Indeed, Ford, who had started the year with Klenke and Thomas Jäger initially, failed to score any drivers points, with their best result coming courtesy of Patrick Bernhardt in Macau when he managed ninth place amid all of the second race carnage. Nonetheless, Ford have committed to another year in the WTCC and with the team possibly swapping to a Focus Saloon, there is hope that they will be able to challenge for points more consistently this time around.
Away from the main drivers’ and manufacturers’ battle, the Michelin Independents Trophy also witnessed an exciting year, eventually ending with Marc Hennerici grabbing the title at his first attempt for the
BMW Wiechers-Sport team. The German driver was the model of consistency throughout the majority of the year, but it was his tally of 54 points from the first six races that helped him to control the championship from the opening meeting.
His nearest challenger was arguably Tom Coronel, the 2004 Independents champion. Having switched to a GR Asia run SEAT Toledo, Coronel endured a slow start to the year before reeling off four wins in six races mid-season, including a third place overall in Spa. However, the Dutchman went on to finish just one of the final six races, leaving him down in fifth place overall, even if his 14th place in the drivers’ standings overall got him ahead of Chevrolet and every other independent runner.
Instead second and third place the championship went to Proteam BMW duo Giuseppe Cirò and Stefano D’Aste, the latter Italian having made the headlines at Spa when he was initially given a shock victory, only for it to be taken away when he was accused of cutting the final chicane. Carl Rosenblad in another BMW managed fourth place, while Adriano De Micheli got his JAS run Honda Accord into the mix for sixth.
