Wikipedia

2012 FIA WTCC Race of Portugal

The 2012 FIA WTCC Race of Portugal was the seventh round of the 2012 World Touring Car Championship season and the sixth running of the FIA WTCC Race of Portugal. It was held on 3 June 2012 at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in Portimão, Portugal. The first race was won by Yvan Muller for Chevrolet and the second race was won by Alain Menu, also for Chevrolet.

Portugal 2012 Race of Portugal
Race details
Round 7 of 12 in the 2012 World Touring Car Championship at Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in Portimão, Portugal.
Date3 June, 2012
LocationPortimão, Portugal
CourseAutódromo Internacional do Algarve
4.654 kilometres (2.892 mi)
Race One
Laps 11
Pole position
Driver Italy Gabriele Tarquini Lukoil Racing Team
Time 1:53.966
Podium
First France Yvan Muller Chevrolet
Second Italy Gabriele Tarquini Lukoil Racing Team
Third United Kingdom Rob Huff Chevrolet
Fastest Lap
Driver France Yvan Muller Chevrolet
Time 1:54.541
Race Two
Laps 11
Podium
First Switzerland Alain Menu Chevrolet
Second Spain Pepe Oriola Tuenti Racing Team
Third Netherlands Tom Coronel ROAL Motorsport
Fastest Lap
Driver Switzerland Alain Menu Chevrolet
Time 1:56.018

Background

edit

Coming into the event, Yvan Muller was the championship leader on 206 points ahead of Robert Huff on 198 and Menu on 175 points. Pepe Oriola was leading the Yokohama Independents' Trophy.

James Thompson and TMS Sport made their last scheduled appearance of the season with the Lada Granta WTCC. Tom Boardman switched to the new SEAT turbocharged engine, having run the TDi engine since Spain.[1]

For the Race of Portugal weekend, Menu would be playing the role of comic book character Michel Vaillant. His Chevrolet Cruze raced in special Vaillante colours and Menu himself wore a special race suit and dyed his hair to look like the French comic book racer.[2]

Report

edit

Free Practice

edit

Lukoil Racing Team's Gabriele Tarquini set the pace in the first free practice session, nearly half a second ahead of the Chevrolet of Yvan Muller. Thompson put the TMS Sport Lada in 10th.[3]

It was a Chevrolet 1-2-3 in the second practice session, with Yvan Muller topping the timing pages ahead of Menu and Huff.[4]

Qualifying

edit

Tarquini took his second pole position of the season with Yvan Muller second for Chevrolet and Norbert Michelisz third for Zengő Motorsport. The race two reversed grid would see Tuenti Racing Team's Pepe Oriola starting on position with Menu starting second. The session was stopped early on when Tom Chilton suffered a suspension failure, he and his team mate James Nash would form an all Ford back row.[5]

Warm-Up

edit

Muller went fastest in Sunday morning's warm-up session ahead of Chevrolet team mates of Huff and Menu.[6]

Race One

edit

Muller overtook Tarquini on the outside into turn one to take the lead, while further down the field, Aleksei Dudukalo and Gábor Wéber made contact and ended up in the gravel. Both drivers were able to get back on track and return to the pits. Muller held on to take the win ahead of Tarquini and Huff, with Michelisz the winning independent after coming home in fourth. Menu had climbed up to fifth position while the only remaining non-SEAT engined León of Tiago Monteiro spent much of the race defending his seventh place.[7]

Race Two

edit

A near repeat of race one saw the Chevrolet of Menu overtake pole sitter Oriola before the first corner. Further back, Mehdi Bennani made contact with Stefano D'Aste which earned him a suspended grid penalty.[8] Tarquini had been defending from the Chevrolets of Muller and Huff when he took too much kerb, allowing Muller through. Huff and Tarquini made contact, spinning the Italian out of the race while Muller spun at his own accord. ROAL Motorsport's Alberto Cerqui took advantage of Muller's off to take fifth, a position that was later switched on the main straight. Menu took the victory ahead of podium debutant Oriola with Tom Coronel third.[9]

Results

edit

Qualifying

edit
Pos. No. Name Team Car C Q1 Q2 Points
1 3   Gabriele Tarquini Lukoil Racing SEAT León WTCC 1:54.809 1:53.966 5
2 1   Yvan Muller Chevrolet Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 1:54.982 1:54.232 4
3 5   Norbert Michelisz Zengő Motorsport BMW 320 TC Y 1:55.242 1:54.598 3
4 2   Robert Huff Chevrolet Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 1:54.985 1:54.932 2
5 15   Tom Coronel ROAL Motorsport BMW 320 TC 1:55.430 1:54.982 1
6 16   Alberto Cerqui ROAL Motorsport BMW 320 TC Y 1:55.413 1:55.036
7 27   Gábor Wéber Zengő Motorsport BMW 320 TC Y 1:55.740 1:55.087
8 18   Tiago Monteiro Tuenti Racing SR León 1.6T 1:55.471 1:55.088
9 8   Alain Menu Chevrolet Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 1:55.163 1:55.114
10 74   Pepe Oriola Tuenti Racing SEAT León WTCC Y 1:55.380 1:55.323
11 25   Mehdi Bennani Proteam Racing BMW 320 TC Y 1:55.607 1:55.488
12 4   Aleksei Dudukalo Lukoil Racing SEAT León WTCC Y 1:55.703 1:55.618
13 6   Franz Engstler Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320 TC Y 1:55.811
14 20   Darryl O'Young Special Tuning Racing SEAT León WTCC Y 1:55.842
15 11   Alex MacDowall bamboo-engineering Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T Y 1:55.891
16 26   Stefano D'Aste Wiechers-Sport BMW 320 TC Y 1:55.892
17 69   James Thompson TMS Sport Lada Granta WTCC 1:55.926
18 7   Charles Ng Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320 TC Y 1:56.080
19 22   Tom Boardman Special Tuning Racing SEAT León WTCC Y 1:56.260
20 12   Pasquale Di Sabatino bamboo-engineering Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T Y 1:56.499
21 14   James Nash Team Aon Ford Focus S2000 TC 1:56.554
22 23   Tom Chilton Team Aon Ford Focus S2000 TC 1:57.117
Source:[10][11]
  • Bold denotes Pole position for second race.

Race 1

edit
Pos. No. Name Team Car C Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 1   Yvan Muller Chevrolet Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 11 21:20.620 2 25
2 3   Gabriele Tarquini Lukoil Racing SEAT León WTCC 11 +0.336 1 18
3 2   Robert Huff Chevrolet Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 11 +0.951 4 15
4 5   Norbert Michelisz Zengő Motorsport BMW 320 TC Y 11 +6.699 3 12
5 8   Alain Menu Chevrolet Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 11 +13.669 9 10
6 15   Tom Coronel ROAL Motorsport BMW 320 TC 11 +17.053 5 8
7 18   Tiago Monteiro Tuenti Racing SR León 1.6T 11 +20.172 8 6
8 16   Alberto Cerqui ROAL Motorsport BMW 320 TC Y 11 +20.422 6 4
9 74   Pepe Oriola Tuenti Racing SEAT León WTCC Y 11 +21.134 10 2
10 11   Alex MacDowall bamboo-engineering Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T Y 11 +21.723 15 1
11 26   Stefano D'Aste Wiechers-Sport BMW 320 TC Y 11 +22.453 16
12 6   Franz Engstler Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320 TC Y 11 +26.142 13
13 20   Darryl O'Young Special Tuning Racing SEAT León WTCC Y 11 +29.066 14
14 22   Tom Boardman Special Tuning Racing SEAT León WTCC Y 11 +29.813 19
15 12   Pasquale Di Sabatino bamboo-engineering Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T Y 11 +34.752 20
16 23   Tom Chilton Team Aon Ford Focus S2000 TC 11 +42.163 22
17 69   James Thompson TMS Sport Lada Granta WTCC 10 +1 Lap 17
18 7   Charles Ng Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320 TC Y 9 +2 Laps 18
Ret 14   James Nash Team Aon Ford Focus S2000 TC 7 Collision 21
Ret 25   Mehdi Bennani Proteam Racing BMW 320 TC Y 7 Collision 11
Ret 27   Gábor Wéber Zengő Motorsport BMW 320 TC Y 4 Collision 7
Ret 4   Aleksei Dudukalo Lukoil Racing SEAT León WTCC Y 2 Collision 12
Source:[12]
  • Bold denotes Fastest lap.

Race 2

edit
Pos. No. Name Team Car C Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 8   Michel Vaillant (Alain Menu) Chevrolet Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 11 21:34.180 2 25
2 74   Pepe Oriola Tuenti Racing SEAT León WTCC Y 11 +3.200 1 18
3 15   Tom Coronel ROAL Motorsport BMW 320 TC 11 +5.160 6 15
4 2   Robert Huff Chevrolet Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 11 +6.961 7 12
5 1   Yvan Muller Chevrolet Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 11 +8.280 9 10
6 16   Alberto Cerqui ROAL Motorsport BMW 320 TC Y 11 +8.626 5 8
7 11   Alex MacDowall bamboo-engineering Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T Y 11 +15.007 15 6
8 18   Tiago Monteiro Tuenti Racing SR León 1.6T 11 +15.874 3 4
9 6   Franz Engstler Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320 TC Y 11 +16.264 13 2
10 5   Norbert Michelisz Zengő Motorsport BMW 320 TC Y 11 +18.128 8 1
11 69   James Thompson TMS Sport Lada Granta WTCC 11 +19.832 21
12 27   Gábor Wéber Zengő Motorsport BMW 320 TC Y 11 +23.542 4
13 20   Darryl O'Young Special Tuning Racing SEAT León WTCC Y 11 +28.326 14
14 7   Charles Ng Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320 TC Y 11 +28.581 17
15 23   Tom Chilton Team Aon Ford Focus S2000 TC 11 +30.552 20
16 4   Aleksei Dudukalo Lukoil Racing SEAT León WTCC Y 11 +50.602 12
17 12   Pasquale Di Sabatino bamboo-engineering Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T Y 10 +1 Lap 19
18 26   Stefano D'Aste Wiechers-Sport BMW 320 TC Y 10 +1 Lap 16
19 3   Gabriele Tarquini Lukoil Racing SEAT León WTCC 8 +3 Laps 10
Ret 14   James Nash Team Aon Ford Focus S2000 TC 7 Set Up 22
Ret 25   Mehdi Bennani Proteam Racing BMW 320 TC Y 3 Collision 11
Ret 22   Tom Boardman Special Tuning Racing SEAT León WTCC Y 2 Collision 18
Source:[13]
  • Bold denotes Fastest lap.

Standings after the round

edit
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of drivers' standings.

References

edit
  1. ^ "NEW ENGINE FOR TOM BOARDMAN". WTCC FIA World Touring Car Championship. 27 May 2012. Archived from the original on 23 January 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2012.
  2. ^ Abbott, Andrew (28 May 2012). "Menu gets comic role for Portugal". Touring-Cars.Net. Archived from the original on 20 June 2012. Retrieved 5 June 2012.
  3. ^ Hudson, Neil (3 June 2012). "Gabriele Tarquini fastest in Portimão FP1". Touring Car Times. Archived from the original on 5 February 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2012.
  4. ^ Hudson, Neil (3 June 2012). "Yvan Muller fastest in second free practice at Portimão". Touring Car Times. Archived from the original on 5 February 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2012.
  5. ^ Mills, Peter (2 June 2012). "Tarquini claims second WTCC pole of 2012 at Algarve". Autosport. Haymarket Media. Retrieved 5 June 2012.
  6. ^ Hudson, Neil (3 June 2012). "Yvan Muller fastest in Portugal warm up". Touring Car Times. Archived from the original on 5 February 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2012.
  7. ^ Abbott, Andrew (3 June 2012). "Muller beats Tarquini to race one win". Touring-Cars.Net. Retrieved 5 June 2012.
  8. ^ Hudson, Neil (3 June 2012). "Mehdi Bennani given suspended penalty for D'Aste incident". Touring Car Times. Archived from the original on 4 February 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2012.
  9. ^ Abbott, Andrew (3 June 2012). "Menu wins race two as 'Vaillant'". Touring-Cars.Net. Retrieved 5 June 2012.
  10. ^ "2012 World Touring Car Championship Race of Portugal: Qualifying 1". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  11. ^ "2012 World Touring Car Championship Race of Portugal: Qualifying 2". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  12. ^ "2012 World Touring Car Championship Race of Portugal: Race 1". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  13. ^ "2012 World Touring Car Championship Race of Portugal: Race 2". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
edit
World Touring Car Championship
Previous race:
2012 FIA WTCC Race of Austria 		2012 World Touring Car Championship season Next race:
2012 FIA WTCC Race of Brazil
Previous race:
2011 FIA WTCC Race of Portugal 		FIA WTCC Race of Portugal Next race:
2013 FIA WTCC Race of Portugal
Retrieved from "https://en.wiki.x.io/w/index.php?title=2012_FIA_WTCC_Race_of_Portugal&oldid=1162106546"