2011 FIA WTCC Race of Belgium

FIA WTCC Race of Belgium Belgium 24 April 2011 Zolder.svg 2 12 Zolder, Belgium Circuit Zolder 4.011 15 13 GBR Robert Huff Chevrolet RML 1:38.458 GBR Robert Huff Chevrolet RML CHE Alain Menu Chevrolet RML FRA Yvan Muller Chevrolet RML GBR Robert Huff 1:39.517 Chevrolet RML ITA Gabriele Tarquini Lukoil-SUNRED CHE Alain Menu Chevrolet RML PRT Tiago Monteiro SUNRED Engineering ESP Javier Villa Proteam Racing 1:40.063 The 2011 FIA WTCC Race of Belgium (formally the 2011 FIA WTCC Monroe Race of Belgium) was the second round of the 2011 World Touring Car Championship season. It was held at Circuit Zolder on 24 April 2011 and was the third running of the Race of Belgium, which ran at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in 2005 before leaving the calendar for four seasons until returning in the 2010 season at Zolder. The races were won by Robert Huff of Chevrolet RML and Gabriele Tarquini of Lukoil-SUNRED. Background After the Race of Brazil, Huff was leading the drivers' championship by four points over Chevrolet teammate Alain Menu. Kristian Poulsen was leading the Yokohama Independents' Trophy. Chevrolet RML reverted to a three car operation having run guest driver Cacá Bueno in Brazil. bamboo–engineering switched to the Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T, replacing the Chevrolet Lacettis they ran in the opening round.Allen Peter Bamboo Make Turbo Cruze Switch For Zolder http://www.thecheckeredflag.co.uk/2011/04/bamboo-make-turbo-cruze-switch-for-zolder/ The Checkered Flag BlackEagleMedia Network 14 February 2013 20 April 2011 Wiechers-Sport returned to the series with their new driver Urs Sonderegger in a BMW 320 TC.Casillo Pietro Sonderegger: "I started racing because of WTCC" http://www.touringcartimes.com/article.php?id=5833 https://archive.today/20130412001305/http://www.touringcartimes.com/article.php?id=5833 dead 12 April 2013 TouringCarTimes Mediaempire Stockholm AB 14 February 2013 9 March 2011 Norbert Michelisz and the Zengő-Dension Team returned with a turbocharged BMW having missed the opening round to test the new car.Allen Peter Michelisz An Interested Spectator Ahead Of BMW Debut http://www.thecheckeredflag.co.uk/2011/03/michelisz-an-interested-spectator-ahead-of-bmw-debut/ The Checkered Flag BlackEagleMedia Network 14 February 2013 23 March 2011 Report Testing and free practice The test session on Friday saw Tarquini go fastest, leading Menu and championship leader Huff.Hudson Neil Gabriele Tarquini leads Zolder Friday test http://www.touringcartimes.com/article.php?id=6029 https://archive.today/20130412000239/http://www.touringcartimes.com/article.php?id=6029 dead 12 April 2013 TouringCarTimes Mediaempire Stockholm AB 14 February 2013 22 April 2011 Huff was quickest in the free practice session on Saturday morning with Yvan Muller second making it a Chevrolet 1–2.Glendenning Mark Huff leads first Zolder practice http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/90923 Autosport Haymarket Publications 14 February 2013 23 April 2011 Muller led Huff and Menu in the final free practice session with Michel Nykjær the fastest SEAT driver in fourth. Fabio Fabiani missed the breaking point for turn one during the session, he ended up rolling backwards into the car but continued.Glendenning Mark Chevrolet dominates second practice http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/90925 Autosport Haymarket Publications 14 February 2013 23 April 2011 Qualifying Chevrolet stayed on top in qualifying with Huff taking his second pole position of the year. Tiago Monteiro had been quickest in Q1 but Brazil podium finisher Tom Coronel failed to get through to the second session and lined up eleventh. Having been fourth in the afternoon practice session, Nykjær ended up 20th having not set a time. He had clipped one of the barriers at the chicane and was unable to continue in the session due to damage. Javier Villa didn't take part in qualifying due to engine issues. In Q2, Huff set the fastest time to secure pole position and a late lap from Menu made it an all–Chevrolet front row. Tarquini finished third and Muller fourth, having run wide on his final flying lap. Monteiro was fifth and Poulsen in sixth was the leading independent driver. Michelisz was seventh in his first competitive session with the BMW.Glendenning Mark Huff takes Zolder WTCC pole http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/90927 Autosport Haymarket Publications 14 February 2013 23 April 2011 Warm-Up Proteam Racing's Villa topped the Sunday morning warm–up session with pole sitter Huff third.Hudson Neil Javier Villa fastest in morning warm-up http://www.touringcartimes.com/article.php?id=6044 https://archive.today/20130412005147/http://www.touringcartimes.com/article.php?id=6044 dead 12 April 2013 TouringCarTimes Mediaempire Stockholm AB 14 February 2013 24 April 2011 Race One The first race saw many drivers crash out and end their races prematurely. At the beginning Huff had a great get away from pole whilst Tarquini attempted to pass Menu put failed. Coronel had got a great get way but spun on the third lap and was hit by Franz Engstler. The damage was so much that Coronel wouldn't start race two. Meanwhile, further down the order, Aleksei Dudukalo and Yukinori Taniguchi were racing hard until Dudukalo put the Chevrolet into a small spin where Marchy Lee collected Taniguchi. Taniguchi managed to continue on in the race but Lee had to make a retirement. On lap eleven Poulsen and Michelisz were having a door to door battle, while Muller slipped past Tarquini for third. On the final lap Villa (who had started at the back of the grid) passed Darryl O'Young for ninth whilst Huff upfront took his second victory of the season. Race Two In race two there were new complications with the grid as Fredy Barth who was set for pole position had too much damage to compete along with others. This meant a reshuffle of the grid putting Tarquini on pole. Tarquini kept the three Chevrolets behind him at bay for thirteen laps despite a battle with Huff on lap five where the two made contact that would send Huff down to sixth by the end of the race due to the damage from the collision. O'Young was working his way up the order from ninth and finished the race fourth after Muller started to suffer problems and retired. This left Menu to fight for the win with Tarquini but was not good enough and behind them Monteiro completed the podium positions. Results Qualifying Pos. Position No. Car number Name Team Car C Class Q1 Q2 1 2 GBR Robert Huff Chevrolet RML Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 1:39.373 1:38.458 2 8 CHE Alain Menu Chevrolet RML Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 1:39.367 1:38.598 3 3 ITA Gabriele Tarquini Lukoil-SUNRED SEAT León 2.0 TDI 1:39.493 1:38.723 4 1 FRA Yvan Muller Chevrolet RML Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 1:39.365 1:38.738 5 18 PRT Tiago Monteiro SUNRED Engineering SEAT León 2.0 TDI 1:38.952 1:38.907 6 11 DNK Kristian Poulsen Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320 TCY 1:39.293 1:39.398 7 5 HUN Norbert Michelisz Zengő-Dension Team BMW 320 TCY 1:39.417 1:39.450 8 12 DEU Franz Engstler Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320 TCY 1:39.583 1:39.962 9 7 CHE Fredy Barth SEAT Swiss Racing by SUNRED SEAT León 2.0 TDIY 1:39.638 1:40.015 10 25 MAR Mehdi Bennani Proteam Racing BMW 320 TCY 1:39.328 1:40.438 11 15 NLD Tom Coronel ROAL Motorsport BMW 320 TC 1:39.680 12 74 ESP Pepe Oriola SUNRED Engineering SEAT León 2.0 TDIY 1:39.780 13 30 SWE Robert Dahlgren Polestar Racing Volvo C30 1:39.807 14 9 HKG Darryl O'Young bamboo-engineering Chevrolet Cruze 1.6TY 1:39.931 15 4 RUS Aleksei Dudukalo Lukoil-SUNRED SEAT León 2.0 TDIY 1:40.110 16 65 HKG Marchy Lee DeTeam KK Motorsport BMW 320 TCY 1:40.406 17 10 JPN Yukinori Taniguchi bamboo-engineering Chevrolet Cruze 1.6TY 1:41.712 18 35 CHE Urs Sonderegger Wiechers-Sport BMW 320 TCY 1:43.537 19 21 ITA Fabio Fabiani Proteam Racing BMW 320siY 1:44.820 20 17 DNK Michel Nykjær SUNRED Engineering SEAT León 2.0 TDIY no time set 21 20 ESP Javier Villa Proteam Racing BMW 320 TCY no time set Race 1 Pos. Position No. Car number Name Team Car C Class Laps Time/Retired Grid Points 1 2 GBR Robert Huff Chevrolet RML Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 15 29:18.807 1 25 2 8 CHE Alain Menu Chevrolet RML Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 15 +1.244 2 18 3 1 FRA Yvan Muller Chevrolet RML Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 15 +1.740 4 15 4 3 ITA Gabriele Tarquini Lukoil-SUNRED SEAT León 2.0 TDI 15 +3.790 3 12 5 18 PRT Tiago Monteiro SUNRED Engineering SEAT León 2.0 TDI 15 +5.102 5 10 6 11 DNK Kristian Poulsen Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320 TCY 15 +8.987 6 8 7 5 HUN Norbert Michelisz Zengő-Dension Team BMW 320 TCY 15 +10.878 7 6 8 17 DNK Michel Nykjær SUNRED Engineering SEAT León 2.0 TDIY 15 +12.032 20 4 9 20 ESP Javier Villa Proteam Racing BMW 320 TCY 15 +12.845 21 2 10 9 HKG Darryl O'Young bamboo-engineering Chevrolet Cruze 1.6TY 15 +12.901 14 1 11 74 ESP Pepe Oriola SUNRED Engineering SEAT León 2.0 TDIY 15 +14.656 12 12 4 RUS Aleksei Dudukalo Lukoil-SUNRED SEAT León 2.0 TDIY 15 +17.538 15 13 30 SWE Robert Dahlgren Polestar Racing Volvo C30 15 +18.687 13 14 10 JPN Yukinori Taniguchi bamboo-engineering Chevrolet Cruze 1.6TY 15 +25.864 17 15 35 CHE Urs Sonderegger Wiechers-Sport BMW 320 TCY 15 +42.236 18 16 21 ITA Fabio Fabiani Proteam Racing BMW 320siY 15 +1:07.741 19 Ret 7 CHE Fredy Barth SEAT Swiss Racing by SUNRED SEAT León 2.0 TDIY 2 Race incident 9 Ret 15 NLD Tom Coronel ROAL Motorsport BMW 320 TC 2 Race incident 11 Ret 25 MAR Mehdi Bennani Proteam Racing BMW 320 TCY 2 Race incident 10 Ret 12 DEU Franz Engstler Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320 TCY 2 Race incident 8 Ret 65 HKG Marchy Lee DeTeam KK Motorsport BMW 320 TCY 2 Race incident 16 Bold denotes Fastest lap. Race 2 Pos. Position No. Car number Name Team Car C Class Laps Time/Retired Grid Points 1 3 ITA Gabriele Tarquini Lukoil-SUNRED SEAT León 2.0 TDI 13 22:07.752 1 25 2 8 CHE Alain Menu Chevrolet RML Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 13 +0.448 3 18 3 18 PRT Tiago Monteiro SUNRED Engineering SEAT León 2.0 TDI 13 +0.886 6 15 4 9 HKG Darryl O'Young bamboo-engineering Chevrolet Cruze 1.6TY 13 +1.614 9 12 5 17 DNK Michel Nykjær SUNRED Engineering SEAT León 2.0 TDIY 13 +5.702 13 10 6 2 GBR Robert Huff Chevrolet RML Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 13 +5.901 2 8 7 30 SWE Robert Dahlgren Polestar Racing Volvo C30 13 +12.352 8 6 8 5 HUN Norbert Michelisz Zengő-Dension Team BMW 320 TCY 13 +16.721 16 4 9 4 RUS Aleksei Dudukalo Lukoil-SUNRED SEAT León 2.0 TDIY 13 +20.141 10 2 10 20 ESP Javier Villa Proteam Racing BMW 320 TCY 13 +28.827 14 1 11 25 MAR Mehdi Bennani Proteam Racing BMW 320 TCY 13 +42.066 15 12 12 DEU Franz Engstler Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320 TCY 13 +48.235 17 13 21 ITA Fabio Fabiani Proteam Racing BMW 320siY 12 +1 Lap 12 14 74 ESP Pepe Oriola SUNRED Engineering SEAT León 2.0 TDIY 11 +2 Laps 7 15 35 CHE Urs Sonderegger Wiechers-Sport BMW 320 TCY 9 +4 Laps 11 Ret 1 FRA Yvan Muller Chevrolet RML Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 7 Oil radiator 4 Ret 11 DNK Kristian Poulsen Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320 TCY 0 Race incident 5 DNS 15 NLD Tom Coronel ROAL Motorsport BMW 320 TC 0 Did not start 18 DNS 7 CHE Fredy Barth SEAT Swiss Racing by SUNRED SEAT León 2.0 TDIY 0 Did not start – DNS 65 HKG Marchy Lee DeTeam KK Motorsport BMW 320 TCY 0 Did not start 19 DSQ 10 JPN Yukinori Taniguchi bamboo-engineering Chevrolet Cruze 1.6TY 12 Disqualified 20 Bold denotes Fastest lap. Standings after the event Drivers' Championship standings PosDriverPoints 10px 1 GBR Robert Huff70 10px 2 CHE Alain Menu69 10px 3 3 ITA Gabriele Tarquini51 10px 1 4 FRA Yvan Muller48 10px 3 5 PRT Tiago Monteiro31 Yokohama Independents' Trophy standings Pos Driver Points 10px 1 DNK Kristian Poulsen 26 10px 1 2 ESP Javier Villa 23 10px 2 3 DNK Michel Nykjær 23 10px 3 4 HKG Darryl O'Young 19 10px 3 5 DEU Franz Engstler 19 Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 10px 1 USA Chevrolet 156 10px 1 2 ESP SR Customer Racing 107 10px 1 3 DEU BMW Customer Racing Teams 85 10px 4 SWE Volvo Polestar Evaluation Team 28 Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of drivers' standings. References Results Booklet PDF at MST Systems External links World Touring Car Championship official website FIA WTCC Race of Belgium 2011 2011 FIA WTCC Race of Brazil 2011 FIA WTCC Race of Italy 2010 FIA WTCC Race of Belgium 2014 FIA WTCC Race of Belgium Belgium FIA WTCC Race of Belgium Category:Circuit Zolder Category:Sports competitions in Limburg (Belgium) Category:FIA WTCC Race of Belgium