WTCC: Priaulx on the podium in Spain

Castrol BMW Team UK driver Andy Priaulx got his World Touring Car Championship campaign back on track after claiming a hard-fought podium finish in the second race of the third round of the championship at Valencia.

Priaulx’s first podium finish of the season came after earning himself a place at the front of the reverse grid by taking seventh in race two. After taking the lead at the start of the second race he had to settle for third after the Chevrolets of race winner Alain Menu and team-mate Rob Huff fought their way past him.

“I came to Valencia this weekend with the target of scoring maybe seven points, and I’ve scored eight so I’ve exceeded expectations,” said Priaulx. “With the regulations being the way they are we didn’t have the pace to fight for wins so third place is as good as it could have been.”

Castrol-backed Team Germany driver Jörg Müller made sure that Priaulx wasn’t the only driver from the BMW stable to pick up strong points with a fourth and a fifth place finish. Müller battled hard with Chevrolet driver Nicola Larini in race one, eventually pipping him to fifth place, and in race two ran third for the first half of the race until Huff pushed him out of the podium positions.

Team-mate Augusto Farfus fared less well and was hit with bad luck in both races. In the first, he ended up in the gravel while battling for a possible reverse grid pole position, and in race two he put in a stunning charge to climb from the back of the grid into the top six until he was slowed after a clash with SEAT’s Yvan Muller.

Castrol BMW Team Italy-Spain was also blighted with bad luck. Alex Zanardi suffered mechanical problems in both races, while Felix Porteiro was caught up in a first corner accident in race one but came from the back to tenth in race two.

The next race is at Brno in the Czech Republic on 15 June.

Race 1 results:

* 1 Rob Huff – Chevrolet
* 2 Gabriele Tarquini – SEAT
* 3 Jordi Gene – SEAT
* 4 Yvan Muller – SEAT
* 5 Jörg Müller – BMW
* 6 Nicola Larini – Chevrolet

Race 2 results:

* 1 Alain Menu – Chevrolet
* 2 Rob Huff – Chevrolet
* 3 Andy Priaulx – BMW
* 4 Jörg Müller – BMW
* 5 Gabriele Tarquini – SEAT
* 6 Jordi Gene – SEAT

Team News: Müller seeks intervention

Castrol BMW Team Germany driver Jörg Müller believes the advantage of the turbodiesel-engined SEAT Leons still needs to be reduced if BMW is to be able to fight for the World Touring Car Championship title. SEAT has won four out of six races this year and its cars are difficult to pass because the engine is so strong on the exit of corners. “For me the organisers should do something because it is not possible for us to race fairly with them,” said Müller. “Our car is very good but I think they need to do something about the power of the turbo engines.”

Race News: Fans herald European return

Spanish circuit Valencia hosted the first European-based round of the 2008 World Touring Car Championship. After the season started at Curitiba in Brazil the WTCC moved on to Mexican circuit Puebla, but this weekend was the first chance for European fans to see the series. A strong crowd of 46,000 turned up to cheer on Castrol BMW Team Italy-Spain driver Felix Porteiro on home soil, only for bad luck at the start of the first race to leave him struggling even to fight for points.

For more information on the Castrol-sponsored BMW team please visit the Racing and Sponsorship section of our homepage:

http://www.castrol.com/castrol/subsection.do?categoryId=9014119&contentId=7042094

For more information on Castrol's sponsorship activities related to sports please visit:

http://www.castrol.com/castrol/genericsection.do?categoryId=3208&contentId=7034605

http://www.castrolindex.com

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Castrol is the world's leading specialist provider of lubricant products. Most people know Castrol oil for vehicles such as car oil, engine oil and synthetic oil as well as motorcycle oil. But there's not just Castrol motor oil, we also produce lubricants for vehicles in transport and construction industries, such as heavy goods vehicles, buses and earth moving machinery. Castrol UK feature the brands EDGE, Magnatec, GTX, SLX Professional, Elixion, Enduron and Tection among others.

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