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Farfus wins at Porto as WTCC runs its 100th race
BMW Team Germany’s Augusto Farfus won the second sprint at the World Touring Car Champion race on the Porto street circuit in Portugal. It was the 100th race run in the series since it was revived in 2005.
Farfus started his 320si from the pole, a position that was a gift from his fellow BMW racers, and had to hold on to the lead through two restarts, one from behind the safety car and the other from a red flag that brought the race to a halt.
 Augusto Farfus scored a WTCC win on the Porto street circuit.
The first sprint had been red flagged as well. On the first lap, BMW Team Italy-Spain’s Sergio Hernandez, coming off a win in Brno, was forced into a concrete wall as he was hit by the LADA of Jaap van Lagen. Hernandez was taken to the hospital, and was released later with a bruised ankle. Soon after Hernandez’s crash, Farfus tagged Alain Menu’s Chevrolet Cruze, setting off an incident that took out several cars and led to a red flag.
Pole sitter Gabriele Tarquini of SEAT went on to win the race. Farfus, who was given a stop and go penalty for the incident, fell to thirteenth. He moved up to twelfth, and then four BMW racers, including Andy Priaulx, Jörg Müller, Stefano D’Aste, and Alex Zanardi, let Farfus by so he could finish eighth and keep his hopes in the points chase alive. As WTCC rules specify that the eighth place finisher in race one is awarded the pole in race two, the gift to Farfus was immense.
Farfus took the lead from the start of race two, and held on until the safety car was deployed after two incidents in lap three. He held on to the lead from the restart until the race was red flagged on lap nine after a collision involving BMW privateer Franz Engstler and Chevrolet’s Alain Menu. Farfus kept his focus and his lead when the race was restarted, and held on for the win. Two other BMWs finished in the points; Andy Priaulx was seventh and Jörg Müller was eighth.
Farfus said, “Victory in the 100th round of the championship means a lot to me. Without the great support of my fellow BMW drivers it would have been difficult to achieve this. The pressure was huge in race two, but I kept my cool despite the many incidents. Thanks to this result, we haven’t lost too much ground in the drivers’ standings. Many thanks to my team and the other BMW drivers.”
Farfus remains third in drivers’ points behind Yvan Muller and race one winner Gabriele Tarquini, and BMW remains in second place in manufacturers’ points behind SEAT. The series resumes in two weeks at Brands Hatch in the UK.—Brian S, Morgan, motorsports editor, bmwcca.org
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