If
Silverstone was a meeting to remember for Alfa Romeo then it was certainly one to forget for
BMW who could only manage a best of fifth in the first of the two races. Already saddled with the maximum weight penalty courtesy of their early season dominance, BMW were up against it at Silverstone and the strain showed with Dirk Müller crashing in qualifying and then being wrapped on the knuckles for receiving outside assistance from the stewards. Although, the German retains a slender Championship lead, five points will be deducted should he be in breach of the rules in future races. Despite a hard fought drive through the field from the back of the grid in race one, sixth was the best Müller could manage in the second race, while team mate Jorg Müller struggled even further with just a seventh place to show for on a weekend where Schnitzer’s rear-wheel drive performance advantage became their handicap.
Nonetheless, BMW can take heart from the sister RBM 320i of Andy Priaulx who defied the odds to very nearly score a surprise victory in front of his home fans. A puncture three laps from home brought a disappointing end to a brave race but with Alfa Romeo and SEAT carrying more weight at Imola, the field will be more level this time - something BMW can ill afford not to take advantage of.
Eager not to let Alfa Romeo and BMW establish themselves as the force of World Touring Car racing, as they did in the superseded European Touring Car Championship, SEAT has made its bid for glory thanks to a superb points haul at Silverstone and with the same strong drive line-up the team are looking to close the gap on their rivals. Benefiting from the arrival of
Jason Plato, it was Rickard Rydell who stole the limelight by winning the second Silverstone race, ahead of his former BTCC adversary. Together with a sixth, seventh and eighth in the race one, as well as an additional fifth for Jordi Gené in race two, SEAT made great advances at Silverstone and Rydell’s hopes are just as high to keep up with BMW and Alfa Romeo at Imola.
