Racing News
The eight BMW 320 TC racers on hand for the World Touring Car Championship season-opener at Monza had a difficult weekend; the marque’s best finishers in Race One were Tom Coronel in ninth and Fredy Barth in tenth. In Race Two, Stefano D’Aste, who finished ninth, was the only BMW racer in the top ten.
The only good news for BMW at Monza was that Barth finished the weekend fourth in drivers’ points for the Yokohama Trophy. WTCC runs the Yokohama Drivers’ and Team Trophy series within the overall series. In general, it is for less-experienced independent teams. The rules say that the organizers designate eligibility “taking into consideration…the Team’s CV and records, the Driver’s CV and records, and the car’s technical characteristics.”
Chevrolet’s Yvan Muller won both races on a rainy weekend at Monza. The Chevrolet teams are running as privateers this year; only Honda and Lada are mounting factory efforts in 2013.
WTCC runs again on April 7 in Marrakech, Morocco.—Brian S. Morgan
