by Ollie Barstow
The ETCC may have evolved onto the world stage for 2005 but there was certainly a sense of 'as you were' the moment Jörg Müller crossed the finish line first at Magny-Cours for the second time a fortnight ago.
While he may have been ferrying around dead weight courtesy of his lights to flag victory at the opening race in France, Müller staked his claim for the title with a convincing win from eighth on the grid in round four. With his unrelated namesake Dirk Müller and fellow team mate Andy Priaulx currently first and third after four races, BMW’s upper hand from last season certainly appears to have continued convincingly into 2005.
The return to Britain for rounds five and six sees the WTCC circus move from
Donington Park to the higher profile Silverstone circuit this year and it is here that
BMW will be keen to build on the advantage that has seen them annex the first four championship places. British eyes will be on Andy Priaulx who’s double podium in France hauled the reigning European champion into contention. The Guernsey man’s second and third place at Magny-Cours added to his conservative start at Monza, but his consistent scoring has earned him the unenviable task of hauling 50kg of ballast around
Silverstone, even if his home advantage stemming from his days in the BTCC and the Renault Spyder cup can only help his cause.
Magny-Cours dominator Jörg Müller will also be battling with the extra bulk thanks to his French foray, but having blitzed the field with ease at the second race from eighth on the grid, the German remains a strong favourite. Even championship leader Dirk Müller will be just as heavy but the ‘nearly-man’ of touring car racing will be eager to consolidate his slender four point lead, but with the front-wheel drive cars being given a weight reduction from this weekend, the BMW dominance of the season so far could be about to come to an end...
![Dirk Muller leads Antonio Garcia [Pic credit: FIA WTCC]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/143201.jpg)
