2011 FIA WTCC Race of Japan

FIA WTCC Race of Japan Japan 23 October 2011 Suzuka East Circuit.png 10 12 Suzuka City, Japan Suzuka Circuit 2.243 25 23 CHE Alain Menu Chevrolet RML 53.443 CHE Alain Menu Chevrolet RML GBR Robert Huff Chevrolet RML DNK Michel Nykjær SUNRED Engineering CHE Alain Menu 54.521 Chevrolet RML NLD Tom Coronel ROAL Motorsport FRA Yvan Muller Chevrolet RML GBR Robert Huff Chevrolet RML SWE Robert Dahlgren Polestar Racing 54.116 The 2011 FIA WTCC Race of Japan was the tenth round of the 2011 World Touring Car Championship season and the fourth running of the FIA WTCC Race of Japan. It was held on 23 October 2011 at the Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka City, Japan. The first race was won by Alain Menu of Chevrolet RML while Michel Nykjær finished on the podium for the first time in World Touring Car Championship. The second race was won by Tom Coronel of ROAL Motorsport. Background Coming into the first Asian round of the season, Yvan Muller was leading the world drivers' championship. Kristian Poulsen was leading the Yokohama Independents' Trophy. Chevrolet RML added a fourth Chevrolet Cruze for the local rally driver Toshi Arai.Beer Matt Rally star Toshi Arai to race for Chevrolet in Suzuka World Touring Car event http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/94862 Autosport Haymarket Publications 13 March 2013 26 September 2011 Formula D driver Charles Ng joined Liqui Moly Team Engstler in a BMW 320siAllen Peter Charles Ng Joins Engstler For Asian WTCC Rounds http://www.thecheckeredflag.co.uk/charles-ng-joins-engstler-for-asian-wtcc-rounds/ The Checkered Flag BlackEagleMedia Network 13 March 2013 5 October 2011 while Hiroki Yoshimoto joined SUNRED Engineering to drive one of their SUNRED SR León 1.6Ts.Meissner Johan Hiroki Yoshimoto to race for SUNRED in Japan http://www.touringcartimes.com/2011/09/29/hiroki-yoshimoto-to-race-for-sunred-in-japan/ TouringCarTimes Mediaempire Stockholm AB 13 March 2013 29 September 2011 Colin Turkington returned to Wiechers-Sport having last raced for them at the Race of UK.Abbott Andrew Turkington returns for Japan and China http://www.touring-cars.net/2011/10/turkington-returns-for-japan-and-china Touring-Cars.net Andrew Abbott 13 March 2013 8 October 2011 Masaki Kano drove for DeTeam KK Motorsport in their BMW 320 TC.Hudson Neil Masaki Kano to drive for Engstler in Japan http://www.touringcartimes.com/2011/10/03/masaki-kano-to-drive-for-engstler-in-japan/ TouringCarTimes Mediaempire Stockholm AB 13 March 2013 3 October 2011 Report Testing and free practice Menu led Friday's test session having displaced Polestar Racing's Robert Dahlgren late on. Robert Huff, who had lost his championship lead at the last round was third with Tiago Monteiro separating him from championship leader Muller. Darryl O'Young in the bamboo-engineering Chevrolet was the quickest independent driver when he ended the session ninth. The session had been stopped five minutes in when Norbert Michelisz went off the circuit.Allen Peter Menu Quickest In Testing For WTCC's First Suzuka Visit http://www.thecheckeredflag.co.uk/menu-quickest-in-testing-for-wtcc’s-first-suzuka-visit/ The Checkered Flag BlackEagleMedia Network 13 March 2013 21 October 2011 Huff topped the wet first practice session on Saturday morning. Fabio Fabiani and Kano were black flagged for not having their headlights switched on.Hudson Neil Rob Huff quickest in Free Practice 1 http://www.touringcartimes.com/2011/10/22/rob-huff-quickest-in-free-practice-1/ TouringCarTimes Mediaempire Stockholm AB 13 March 2013 22 October 2011 The track was drying in free practice two as Menu set the fastest time, he led a Chevrolet 1–2–3 with Muller second and Huff third. Fredy Barth was the top independent driver in fourth.Hudson Neil Alain Menu on top in final practice in Japan http://www.touringcartimes.com/2011/10/22/alain-menu-on-top-in-final-practice-in-japan/ TouringCarTimes Mediaempire Stockholm AB 13 March 2013 22 October 2011 Qualifying Qualifying had started with a threat of rain as Menu took pole position in qualifying with championship leading team–mate Muller second. The first session was stopped twice, firstly when Proteam Racing's Mehdi Bennani got stuck in the gravel at the final corner and then again when Pepe Oriola also went off at the final corner and crashed into the wall. O'Young finished the first session tenth and therefore took the reversed grid pole position for race two where he would be joined on the front row by Coronel. Yukinori Taniguchi was 12th at the end of the session and was the quickest local driver. All the drivers taking part in the second session set their best times in their early runs. At the end of Q2 Menu was ahead of Muller and Dahlgren. Nykjær was the best placed independent driver in seventh.Abbott Andrew Menu takes Suzuka pole http://www.thecheckeredflag.co.uk/category/touring-cars/wtcc/page/9/ Touring-Cars.net Andrew Abbott 13 March 2013 22 October 2011 Fabiani had again failed to get within 107% of the fastest Q1 time but was not allowed to start the races after an altercation with the stewards as well as having incurred a number of other penalties already. Oriola required an engine change and would therefore take a five–place grid drop in race one while Arai failed to report to scrutineering during Q1 so his qualifying times were removed.Hudson Neil Fabiani not allowed to race as Oriola & Arai drop spots http://www.touringcartimes.com/2011/10/22/fabiani-not-allowed-to-race-as-oriola-arai-drop-spots/ TouringCarTimes Mediaempire Stockholm AB 13 March 2013 22 October 2011 Warm-Up Pole sitter Menu led the warm–up session before the first race, the session came to a close early when Yoshimoto ended up in the gravel.Hudson Neil Menu on top again in sunny warm-up http://www.touringcartimes.com/2011/10/23/menu-on-top-again-in-sunny-warm-up/ TouringCarTimes Mediaempire Stockholm AB 13 March 2013 23 October 2011 Race One thumb|Menu, Muller and Huff at the start of Race One Menu started from pole position while Dahlgren behind was tagged by Nykjær which saw the Volvo driver spin and come back across the track at the first corner as the rest of the field passed. Coronel and Tarquini then came together which caught out Tiago Monteiro, Javier Villa, Barth and Yoshimoto; Tarquini and Villa were able to continue. The safety car was brought out while the stranded cars were removed, when the race resumed on lap seven it was Muller leading from Menu and Huff. The following lap Menu was able to make a successful pass for the lead, two laps later Muller then made a mistake and dropped behind Huff and Nykjær. Aleksei Dudukalo had a narrow escape when he spun on the exit of the final corner and came close to hitting the pit wall while team–mate Tarquini had recovered to ninth place after his first lap collision. At the end of the race, Menu led a Chevrolet 1–2 with Huff while Nykjær claimed his first outright podium result in third and the independents' victory with it. Muller was fourth while Taniguchi claimed his best result in the championship by finishing seventh behind Turkington. Bennani in eighth resisted a late charge from Tarquini.ROUNDS 19 & 20 – SUZUKA, JAPAN RACE REPORT http://www.fiawtcc.com/uploads/files/eventdetail/79/suzuka_race_report.pdf World Touring Car Championship Kigema Sport Organisation 13 March 2013 23 October 2011 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20131004230329/http://www.fiawtcc.com/uploads/files/eventdetail/79/suzuka_race_report.pdf 4 October 2013 Race Two thumb|Race Two winner Tom Coronel on the podium Rain had started to fall before the start of the race. O'Young started on pole position but he was passed straight away by Coronel as O'Young was tapped by Tarquini and spun. Dahlgren had got through to fourth at the expense of Menu while Muller and Huff were closing in on Coronel. Tarquini was served with a drive–through penalty on lap five for the collision with O'Young, he went into the pits for his penalty before retiring on lap twelve. Having previously attempted a pass on Huff for third, Dahlgren was re–passed by Menu as his Volvo C30 Drive was plagued by a misfiring engine. Coronel beat Muller to the line by inches, Huff was third and Menu was fourth. Dahlgren ended up fifth while Nykjær in sixth was the Yokohama Trophy victor once again. Results Qualifying Pos. Position No. Car number Name Team Car C Class Q1 Q2 1 8 CHE Alain Menu Chevrolet RML Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 53.748 53.443 2 1 FRA Yvan Muller Chevrolet RML Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 53.893 53.492 3 30 SWE Robert Dahlgren Polestar Racing Volvo C30 Drive 53.760 53.512 4 2 GBR Robert Huff Chevrolet RML Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 53.937 53.520 5 15 NLD Tom Coronel ROAL Motorsport BMW 320 TC 53.943 53.601 6 18 PRT Tiago Monteiro SUNRED Engineering SUNRED SR León 1.6T 53.871 53.798 7 17 DNK Michel Nykjær SUNRED Engineering SUNRED SR León 1.6TY 53.725 53.811 8 3 ITA Gabriele Tarquini Lukoil-SUNRED SUNRED SR León 1.6T 53.734 53.824 9 9 HKG Darryl O'Young bamboo-engineering Chevrolet Cruze 1.6TY 53.956 53.902 10 29 GBR Colin Turkington Wiechers-Sport BMW 320 TCY 53.672 54.339 11 20 ESP Javier Villa Proteam Racing BMW 320 TCY 54.006 12 10 JPN Yukinori Taniguchi bamboo-engineering Chevrolet Cruze 1.6TY 54.070 13 5 HUN Norbert Michelisz Zengő-Dension Team BMW 320 TCY 54.073 14 11 DNK Kristian Poulsen Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320 TCY 54.126 15 4 RUS Aleksei Dudukalo Lukoil-SUNRED SUNRED SR León 1.6TY 54.127 16 12 DEU Franz Engstler Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320 TCY 54.219 17 7 CHE Fredy Barth SEAT Swiss Racing by SUNRED SUNRED SR León 1.6TY 54.411 18 88 JPN Hiroki Yoshimoto SEAT Swiss Racing by SUNRED SUNRED SR León 1.6TY 54.466 19 74 ESP Pepe Oriola SUNRED Engineering SUNRED SR León 1.6TY 54.730 20 25 MAR Mehdi Bennani Proteam Racing BMW 320 TCY 55.002 21 51 HKG Charles Ng Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320siY 55.356 22 68 JPN Masaki Kano DeTeam KK Motorsport BMW 320 TCY 55.551 EX1 1 31 JPN Toshi Arai Chevrolet RML Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T Excluded107% time: 57.429 – 21 ITA Fabio Fabiani Proteam Racing BMW 320siY 58.023 Bold denotes Pole position for second race. 1 1 — Arai failed to report to the weighbridge during qualifying and so his times from the session were deleted. Race 1 Pos. Position No. Car number Name Team Car C Class Laps Time/Retired Grid Points 1 8 CHE Alain Menu Chevrolet RML Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 25 25:50.919 1 25 2 2 GBR Robert Huff Chevrolet RML Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 25 +3.133 4 18 3 17 DNK Michel Nykjær SUNRED Engineering SUNRED SR León 1.6TY 25 +3.766 7 15 4 1 FRA Yvan Muller Chevrolet RML Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 25 +4.441 2 12 5 11 DNK Kristian Poulsen Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320 TCY 25 +4.851 14 10 6 29 GBR Colin Turkington Wiechers-Sport BMW 320 TCY 25 +8.601 10 8 7 10 JPN Yukinori Taniguchi bamboo-engineering Chevrolet Cruze 1.6TY 25 +13.472 12 6 8 25 MAR Mehdi Bennani Proteam Racing BMW 320 TCY 25 +13.730 19 4 9 3 ITA Gabriele Tarquini Lukoil-SUNRED SUNRED SR León 1.6T 25 +14.045 8 2 10 12 DEU Franz Engstler Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320 TCY 25 +15.950 16 1 11 9 HKG Darryl O'Young bamboo-engineering Chevrolet Cruze 1.6TY 25 +20.833 9 12 68 JPN Masaki Kano DeTeam KK Motorsport BMW 320 TCY 25 +25.889 20 13 31 JPN Toshi Arai Chevrolet RML Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 25 +26.767 21 14 51 HKG Charles Ng Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320siY 25 +39.298 23 15 5 HUN Norbert Michelisz Zengő-Dension Team BMW 320 TCY 25 +44.478 13 16 20 ESP Javier Villa Proteam Racing BMW 320 TCY 25 +50.554 11 17 4 RUS Aleksei Dudukalo Lukoil-SUNRED SUNRED SR León 1.6TY 25 +1:16.031 15 18 74 ESP Pepe Oriola SUNRED Engineering SUNRED SR León 1.6TY 20 +5 Laps 22 Ret 88 JPN Hiroki Yoshimoto SEAT Swiss Racing by SUNRED SUNRED SR León 1.6TY 11 Race incident 18 NC 15 NLD Tom Coronel ROAL Motorsport BMW 320 TC 5 +20 Laps 5 Ret 7 CHE Fredy Barth SEAT Swiss Racing by SUNRED SUNRED SR León 1.6TY 2 Race incident 17 Ret 30 SWE Robert Dahlgren Polestar Racing Volvo C30 Drive 0 Race incident 3 Ret 18 PRT Tiago Monteiro SUNRED Engineering SUNRED SR León 1.6T 0 Race incident 6 Bold denotes Fastest lap. Race 2 Pos. Position No. Car number Name Team Car C Class Laps Time/Retired Grid Points 1 15 NLD Tom Coronel ROAL Motorsport BMW 320 TC 23 21:10.854 2 25 2 1 FRA Yvan Muller Chevrolet RML Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 23 +0.558 4 18 3 2 GBR Robert Huff Chevrolet RML Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 23 +0.840 3 15 4 8 CHE Alain Menu Chevrolet RML Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 23 +1.576 6 12 5 30 SWE Robert Dahlgren Polestar Racing Volvo C30 Drive 23 +2.057 5 10 6 17 DNK Michel Nykjær SUNRED Engineering SUNRED SR León 1.6TY 23 +7.397 8 8 7 29 GBR Colin Turkington Wiechers-Sport BMW 320 TCY 23 +7.730 9 6 8 20 ESP Javier Villa Proteam Racing BMW 320 TCY 23 +8.292 10 4 9 5 HUN Norbert Michelisz Zengő-Dension Team BMW 320 TCY 23 +8.606 12 2 10 11 DNK Kristian Poulsen Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320 TCY 23 +8.901 13 1 11 12 DEU Franz Engstler Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320 TCY 23 +9.477 15 12 4 RUS Aleksei Dudukalo Lukoil-SUNRED SUNRED SR León 1.6TY 23 +15.744 14 13 74 ESP Pepe Oriola SUNRED Engineering SUNRED SR León 1.6TY 23 +22.668 17 14 10 JPN Yukinori Taniguchi bamboo-engineering Chevrolet Cruze 1.6TY 23 +23.263 11 15 31 JPN Toshi Arai Chevrolet RML Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 23 +23.541 21 16 68 JPN Masaki Kano DeTeam KK Motorsport BMW 320 TCY 23 +25.577 20 17 88 JPN Hiroki Yoshimoto SEAT Swiss Racing by SUNRED SUNRED SR León 1.6TY 23 +26.926 16 18 25 MAR Mehdi Bennani Proteam Racing BMW 320 TCY 23 +33.610 18 19 51 HKG Charles Ng Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320siY 23 +34.092 19 Ret 3 ITA Gabriele Tarquini Lukoil-SUNRED SUNRED SR León 1.6T 11 Withdrew 7 Ret 9 HKG Darryl O'Young bamboo-engineering Chevrolet Cruze 1.6TY 1 Race incident 1 DNS 18 PRT Tiago Monteiro SUNRED Engineering SUNRED SR León 1.6T 0 Did not start 22 DNS 7 CHE Fredy Barth SEAT Swiss Racing by SUNRED SUNRED SR León 1.6TY 0 Did not start 23 Bold denotes Fastest lap. Standings after the event Drivers' Championship standings PosDriver Points 10px 1 FRA Yvan Muller363 10px 2 GBR Robert Huff350 10px 3 CHE Alain Menu290 10px 4 NLD Tom Coronel183 10px 5 ITA Gabriele Tarquini159 Yokohama Independents' Trophy standings Pos Driver Points 10px 1 DNK Kristian Poulsen 111 10px 2 HUN Norbert Michelisz 100 10px 3 3 DNK Michel Nykjær 96 10px 1 4 DEU Franz Engstler 88 10px 1 5 ESP Javier Villa 87 Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 10px 1 USA Chevrolet 810 10px 2 DEU BMW Customer Racing Teams 485 10px 3 ESP SR Customer Racing 435 10px 4 SWE Volvo Polestar Evaluation Team 138 Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of drivers' standings. References External links World Touring Car Championship official website FIA WTCC Race of Japan 2011 2011 FIA WTCC Race of Spain 2011 FIA WTCC Race of China 2010 FIA WTCC Race of Japan 2012 FIA WTCC Race of Japan Japan FIA WTCC Race of Japan