2009 FIA WTCC Race of Italy
Encyclopedia
The FIA WTCC Stihl
Race of Italy 2009 was the tenth round of the 2009 World Touring Car Championship season
, and the fifth running of the FIA WTCC Race of Italy
. It was held on September 20, 2009 at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari
near Imola
, in Italy
. It was the first time the Race of Italy was held at the circuit, although it had previously held races in 2005
and 2008
, under the Race of San Marino
and Race of Europe
titles respectively. The races were won by SEAT Sport
drivers Gabriele Tarquini
and Yvan Muller
who both finished second to their teammate in the other races.
's Augusto Farfus
. Previous series leader Yvan Muller was a further six points behind for SEAT.
There were 25 cars taking part at the event. Making his World Championship debut for Proteam
was Fabio Fabiani
, the reigning European Touring Car Cup
champion in the Super Production class. Returning to the series after limited races in 2005 was be Andrea Larini
, younger brother of Chevrolet driver Nicola
, in the SUNRED
-run SEAT León Eurocup
prize car.
James Thompson
returned to the LADA Sport team, taking his Priora back off team principal Viktor Shapovalov
, who stood in for Thompson in Germany due to commitments in V8 Supercar
. Also returning was Mehdi Bennani
and the Exagon Engineering
team after missing the previous two rounds.
's Alessandro Zanardi and Yvan Muller. Independent's Trophy leader Tom Coronel
was fourth fastest ahead of Farfus and Sergio Hernández
.
Jordi Gené
was fastest in the second session for SEAT, ahead of teammate Rickard Rydell
and BMW Team UK's Andy Priaulx
. The session ended a couple of minutes early as the red flag was brought out after a collision between independent BMW drivers Stefano D'Aste
and Fabio Fabiani, which left Fabiani stranded in the gravel.
The second session determined the starting positions of the top ten. The five SEATs followed each other round to gain a slipstreaming benefit. Tarquini was the fastest of the train, ahead of Yvan Muller and Rydell. Rob Huff
was fourth fastest for Chevrolet, ahead of SEAT driver Tiago Monteiro
and Farfus. Priaulx, Gené and Chevrolet's Nicola Larini
were seventh, eighth and ninth. The third Chevrolet driver Alain Menu
did not take part in Q2 after his car returned to the pits at the end of Q1 spewing out oil. He was later given a ten-place grid penalty for an engine change.
and Tiago Monteiro
also suffered damage in the incident. All except Monteiro were able to make it to the pits and return to the action later in the race. Tarquini led from Yvan Muller, Huff, and Alex Zanardi
. Tom Coronel
and James Thompson were able to make up a host of places after avoiding the carnage by running through the gravel at the chicane, and finished in fifth and sixth. A train formed behind Thompson's Lada, and Stefano D'Aste ran off the track after out-breaking himself trying to pass Thompson. He made contact with Alain Menu's Chevrolet on rejoining the circuit, tipping D'Aste into a spin. Elsewhere, Kristian Poulsen
tapped Jaap van Lagen
into a spin, which resulted in van Lagen's Lada hitting a tyre wall and then flipping through the gravel trap, which brought out the safety car. Poulsen was then hit by teammate and team owner Franz Engstler
. Andy Priaulx lost out in the fight for the eighth place, going off the circuit twice before eventually finishing fifteenth. Guest driver Andrea Larini was black-flagged for not wearing fire-proof underwear.
Stihl
Andreas Stihl AG & Company is a manufacturer of chainsaws and other handheld power equipment including trimmers and blowers. Their headquarters are in Waiblingen, Baden-Württemberg near Stuttgart, in Germany. The company was founded in 1926 by Andreas Stihl, an important innovator in early chain...
Race of Italy 2009 was the tenth round of the 2009 World Touring Car Championship season
2009 World Touring Car Championship season
The 2009 World Touring Car Championship season was the sixth FIA World Touring Car Championship season, the fifth since its 2005 return. It began on March 8, and ended on November 22, after twenty-four races...
, and the fifth running of the FIA WTCC Race of Italy
FIA WTCC Race of Italy
The FIA WTCC Race of Italy is a round of the World Touring Car Championship.The Race of Italy was the first round of the WTCC after its return in 2005. It was held at Autodromo Nazionale Monza between 2005 and 2008, and was held at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola in 2009. The race returned...
. It was held on September 20, 2009 at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari
Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari
The Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari is an auto racing circuit near the Italian town of Imola, east of Bologna and east of the Ferrari factory in Maranello....
near Imola
Imola
thumb|250px|The Cathedral of Imola.Imola is a town and comune in the province of Bologna, located on the Santerno river, in the Emilia-Romagna region of north-central Italy...
, in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. It was the first time the Race of Italy was held at the circuit, although it had previously held races in 2005
2005 World Touring Car Championship season
The 2005 World Touring Car Championship season was the second World Touring Car Championship season, and the first since 1987. It featured a ten event, twenty race series which commenced on April 10, 2005 and ended on November 20...
and 2008
2008 World Touring Car Championship season
The 2008 World Touring Car Championship season was the fifth World Touring Car Championship season, the fourth since its 2005 return. It began on March 2, and ended on November 16, after twenty-four races...
, under the Race of San Marino
FIA WTCC Race of San Marino
The FIA WTCC Race of San Marino was a round of the World Touring Car Championship, which was held at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari near Imola in Italy during the 2005 season....
and Race of Europe
FIA WTCC Race of Europe
The FIA WTCC Race of Europe was a round of the World Touring Car Championship, which was held at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari near Imola in Italy during the 2008 season....
titles respectively. The races were won by SEAT Sport
SEAT Sport
SEAT Sport is the motorsport division of the Spanish automobile manufacturer SEAT, founded in 1985 , succeeding the 'SEAT Special Vehicles department' which had been formed in 1971 with the mission to enforce the brand's participation in rally championships, followed by 11 titles between 1979 and...
drivers Gabriele Tarquini
Gabriele Tarquini
Gabriele Tarquini is a racing driver from Italy. He participated in 78 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on May 3, 1987. He scored 1 championship point, and holds the record for the most failed attempts to qualify...
and Yvan Muller
Yvan Muller
Yvan Muller is a French auto racing driver most noted for success in touring car racing. He is a two-time and the reigning World Touring Car Champion.-Single-seaters:...
who both finished second to their teammate in the other races.
Background
Gabriele Tarquini arrived at his home race in Italy as the new championship leader, with a one point lead over BMW Team GermanySchnitzer Motorsport
Schnitzer Motorsport is a motorsport team based in Freilassing near Munich, Germany. From the early days of its establishment, the team has operated an automobile racing squad for BMW, and has remarkable results in touring car and sports car racing scenes....
's Augusto Farfus
Augusto Farfus
Augusto Farfus Jr. is a Brazilian auto racing driver. He presently lives in Monaco.- Early years :Farfus first tasted racing in minibike races and won the local championships in 1991....
. Previous series leader Yvan Muller was a further six points behind for SEAT.
There were 25 cars taking part at the event. Making his World Championship debut for Proteam
Proteam Motorsport
Proteam Motorsport is an Italian auto racing team based in Arezzo that was set up by former driver Valmiro Presenzini in 1997. They are best known for their efforts in the FIA World Touring Car Championship. Their time in the WTCC has seen them become the most successful independent team in the...
was Fabio Fabiani
Fabio Fabiani
Fabio Fabiani is an Italian auto racing driver.-Moto Bike Career:He started in Italian Sport Production Championship in 1994 moving to Italian 125cc in 1995. After Military Service in 1996 he raced in the Italian 600 Sport Production class, Italian 125cc, European 125cc and 250cc and World...
, the reigning European Touring Car Cup
European Touring Car Cup
The FIA European Touring Car Cup is an annual touring car racing event, which has been held at various locations across Europe since 2005. Unlike in previous years where it was a one-off event, for 2010 the series is a three round event.-History:...
champion in the Super Production class. Returning to the series after limited races in 2005 was be Andrea Larini
Andrea Larini
Andrea Larini is an Italian auto racing driver. He is the younger brother of fellow racing driver Nicola Larini.- Career :...
, younger brother of Chevrolet driver Nicola
Nicola
-Music:* Nicola is a singer who represented Romania at the 2003 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest* Nicola Conte, Italian DJ and producer* Nicola Piovani, classical musician* Nicola Roberts, British popstar, member of Girls Aloud-Sports:...
, in the SUNRED
SUNRED Engineering
Sunred is a Spanish-based auto racing team and constructor. They are best known for competing in the World Touring Car Championship.-Racing History:...
-run SEAT León Eurocup
SEAT León Eurocup
The SEAT León Eurocup was a one-make touring car racing series which uses SEAT Leóns, run by SEAT Sport.-Background:The championship began in 2008, making its debut at Circuit de Valencia, as a support series for the World Touring Car Championship, in which SEAT is a leading manufacturer...
prize car.
James Thompson
James Thompson (racing driver)
James Thompson is a British auto racing driver and commentator for Eurosport's motorsport coverage. He has twice been champion of the British Touring Car Championship , and was third in the 2007 World Touring Car Championship.-Racing career:He started racing in the BTCC in a privately-entered...
returned to the LADA Sport team, taking his Priora back off team principal Viktor Shapovalov
Viktor Shapovalov
Viktor Shapovalov is a Russian auto racing driver. Most of his career has been in touring cars, competing in the Russian Touring Car Championship as well as the Dutch Supercar Challenge...
, who stood in for Thompson in Germany due to commitments in V8 Supercar
V8 Supercar
V8 Supercars is a touring car racing category based in Australia and run as an International Series under Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile regulations...
. Also returning was Mehdi Bennani
Mehdi Bennani
Mehdi Bennani was born . He was the first racing driver to join the Moroccan World Championship cars.He is the son of Samira Bennani. As a matter of fact, she is only female driver, who is an Arab and African champion race car driver on closed circuit speed...
and the Exagon Engineering
Exagon Engineering
Exagon Engineering is a French auto racing team which is based in Magny-Cours. The team was founded by director Luc Marchetti, and is managed by former racer Cathy Muller who is the older sister of successful touring car driver Yvan Muller...
team after missing the previous two rounds.
Practice
Championship leader Tarquini was fastest in the first practice session, ahead of BMW Team Italy-SpainROAL Motorsport
ROAL Motorsport is an Italian auto racing team, which operated the BMW Team Italy-Spain team in the World Touring Car Championship...
's Alessandro Zanardi and Yvan Muller. Independent's Trophy leader Tom Coronel
Tom Coronel
Tom Romeo Coronel is a Dutch auto racing driver. Tom's twin brother Tim is also a racer, just like their father Tom Coronel Sr...
was fourth fastest ahead of Farfus and Sergio Hernández
Sergio Hernandez
Sergio Hernández von Reckowski is a Spanish racing driver, currently competing in the World Touring Car Championship.-Career:...
.
Jordi Gené
Jordi Gené
Jordi Gené Guerrero is a racing driver, who competed in the WTCC driving for SR-Sport in the 2010 WTCC season...
was fastest in the second session for SEAT, ahead of teammate Rickard Rydell
Rickard Rydell
Rickard Rydell is a Swedish racing driver. He won the 1998 British Touring Car Championship, the 2011 Scandinavian Touring Car Championship, and has also been a frontrunner in the European/World Touring Car Championship.-Early career:In the early 1990s, Rydell raced in various Formula Three series...
and BMW Team UK's Andy Priaulx
Andy Priaulx
Andrew Graham Priaulx, MBE is a British racing driver from Guernsey. He is a European Touring Car Championship champion, three times World Touring Car Championship champion and the only FIA Touring Car champion to win an International level championship for four consecutive years...
. The session ended a couple of minutes early as the red flag was brought out after a collision between independent BMW drivers Stefano D'Aste
Stefano D'Aste
Stefano D'Aste is an Italian auto racing driver.His early racing career included competing on motorcycles and the Monza International Rally...
and Fabio Fabiani, which left Fabiani stranded in the gravel.
Qualifying
The first session decided which ten drivers would make it through to the second session. Tarquini was fastest as all five SEAT drivers made it through to Q2. Only two BMW's made it through, with Farfus and Priaulx joined by all three Chevrolet drivers. D'Aste was the fastest independent in 14th, one place ahead of Thompson's Lada.The second session determined the starting positions of the top ten. The five SEATs followed each other round to gain a slipstreaming benefit. Tarquini was the fastest of the train, ahead of Yvan Muller and Rydell. Rob Huff
Rob Huff
Robert "Rob" Peter Huff is a British racing driver. He currently competes in the World Touring Car Championship for the Chevrolet team, driving the Chevrolet Cruze.-Early years:...
was fourth fastest for Chevrolet, ahead of SEAT driver Tiago Monteiro
Tiago Monteiro
Tiago Vagaroso da Costa Monteiro is a Portuguese racing driver. He drove for Jordan, Midland and Spyker MF1 teams—all different iterations of the same team as it was bought by new owners during a two year stint as part of the Formula One paddock...
and Farfus. Priaulx, Gené and Chevrolet's Nicola Larini
Nicola Larini
Nicola Larini is a racing driver from Italy. He participated in 75 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on September 6, 1987. He finished second in the tragic 1994 San Marino Grand Prix on a substitute outing for Ferrari, but only scored points once more in his career...
were seventh, eighth and ninth. The third Chevrolet driver Alain Menu
Alain Menu
Alain Menu is a Swiss racing driver. He was one of the most successful touring car drivers of the 1990s, winning the prestigious British Touring Car Championship twice . He currently races for Chevrolet in the World Touring Car Championship.- BTCC :He is the son of a farmer...
did not take part in Q2 after his car returned to the pits at the end of Q1 spewing out oil. He was later given a ten-place grid penalty for an engine change.
Race 1
Tarquini led from the start of the race until the finish, although it was a busy race for those behind him. Several front-runners were taken out of contention on the opening lap at the first Tamburello chicane. Jordi Gené triggered the accident when he hit Rob Huff's Chevrolet under breaking. Huff lost control and made contact with Rickard Rydell, who then hit his SEAT teammate Gené and then Augusto Farfus. Jörg MüllerJörg Müller
Jörg Müller is a Dutch-born German race driver.- Racing career :In 1989 Müller won the titles in German Formula Opel Lotus Challenge and in European Formula Ford 1600....
and Tiago Monteiro
Tiago Monteiro
Tiago Vagaroso da Costa Monteiro is a Portuguese racing driver. He drove for Jordan, Midland and Spyker MF1 teams—all different iterations of the same team as it was bought by new owners during a two year stint as part of the Formula One paddock...
also suffered damage in the incident. All except Monteiro were able to make it to the pits and return to the action later in the race. Tarquini led from Yvan Muller, Huff, and Alex Zanardi
Alex Zanardi
Alessandro "Alex" Zanardi is an Italian racing driver and paracyclist.He won two CART championship titles in North America during the late 1990s. He also had a less successful career as a Formula One driver...
. Tom Coronel
Tom Coronel
Tom Romeo Coronel is a Dutch auto racing driver. Tom's twin brother Tim is also a racer, just like their father Tom Coronel Sr...
and James Thompson were able to make up a host of places after avoiding the carnage by running through the gravel at the chicane, and finished in fifth and sixth. A train formed behind Thompson's Lada, and Stefano D'Aste ran off the track after out-breaking himself trying to pass Thompson. He made contact with Alain Menu's Chevrolet on rejoining the circuit, tipping D'Aste into a spin. Elsewhere, Kristian Poulsen
Kristian Poulsen
Kristian Poulsen is a Danish auto racing driver, who currently competes in touring car racing.-Career:He made his debut in the FIA World Touring Car Championship in 2008 with a part season. For 2009 he will compete a full season in the WTCC with Liqui Moly Team Engstler in a BMW 320si alongside...
tapped Jaap van Lagen
Jaap van Lagen
Jaap van Lagen is a Dutch racing driver, who is a former competitor in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series and a former Eurocup Megane Trophy champion....
into a spin, which resulted in van Lagen's Lada hitting a tyre wall and then flipping through the gravel trap, which brought out the safety car. Poulsen was then hit by teammate and team owner Franz Engstler
Franz Engstler
Franz Engstler is a German auto racing driver. He currently competes as an independent driver in the FIA World Touring Car Championship in a BMW 320 TC under the Liqui Moly Team Engstler banner...
. Andy Priaulx lost out in the fight for the eighth place, going off the circuit twice before eventually finishing fifteenth. Guest driver Andrea Larini was black-flagged for not wearing fire-proof underwear.