WTCC Zandvoort 2: Tarquini’s nudge-and-grab

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Gabriele Tarquini won the second race at Zandvoort after contact with early leader Andy Priaulx.

Reigning champion Priaulx had started from pole position ahead of Tarquini. Behind them, Roberto Colciago’s Seat Leon and Augusto Farfus in another BMW.

The teams were given the option of putting on wet tyres before the start of the race as a few drops of rain fell. But none of the front runners chose to.

Priaulx’s rear wheel drive BMW made an ideal start but he almost didn’t stop in time for the first corner. Farfus exploited his rear-drive advantage to move up to third behind Tarquini – and soon began looking for a way past the Seat.

Behind Farfus a queue of BMW had assembled with Luca Rangoni fourth and Jorg Muller fifth – from tenth on the grid.

The lead changed hands on lap two. Tarquini took a look at Priaulx and pushed the BMW wide, knocking him back to fifth ahead of Nicola Larini. But Larini’s team mate and race one winner Alain Menu pulled off after just a handful of laps with oil pressure problems.

Now Rangoni in the independent BMW made way for Muller’s factory car. Further back BMW team mates Felix Porteiro and Allessandro Zanardi were not behaving quite so couteusly – Porteiro pushing Zanardi aside at Tarzan for tenth.

Priaulx was also climbing all over the back of Rangoni hoping to be shown the same favour. But he ran wide on lap seven and lost out to Larini at the next corner. Three laps later Larini got by Rangoni at Tarzan and Priaulx capitalised a few corner later to take fifth.

That was the end of the action at the front with Tarquini taking the chequered flag from Farfus, Muller and Larini right behind each other. Priaulx finished fifth after an off-colour performance by the champion.

Two strong finishes leave Farfus in the lead of the championship with BMW team mate Muller second. Tarquini and Priaulx are tied for third.

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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