DTM: Two podium places and lead of the standings for Audi
By finishing as the runner-up behind winner Paul Di Resta in the Mercedes Audi driver Timo Scheider extended his lead of the standings at the DTM race at Brands Hatch. The 30-year-old whose A4 DTM is fitted with a clutch from ZF Sachs Race Engineering now has a score of 43 points and a five-point advantage over his Abt Sportsline team colleague Mattias Ekström, who finished fifth on the tradition-steeped British circuit. Audi driver Martin Tomczyk in third place again mounted the podium after winning the preceding race at the Nürburgring. Mike Rockenfeller, racing with a ZF Sachs clutch like all Audi drivers, finished the seventh DTM round of the season in seventh place as the best driver of a year-old car. Oliver Jarvis complemented the good team result of the brand with the four rings, securing the final championship point with an eighth-place finish.
Results, Brands Hatch (GB), 7th round, DTM, 04 Sep–06 Sep 2009:
1 P. Di Resta, Mercedes, 1h 10m 31.345s
2 T. Scheider, Audi, + 0.896s, ZF Sachs
3 M. Tomczyk, Audi, + 1.422s, ZF Sachs
4 G. Paffett, Mercedes, + 1.880s
5 M. Ekström, Audi, + 2.264s, ZF Sachs
6 B. Spengler, Mercedes, + 5.048s
7 M. Rockenfeller, Audi, + 6.646s, ZF Sachs
8 O. Jarvis, Audi, + 7.197s, ZF Sachs
Drivers’ standings:
1 T. Scheider, 43 points; 2 M. Ekström, 38; 3 G. Paffett, 34; 4 P. Di Resta and B. Spengler, 29 each; 6 M. Tomczyk, 27; 7 J. Green, 18; 8 O. Jarvis, 15; 9 T. Kristensen, 13; 10 M. Winkelhock, 10.
World Rally Championship: Hirvonen defends WRC lead
Mikko Hirvonen continues to lead the drivers’ standings of the World Rally Championship. The Finn, whose Ford Focus RS WRC is equipped with a clutch from ZF Sachs Race Engineering, finished the Australia Rally as the overall runner-up but was later declared the winner because Sébastien Loeb in the Citroën received a retroactive one-minute time penalty. Two events before the end of the season Hirvonen has a five-point lead in the World Championship.
During the thrilling chase for seconds on the gravel tracks Hirvonen’s colleague in the Ford factory team, Jari-Matti Latvala, originally finished in fifth place. But Latvala, as well, moved up one position because Sébastien Ogier – like the third-placed Citroën team-mate Daniel Sordo – received an identical penalty as Loeb. The stewards found that the anti-roll bars on all cars did not conform to the regulations.
The driver duo of the private Stobart-Ford team, Matthew Wilson and Henning Solberg, as well as Federico Villagra from the Munchi’s Ford team, also scored WRC points by finishing the tenth of twelve rounds of the season in places six to eight. All drivers of Ford Focus RS WRC vehicles trust high-performance clutches from ZF Sachs Race Engineering in the World Championship.
Results, Rally Australia (AUS), 10th round WRC, 03 Sep–06 Sep 2009:
1 M. Hirvonen/J. Lehtinen, Ford, 2h 53m 06.5s, ZF Sachs
2 S. Loeb/D. Elena, Citroën, + 47.5s
3 D. Sordo/M. Marti, Citroën, + 1m 04.6s
4 J. Latvala/M. Anttila, Ford, + 1m 52.0s, ZF Sachs
5 S. Ogier/J. Ingrassia, Citroën, + 2m 23.3s
6 M. Wilson/S. Martin, Ford, + 5m 26.3s, ZF Sachs
7 H. Solberg/C. Menkerud, Ford, + 7m 17.8s, ZF Sachs
8 F. Villagra/J. Companc, Ford, + 7m 39.4s, ZF Sachs
Drivers’ standings:
1 M. Hirvonen, 78 points; 2 S. Loeb, 73; 3 D. Sordo, 50; 4 J. Latvala, 36; 5 H. Solberg, 29; 6 P. Solberg, 25; 7 M. Wilson, 23; 8 S. Ogier, 20; 9 F. Villagra, 15; 10 C. Rautenbach, 8.
Manufacturers’ standings:
1 Citroën, 133 points; 2 Ford, 120; 3 Stobart-Ford, 69; 4 Citroën Junior Team, 37; 5 Munchi´s Ford, 21.
Other results:
Result, Oschersleben (D), round 9, World Touring Car Championship, 04 Sep–06 Sep 2009:
Race 1
1 A. Priaulx, BMW, 22m 52.547s
2 G. Tarquini, SEAT, + 3.939s, ZF Sachs
3 R. Rydell, SEAT, + 6.350s, ZF Sachs
4 T. Coronel, SEAT, + 15.398s, ZF Sachs
5 N. Larini, Chevrolet, + 22.502s
6 A. Farfus, BMW, + 22.553s
7 S. D´Aste, BMW, + 22.749s
8 F. Engstler, BMW, + 23.044s
Race 2
1 A. Farfus, BMW, 22m 58.530s
2 A. Priaulx, BMW, + 0.644s
3 G. Tarquini, SEAT, + 5.177s, ZF Sachs
4 J. Müller, BMW, + 7.976s
5 S. Hernandez, BMW, + 8.661s
6 N. Larini, Chevrolet, + 13.596s
7 Y. Muller, SEAT, + 18.835s, ZF Sachs
8 T. Coronel, SEAT, + 19.170s, ZF Sachs
Drivers’ World Championship standings:
1 G. Tarquini, 91 points; 2 A. Farfus, 89; 3 Y. Muller, 84; 4 A. Priaulx, 66; 5 R. Rydell, 61; 6 J. Müller, 58; 7 R. Huff, 54; 8 T. Monteiro, 34; 9 S. Hernandez, 33; 10 J. Gené, 32.