykjær 180
2 3 Italy Gabriele Tarquini 166
1 4 United Kingdom James Nash 146
1 5 United Kingdom Robert Huff 139

Yokohama Independents' Trophy standings
Pos Driver Points
1 Denmark Michel Nykjær 129
2 United Kingdom James Nash 120
3 United Kingdom Alex MacDowall 88
4 Morocco Mehdi Bennani 60
5 Italy Stefano D'Aste 58

Manufacturers' Championship standings
Pos Manufacturer Points
1 Japan Honda 661
2 Russia Lada 398

References

  1. "Honda, BMW and Seat lose more weight for Argentinian races". automobilsport. automobilsport.com. 6 July 2013. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  2. ""PECHITO" LÓPEZ IN HOME RACE". World Touring Car Championship. Kigema Sport Organisation. 26 July 2013. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  3. Bailey, Richard (2 July 2013). "WTCC: Boardman MIA for Argentina round". Richard's F1. RichardsF1.com. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  4. "WTCC - Four drivers penalized after Race 1". Nextgen-Auto. Nextgen-Auto. 30 June 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
  5. "Yvan Muller heads Chevrolet 1-2 in first Argentina test". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. 2 August 2013. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
  6. Hudson, Neil (3 August 2013). "Yvan Muller leads RML 1-2 Termas de Río Hondo first practice". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
  7. "PRACTICE 2: MULLER AND CHILTON SWAP PLACES". World Touring Car Championship. Kigema Sport Organisation. 3 August 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
  8. Hudson, Neil (3 August 2013). "Rob Huff receives engine change penalty in Argentina". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
  9. Abbott, Andrew (3 August 2013). "Muller dominates Argentina qualifying". Touring-Cars.net. Andrew Abbott. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
  10. "INQUIRY ENDS IN NO FURTHER ACTION". World Touring Car Championship. Kigema Sport Organisation. 4 August 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
  11. 1 2 Hudson, Neil (3 August 2013). "Mikhail Kozlovsky penalised for parc fermé breach". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
  12. "LOCAL HERO LÓPEZ IS FASTEST IN WARM-UP". World Touring Car Championship. Kigema Sport Organisation. 4 August 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
  13. Hudson, Neil (4 August 2013). "Yvan Muller wins race one in Argentina ahead of Oriola". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
  14. "RACE 2 – LÓPEZ MAKES HISTORY". World Touring Car Championship. Kigema Sport Organisation. 4 August 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2013.

External links

World Touring Car Championship
Previous race:
2013 FIA WTCC Race of Portugal
2013 World Touring Car Championship season Next race:
2013 FIA WTCC Race of the United States
Previous race:
none
FIA WTCC Race of Argentina Next race:
2014 FIA WTCC Race of Argentina
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