WORLD TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFYING SESSION IN VALENCIA: THE ALFAS OF FARFUS AND TARQUINI ON THE 3rd AND 4th ROWS DOUBLE POLE POSITION FOR CHACON AT THE EUROPEAN ALFA CHALLENGE

The qualifying session for the ninth event in the World Touring Car Championship was held today, Saturday October 1, on the Spanish circuit of Valencia; the race itself will be held tomorrow, Sunday October 2. The Alfa Romeo Racing Team took the third row with the young Brazilian driver Augusto Farfus (he set the sixth time of 1' 43.361"), and put Gabriele Tarquini on the fourth row (eighth time of 1' 43.598"). The Alfa 156s of Fabrizio Giovanardi and James Thompson, which were heavily penalised by 60 kg of ballast following their excellent results in the previous race in Istanbul (Turkey), managed to set the 13th and 23rd times. Pole position went to Jordi Genè in a Seat (in 1' 42.778"), followed by Terting (Seat, 1 '43.083") and Dirk Muller (BMW, 1' 43.277"). The Valencia circuit proved particularly difficult, and very different from the previous year, when the Alfas dominated the scene with pole position, wins in both races and the fastest laps. A dirty surface made it particularly difficult to tune the cars. Added to which the situation in the championship race was conditioned by the many exemptions (a total of 18) granted by the International Federation to all the manufacturers in the Championship except Alfa Romeo. A situation that translates into a virtual advantage for Alfa’s ‘rivals’.
Tomorrow, Sunday October 2, race 1 will be held at 3.15 pm and race 2 at 4.20 pm.
The last event in the European Alfa Challenge, reserved for the 147 GTA Cup, will also be held on the Valencia circuit. The Spanish driver Antonio Chacon emerged as a strong contender during the official practice session. The young driver from Madrid, fourth in the title race, took pole in both qualifying sessions (best times of 1' 48.282" and 1' 48.256"), and he will start from the front row in race 1 and race 2. On the starting grid of the first race, Chacon is in front of Portuguese driver Jose Joao Magalhaes (1' 48.906") and Luis Villamil of Spain (1' 48.985"). The leader of the championship Eoin Murray is in fourth place (1' 48.997"). The grid for race 2 has Italian Maurizio Campani (1'48.638") on the front row with Chacon, and Villamil (1' 48.664") on the second row with Finn Mikko Heino (1' 48.705"), a strong contender for the European Alfa Challenge title.

Turin, October 1, 2005

World Touring Car Championship
Qualifying session in Valencia (Spain)
1. Genè (Seat) 1' 42.778"
2. Terting (Seat) 1' 43.083"
3. D. Muller (BMW) 1' 43.277"
4. Huff (Chevrolet) 1' 43.295"
5. Rydell (Seat) 1' 43.326"
6. Farfus (Alfa Romeo) 1' 43.361"
7. J. Muller (BMW) 1' 43.487"
8. Tarquini (Alfa Romeo) 1' 43.598"
9. Garcia (BMW) 1' 43.599"
10. Larini (Chevrolet) 1' 43.695"
13. Giovanardi (Alfa Romeo) 1' 43.777"
23. Thompson (Alfa Romeo) 1' 44.925"

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