BMW back in business?

If the first four rounds of the season had seen the Seat and the Chevrolet share the victories, this weekend in Valencia, BMW burst onto the top step of the podium. Three times second in 2009, Augusto Farfus won in race 2 on Sunday to claim the 10th victory of his WTCC career.

« This victory is very important for us. After a good start, I managed to overtake Jörg [Muller] quite early in the second race, and after that it went perfectly for me », declared Farfus at the end of the weekend. With now 54 points on the clock, the BMW Germany driver is hot on the heels of Yvan Muller, the overall leader, and does not intend to stop there. “ In this championship, it?s important to keep the car on the track and attack. We will continue to work and we will not give up. It?s a dream to be three points behind the leader », enthused Farfus. The Brazilian who finished 3rd in the championship in 2006, his best result, at the wheel of a Alfa Romeo will be keen to show its full potential between now and the end of the season.

In the manufacturers' ranking, the BMW team has also relaunched itself. With 120 points, it remains in ambush behind Seat, which nevertheless precedes it by 16 points. As we reach the halfway point of the season in Brno, the fight promises to be very close on a circuit which was rather successful for the German sedans last season. Indeed, by placing four cars in the top 5 during race 1 and three cars in the top 4 during the second round, BMW left with 32 championship points against 23 for its main opponent. For the upcoming event, however, it is advisable to wait to know the weights carried by each brand before daring to make any possible predictions.