Seat (re)takes power

After two weeks of wandering, the WTCC seems to be heading in the right direction. In any case, this is what Seat Sport must be saying at the moment, after qualifying on the Valencia circuit. Already in the lead during free practice, the Leon TDi stood out again during the qualifying session. With turbo pressure now tolerated at 2,7 bars, the margin gained in two weeks seems to be sufficient to restore competitiveness to Diesel engines.

Conversely, the BMW 320si seem to pay for the handicaps put in place during the fifth round of the championship. Indeed, Jorg Muller, Alessandro Zanardi, Sergio Hernandez, Andy Priaulx and Felix Porteiro were all eliminated at the end of the first phase of the session. Relegated to almost a second behind Rydell's best time, the BMWs are far away, and the official team can hardly hope to score big points during the first race.

During the second phase of qualifying practice, the only surviving BMW 320si, that of Augusto Farfus, placed in fifth position. The Brazilian was beaten by four Leon TDi. It was Gabriele Tarquini who did the best, putting Yvan Muller two tenths behind, Jordi Gene and Tiago Monteiro four tenths behind. After four unsuccessful races during the French and Moroccan rounds of the WTCC, the Seats are now hopeful of making up for lost points.