Muller burns his jokers

After a weekend full of twists and turns in Pau, the Seat Leon TDi saw their positions weakened at the top of the championship. Its leader, Yvan Muller, notably lost a lot in the affair.

Published on 18/05/2009 à 12:01

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Dominator of the 2009 WTCC exercise, world champion Yvan Muller saw his lead melt away during this Pau weekend. While he had collected 43 points in six races, ranking in the Top 4 each time, the Frenchman only collected two small points in Béarn. A situation which particularly benefits BMW and Augusto Farfus, who is only six points behind the Alsatian.

For Seat, the culprit has been found. However, Jaime Puig accepted before the weekend, with a lot of philosophy, the FIA regulations allowing sporting fairness between the teams. But, after such a snub, the director of Seat Sport no longer sees things the same way: “ Given the situation, we couldn't have done better! » After the weight handicap, the Seat Leon TDi saw their turbo lose pressure. Deprived of part of their power, the cars were unable to compete in qualifying with the BMWs and Chevrolets.

Thanks to the racing circumstances, Tarquini and Muller still managed to get into the points during the second round. A very small consolation for the Frenchman: “ Last year I scored points 22 times out of 24. I therefore consider that I played my two jokers in Pau. There, we have hit rock bottom, we can only bounce back and move forward. But all the same? why go back on a regulation which had proven itself, and which had the effect of not putting more than a tenth of a gap between our Seats and the BMWs over the first two meetings? »

To resolve this difference, Hugues de Chaunac (president of Oreca, operating the Leon de Muller and Monteiro) announced a meeting this week between the FIA and Seat. He also showed himself determined at the end of the weekend: “ We are torn between anger and frustration. If, at the end of the season, it turns out that the championship is lost for SEAT, it will probably be because of the points of which we were deprived in Pau, without our being held responsible. We hope that the FIA will react and take decisions to restore the balance, things cannot remain as they are. » After these technical discussions, let's hope that the track resumes its rights on May 30 in Valencia.