Race 1: Tarquini's Alfa 1-2-3
The factory Autodelta Alfa Romeo team made the most of its dominant qualifying performance at Imola by taking a clean sweep in round 15 of the ETCC. Gabriele Tarquini, reigning champion and Alfa's hope for the drivers' title, led home a dutiful Fabrizio Giovanardi and Augusto Farfus

Alfa didn't make clear whether Giovanardi, the poleman, was under team orders, but the Italian seemed to have no problem keeping up with Tarquini although never once ducked out of line to make a pass.
Farfus, the villain of Spa, acted as rear gunner for the team as he defended third place from SEAT's Jordi Gene.
The rear-wheel drive BMWs struggled in qualifying, thrashed by the Alfas (works and privateers), SEAT's and even Alessandro Balzan's JAS Sport Honda Accord. The German cars looked better in the race, but qualifying had left them with just too much work to do.
Priaulx's BMW Great Britain 320i was the first one home in fifth having spent most of the race trying to pass Salvatore Tavano's year-old Oregon Alfa. He finally managed it on lap seven at the Piratella.
BMW Deutschland drivers Jorg Muller and Dirk Muller finished seventh and eighth, and will thus start second and first for race two thanks to the reverse grid system. Dirk's performance was brilliant. Heavily success-ballasted, the German charged through the field from 19th on the grid after a gearbox failure in qualifying.
Tarquini was understandably delighted with his first victory since Valencia, back in April. "Sure 1-2-3 is the maximum we can have on the first race," he said. "The second race will be more difficult because with the reverse grid as I will start eighth and I will be in the middle of the battle. I hope to score as many points as I can and this is my target."
Gabriele Tarquini Alfa Romeo 22m08.554s
Fabrizio Giovanardi Alfa Romeo +0.574s
Augusto Farfus Alfa Romeo +6.550s
Jordi Gene SEAT +7.061s
Andy Priaulx BMW +7.395s
Salvatore Tavano Alfa Romeo ++8.430s
Jorg Muller BMW +12.232s
Dirk Muller BMW +14.668s
Antonio Garcia BMW +15.090s
Alessandro Balzan Honda +17.959s
Latest news
Daytona 24: Westbrook’s Ganassi Cadillac tops second practice
Richard Westbrook ensured Cadillac’s new V-LMDh snagged top spot in second practice for the Daytona 24 Hours, ahead of the #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Andretti Autosport Acura.
Auer suffers back injury in Daytona 24 practice shunt
Mercedes driver Lucas Auer has suffered a back injury and been taken to hospital following a violent crash in opening practice for this weekend's Daytona 24 Hours.
Daytona 24: WTR Acura tops heavily interrupted FP1
Five red flags disrupted the first practice session for this weekend's Daytona 24 Hours, while Filipe Albuquerque put the Wayne Taylor Racing Andretti Autosport Acura on top.
Pedrosa to make KTM MotoGP wildcard outing in Spanish GP
Dani Pedrosa will make his first MotoGP race start since the 2021 Styrian Grand Prix with a wildcard entry for KTM at this year’s Spanish GP in April.
Why joker laps are entering the mainstream
This season the World Touring Car Championship looks certain to bring joker laps to a circuit-racing world championship for the first time. And it need not be the daft gimmick people may think
The making of the world's best tin-top driver
He has been overshadowed at Citroen for the last three seasons, but the retirement of Yvan Muller means the world says farewell to one of touring-car racing's finest talents
Volvo's plan to conquer the WTCC
Volvo gave the World Touring Car Championship a major boost when it announced it would enter the series, but its ambitions don't stop there. JACK COZENS examines its programme, the S60 and what its arrival means for the WTCC
The WTCC's Nordschleife gamble paid off
A 17-car field on a 13-mile track - the WTCC's Nurburgring Nordschleife gamble wasn't going to be easy to pull off. STUART CODLING explains how the series made it work
Insight from a Nordschleife master
World championship racing returns to the Nordschleife this weekend. STUART CODLING got a lesson from one of the legendary track's few masters
Becoming world champion for £100k
The 2012 World Touring Car champion says he never had the money to race cars. Yet 2015 is his 11th season in the WTCC. He talks STUART CODLING through his journey from motorsport fan to paid professional - for little more than £100,000
Can the vanquished champion bounce back?
The World Touring Car Championship kicks off in Argentina this weekend, and Yvan Muller bids to reclaim his throne from Citroen team-mate Jose Maria Lopez. He talks to STUART CODLING
The top 10 WTCC drivers of 2014
Citroen had no rivals during the 2014 World Touring Car Championship, and 'rookie' Jose Maria Lopez hit the ground running to emerge as a worthy champion. PETER MILLS rates the field
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.