WORLD TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP AT IMOLA GIOVANARDI’S ALFA ROMEO 156 DOMINATES

The Alfa Romeo 156 and Fabrizio Giovanardi were the great show-stealers of the fourth event on the World Touring Car Championship calendar at Imola. Giovanardi took the first race with supreme ease and then went on to take an excellent third place in Race 2 in which he had started in eighth position by virtue of the regulation which puts the top eight finishers in reverse order on the starting grid of the second race. The Alfa Romeo Racing Team driver from Emilia dominated the entire weekend, obtaining the best time in the two free practice sessions on Saturday, in the qualifiers and even in the pre-race warm-up. He also clocked up the best lap time in both races. In Race 1 he preceded the Spanish driver Garcia and Englishman Praiulx (both in Bmw), in the second he was preceded only by D.Muller and Priaulx (both in Bmw).

Good placings were also taken by the other Alfa Romeo Racing Team drivers. In the first race the young Brazilian Augusto Farfus placed fifth, while Englishman James Thompson, who was appearing on the Enzo and Dino Ferrari circuit for the first time, placed seventh. In addition, Farfus had held fourth for a long time in Race 2 but a contact with Zanardi’s Bmw forced him back into his final seventh place.

Gabriele Tarquini, however, was unlucky. He started in fifteenth (he had obtained fifth time in qualifying but hanging over him was a fine meted out following a race accident at the previous event at Silverstone), with ballast weight of 55 kg into the bargain, but was involved in an accident just after the start and lost further positions, ending up out of the points.

Turin, May 29, 2005

Race 1 rankings:
1. Fabrizio Giovanardi (Alfa Romeo 156) 11 laps in 22'12.202”, at an average of 145.99 km/h; 2. Garcia (Bmw) at 3.146”; 3. Priaulx (Bmw) at 8.131”; 4. D.Muller (Bmw) at 9.126”; 5. Augusto Farfus (Alfa Romeo 156) at 12.299”; 6. Colciago (Honda) at 15.175”; 7. James Thompson (Alfa Romeo 156) at 16.995”; 8. Zanardi (Bmw) at 17.476”; 9. Rydell (Seat) at 17.974”; 10. Terting (Seat) at 18.341”.

Race 2 rankings:
1. D.Muller (Bmw) 11 laps in 22'17.549”, at an average of 145.41 km/h; 2. Priaulx (Bmw) at 2.027”; 3. Fabrizio Giovanardi (Alfa Romeo 156) at 5.822”; 4. Rydell (Seat) at 6.786”; 5. Augusto Farfus (Alfa Romeo 156) at 8.795”; 6. Zanardi (Bmw) at 10.447”; 7. Terting (Seat) at 10.713”; 8. Plato (Seat) at 11.135”; 9. Garcia (Bmw) at 12.115”; 10. Gabriele Tarquini (Alfa Romeo 156) at 12.446”.

World Touring Car Championship Rankings
Manufacturers: 1. Bmw 113 points; 2. Alfa Romeo 100; 3. Seat 75; 4 Chevrolet 20; 5. Ford 3.

Drivers: 1. D.Muller 47 points; 2. Priaulx 41; 3. Tarquini 30; 4. Giovanardi 29; 5. Farfus 29.

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