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2012 FIA WTCC Race of Brazil

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Brazil 2012 FIA WTCC Race of Brazil
Race details
Date22 July, 2012
LocationPinhais, Brazil
CourseAutódromo Internacional de Curitiba
3.695 kilometres (2.296 mi)
Race One
Laps 15
Pole position
Driver France Yvan Muller Chevrolet
Time 1:22.289
Podium
First France Yvan Muller Chevrolet
Second Switzerland Alain Menu Chevrolet
Third United Kingdom Robert Huff Chevrolet
Fastest Lap
Driver France Yvan Muller Chevrolet
Time 1:23.920
Race Two
Laps 16
Podium
First United Kingdom Robert Huff Chevrolet
Second Switzerland Alain Menu Chevrolet
Third Italy Gabriele Tarquini Lukoil Racing Team
Fastest Lap
Driver United Kingdom Robert Huff Chevrolet
Time 1:24.244

The 2012 FIA WTCC Race of Brazil was the eighth round of the 2012 World Touring Car Championship season and the seventh running of the FIA WTCC Race of Brazil. It was held on 22 July 2012 at the Autódromo Internacional de Curitiba in Pinhais, Brazil. Both races were won by Chevrolet with Yvan Muller winning race one and Robert Huff winning race two.

Background

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In the break prior to the event, Chevrolet announced they were pulling out of the World Touring Car Championship at the end of the season.[1] This would leave Muller, Huff and Alain Menu without drives for the 2013 season. It was Yvan Muller who was leading the championship coming into Brazil on 245 points ahead of Huff and Menu. Pepe Oriola was leading the Yokohama Independents' Trophy.

In the weeks prior to Brazil, Honda also announced their 2013 driver lineup. Gabriele Tarquini and Tiago Monteiro would join the works team for the following season, with Monteiro also driving for them in the final three events of the 2012 season.[2]

Pasquale di Sabatino, recovering from bronchitis and pneumonia was ruled out of competing by doctors. Michel Nykjær substituted for the Italian driver at bamboo-engineering for the weekend.[3]

Report

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Free Practice

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Muller led a Chevrolet 1–2–3 in free practice one with Tarquini in fourth ahead of the bamboo-engineering Chevrolet duo of Michel Nykjær and Alex MacDowall.[4]

Muller topped the times once again in the second free practice session ahead of both his Chevrolet teammates. Behind them it was the future Honda duo of Tarquini and Monteiro in front of the bamboo-engineering drivers.[5]

Qualifying

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After leading both free practice sessions, Muller took his third pole position of the season with Menu second and Huff third. Nykjær lined up fourth on his return to the WTCC with Tarquini the leading non-Chevrolet driver in fifth. Norbert Michelisz finished 10th in Q2 to take the reversed grid pole position for race two.[6]

Warm-Up

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Muller led a Chevrolet 1–2–3–4 in Sunday morning's warm-up session with Tarquini the fastest non-Chevrolet car.[7]

Race One

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The three Chevrolet cars led from the start and had an easy race with the exception of third placed Huff who had to defend from the SEAT of Tarquini. A coming together on the second lap forced both Monteiro and Alberto Cerqui into retirement. Tarquini finished fourth behind the works Chevrolet cars, led by Muller and ahead of the bamboo-engineering pair of Nykjær and MacDowall. Nykjær celebrated his return to the WTCC as the winning independent driver. Michelisz finished ahead of Oriola in the independents' race which would see him close in the Yokohama Trophy title lead. A last lap coming together between Stefano D'Aste and Franz Engstler for fifteenth landed D'Aste with a 30-second penalty after the race, dropping him to seventeenth.[8]

Race Two

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Michelisz started on pole position for the second race and he held the lead until half distance when he got passed by Tarquini, Huff, Menu and Muller on the same lap. Huff and Menu were then able to overtake the Italian driver and use him as a buffer between themselves and championship leader Muller. A coming together between ROAL Motorsport's Cerqui and Lukoil Racing Team's Aleksei Dudukalo forced the BMW to crash into the pit wall and retirement. At the flag Huff and Menu formed a Chevrolet 1–2 with Tarquini third and Muller missing out on a podium in fourth. Michelisz finished fifth as the winning independent as Oriola watched on from the pits having retired from the race, his Yokohama Trophy lead lost to the Zengő Motorsport driver.[8]

Results

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Qualifying

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Pos. No. Name Team Car C Q1 Q2 Points
1 1 France Yvan Muller Chevrolet Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 1:22.824 1:22.289 5
2 8 Switzerland Alain Menu Chevrolet Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 1:22.877 1:22.444 4
3 2 United Kingdom Robert Huff Chevrolet Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 1:23.473 1:22.592 3
4 17 Denmark Michel Nykjær bamboo-engineering Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T Y 1:23.567 1:22.765 2
5 3 Italy Gabriele Tarquini Lukoil Racing SEAT León WTCC 1:23.764 1:22.947 1
6 11 United Kingdom Alex MacDowall bamboo-engineering Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T Y 1:22.726 1:23.086
7 20 China Darryl O'Young Special Tuning Racing SEAT León WTCC Y 1:23.994 1:23.366
8 18 Portugal Tiago Monteiro Tuenti Racing SR León 1.6T 1:24.212 1:23.500
9 15 Netherlands Tom Coronel ROAL Motorsport BMW 320 TC 1:23.736 1:23.516
10 5 Hungary Norbert Michelisz Zengő Motorsport BMW 320 TC Y 1:23.984 1:23.622
11 4 Russia Aleksei Dudukalo Lukoil Racing SEAT León WTCC Y 1:24.065 1:23.630
12 25 Morocco Mehdi Bennani Proteam Racing BMW 320 TC Y 1:24.271 1:23.927
13 16 Italy Alberto Cerqui ROAL Motorsport BMW 320 TC Y 1:24.293
14 74 Spain Pepe Oriola Tuenti Racing SEAT León WTCC Y 1:24.360
15 7 Hong Kong Charles Ng Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320 TC Y 1:24.528
16 22 United Kingdom Tom Boardman Special Tuning Racing SEAT León WTCC Y 1:24.601
17 6 Germany Franz Engstler Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320 TC Y 1:24.652
18 88 Spain Fernando Monje Tuenti Racing SEAT León WTCC Y 1:24.700
19 14 United Kingdom James Nash Team Aon Ford Focus S2000 TC 1:24.902
20 23 United Kingdom Tom Chilton Team Aon Ford Focus S2000 TC 1:24.986
21 26 Italy Stefano D'Aste Wiechers-Sport BMW 320 TC Y 1:25.121
  • Bold denotes Pole position for second race.

Race 1

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Pos. No. Name Team Car C Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 1 France Yvan Muller Chevrolet Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 15 22:05.549 1 25
2 8 Switzerland Alain Menu Chevrolet Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 15 +0.398 2 18
3 2 United Kingdom Robert Huff Chevrolet Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 15 +0.933 3 15
4 3 Italy Gabriele Tarquini Lukoil Racing SEAT León WTCC 15 +2.767 5 12
5 17 Denmark Michel Nykjær bamboo-engineering Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T Y 15 +5.656 4 10
6 11 United Kingdom Alex MacDowall bamboo-engineering Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T Y 15 +6.639 6 8
7 20 China Darryl O'Young Special Tuning Racing SEAT León WTCC Y 15 +13.850 7 6
8 15 Netherlands Tom Coronel ROAL Motorsport BMW 320 TC 15 +15.552 9 4
9 5 Hungary Norbert Michelisz Zengő Motorsport BMW 320 TC Y 15 +15.721 10 2
10 88 Spain Fernando Monje Tuenti Racing SEAT León WTCC Y 15 +19.896 18 1
11 4 Russia Aleksei Dudukalo Lukoil Racing SEAT León WTCC Y 15 +20.552 11
12 25 Morocco Mehdi Bennani Proteam Racing BMW 320 TC Y 15 +29.405 12
13 7 Hong Kong Charles Ng Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320 TC Y 15 +31.621 15
14 14 United Kingdom James Nash Team Aon Ford Focus S2000 TC 15 +35.093 19
15 6 Germany Franz Engstler Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320 TC Y 15 +38.976 17
16 74 Spain Pepe Oriola Tuenti Racing SEAT León WTCC Y 15 +46.613 14
17 26 Italy Stefano D'Aste Wiechers-Sport BMW 320 TC Y 15 +1:01.675 21
18 23 United Kingdom Tom Chilton Team Aon Ford Focus S2000 TC 15 +1:05.411 20
19 22 United Kingdom Tom Boardman Special Tuning Racing SEAT León WTCC Y 13 +2 Laps 16
NC 16 Italy Alberto Cerqui ROAL Motorsport BMW 320 TC Y 9 +6 Laps 13
Ret 18 Portugal Tiago Monteiro Tuenti Racing SR León 1.6T 1 Collision 8
  • Bold denotes Fastest lap.

Race 2

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Pos. No. Name Team Car C Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 2 United Kingdom Robert Huff Chevrolet Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 16 23:49.750 8 25
2 8 Switzerland Alain Menu Chevrolet Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 16 +1.099 9 18
3 3 Italy Gabriele Tarquini Lukoil Racing SEAT León WTCC 16 +1.496 6 15
4 1 France Yvan Muller Chevrolet Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 16 +1.758 10 12
5 5 Hungary Norbert Michelisz Zengő Motorsport BMW 320 TC Y 16 +4.958 1 10
6 17 Denmark Michel Nykjær bamboo-engineering Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T Y 16 +12.849 7 8
7 15 Netherlands Tom Coronel ROAL Motorsport BMW 320 TC 16 +14.072 2 6
8 25 Morocco Mehdi Bennani Proteam Racing BMW 320 TC Y 16 +14.477 12 4
9 18 Portugal Tiago Monteiro Tuenti Racing SR León 1.6T 16 +15.506 3 2
10 4 Russia Aleksei Dudukalo Lukoil Racing SEAT León WTCC Y 16 +16.263 11 1
11 11 United Kingdom Alex MacDowall bamboo-engineering Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T Y 16 +16.552 5
12 22 United Kingdom Tom Boardman Special Tuning Racing SEAT León WTCC Y 16 +19.243 16
13 26 Italy Stefano D'Aste Wiechers-Sport BMW 320 TC Y 16 +19.785 21
14 88 Spain Fernando Monje Tuenti Racing SEAT León WTCC Y 16 +26.411 18
15 14 United Kingdom James Nash Team Aon Ford Focus S2000 TC 16 +30.662 19
16 23 United Kingdom Tom Chilton Team Aon Ford Focus S2000 TC 15 +1 Lap 20
17 74 Spain Pepe Oriola Tuenti Racing SEAT León WTCC Y 13 +3 Laps 14
Ret 16 Italy Alberto Cerqui ROAL Motorsport BMW 320 TC Y 8 Collision 13
Ret 20 China Darryl O'Young Special Tuning Racing SEAT León WTCC Y 4 Gearbox 4
Ret 7 Hong Kong Charles Ng Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320 TC Y 2 Collision 15
Ret 6 Germany Franz Engstler Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320 TC Y 1 Mechanical 17
  • Bold denotes Fastest lap.

Standings after the round

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  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of drivers' standings.

References

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  1. ^ Abbott, Andrew (4 July 2012). "Chevrolet announce end of WTCC programme". Touring-Cars.net. Andrew Abbott. Archived from the original on 26 July 2020. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  2. ^ Elizalde, Pablo (18 July 2012). "Honda confirms Tarquini and Monteiro for its first season in the WTCC". Autosport. Haymarket Publishing. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  3. ^ Hudson, Neil (19 July 2012). "Michel Nykjaer to replace Di Sabatino in Brazil". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Archived from the original on 4 February 2013. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  4. ^ Hudson, Neil (21 July 2012). "Yvan Muller fastest in Free Practice 1 in Curitiba". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Archived from the original on 4 February 2013. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
  5. ^ Abbott, Andrew (21 July 2012). "Muller quickest again in Brazil". Touring-Cars.net. Andrew Abbott. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
  6. ^ Mills, Peter (21 July 2012). "Yvan Muller beats Alain Menu to Curitiba World Touring Car Championship pole in all-Chevrolet battle". Autosport. Haymarket Publishing. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
  7. ^ Hudson, Neil (22 July 2012). "Yvan Muller leads Rob Huff in Curitiba warm-up". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Archived from the original on 4 February 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  8. ^ a b "ROUNDS 15 & 16 – CURITIBA RACE REPORT" (PDF). World Touring Car Championship. Kigema Sport Organisation. 22 July 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2012.[permanent dead link]
[edit]
World Touring Car Championship
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2012 FIA WTCC Race of Portugal
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Previous race:
2011 FIA WTCC Race of Brazil
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