The new FIA World Touring Car Championship has moved onto its first non European based round, being in Mexico this weekend, and after final the final qualifying session an all- Romeo front row is assured for today's first of two scheduled races.

The brand new track was inaugurated last week, and after an opening 'acclimatisation' period and two practice sessions, final qualifying took pace yesterday. Alfa Romeo Racing Team drivers, Fabrizio Giovanardi and James Thompson, who set the third and fourth fastest times, will line up on the front row due to penalties resulting in demotions for the fastest two drivers. Gabriele Tarquini will start behind them, while Augusto Farfus in the fourth Alfa Romeo is also pushed down the grid.

FIRST TEST SESSION

Due to the surface of the new track needing to be cleaned, the opening test session took place with the cars split into three groups. Each group consisted of eight cars and had 20 minutes on the track. Alessandro Zanardi was the very first driver to complete a lap in a FIA WTCC racing car on the newly inaugurated Puebla track but it was Stefano D’Aste that clocked the quickest lap of the first group: 1:35.201.

As the track surface cleared, the second group posted the fastest times of the entire session. Thompson and Colciago were battling for the top spot on the timesheet but it was the latter who posted a lap of 1:33.836. This was the best time overall and the only lap to be completed in less than 1 minute 34 seconds. Thompson’s time which was 0.231 of a second slower than Colciago’s was second fastest overall. During the third session, light rain fell. Giovanardi was the quickest of this group in his Alfa Romeo 0.367 of a second off the best lap. SEAT’s Jordi Gené had the fourth quickest time of the day and Andy Priaulx was fifth fastest in his BMW 320i. The best of the Independent drivers was Tom Coronel with the sixth best lap of the entire field, set during the second session.

“The track was quite dirty which isn’t ideal but it is the same for everybody," said Alfa Romeo RAcing Team driver James Thompson after the opening 'acclimatisation' test, adding, "Today was all about learning the track so I don’t want to read too much into the times.”

PRACTICE 1 - THOMPSON FASTEST AMID THE RED FLAGS

The first practice session at Puebla was extremely eventful with two separate incidents resulting in red flags being waved. The first cause was half way into the session when Giuseppe Cirò spun and Jörg Müller went off the in avoidance; the German’s BMW hit a concrete barrier with force and obtained extensive damage to the front right of the car. After the BMW had been removed, the session resumed and at this point it was Colciago who had the fastest lap of 1:31.973. Immediately, James Thompson of Alfa Romeo posted a time of 1:31.302 and within a matter of seconds his team-mate Farfus jumped to second - just 0.043 of a second slower. The two remained at the top while SEAT drivers, Jordi Gené and Peter Terting claimed third and fifth positions respectively. They were divided by Gabriele Tarquini.

With five minutes remaining, De Micheli also came off and similarly to Jörg’s BMW, the Honda crashed into a concrete barrier. Once again the red flags were issued and the session did not resume. The top ten lap times were within one second of each other and contain at least one car of the five manufacturers represented at the Mexican races. Andy Priaulx was the fastest of the BMW drivers and occupied 9th spot – 0.819 of a second off the best time while Robert Huff was tenth for Chevrolet.

PRACTICE 2 - FABRIZIO GIOVANARDI FASTEST FOR ALFA ROMEO

It was again an Alfa Romeo that completed the fastest lap in the second practice session but this time it was driven by Fabrizio Giovanardi. At the opening stages, the Italian driver clocked a time of 1:31.081 and this was good enough to keep him at the top for the entire 30 minutes. Thompson occupied second position until, Colciago joined the session after 10 minutes and demoted him to third. Colciago’s time was just 0.092 slower than that of Giovanardi.
 

Peter Terting was the fastest of SEAT Sport drivers and fourth overall, while Augusto Farfus’ time of 1:31.749 made him the final member in the top five. In the Independents’ category, Tom Coronel was the quickest until, with seven minutes remaining, his Mexican team-mate Carlos Mastretta improved dramatically and posted a lap of 1:32.342. This launched him to 11th position overall and the top independent.

Dirk Müller was the 12th quickest for BMW and Alain Menu of Chevrolet posted the 13th best time, with team-mate Huff just behind. Jörg Müller’s BMW and De Micheli’s Honda did not take part in the session, as they were extensively damaged in the crashes during the previous session.

QUALIFYING - ALFA ROMEO CLAIM THE FRONT ROW IN PUEBLA

Roberto Colciago and Peter Terting claimed a virtual top row for tomorrow’s Race 1. However, despite posting the 1st and 2nd fastest times in qualifying, they will both be demoted 10 places on the grid. For Colciago this was due to the implementation of a suspended penalty obtained in Imola, and for Terting it was a result of an engine change between practice and qualifying. This meant pole position was handed to Fabrizio Giovanardi, who will share the front row with team mate James Thompson. Tarquini will start third, alongside Gené, while Rydell and Huff will share the third row. Huff’s 6th starting position is the best result so far for Chevrolet.

Augusto Farfus and Jason Plato are also dropped 10 places each due suspended penalties from Imola and therefore start 14th and 20th respectively. In the opening stages of the session Thompson and Colciago battled for the top spot until, after eight minutes, Giovanardi clocked a time of 1:30.149 which put him at the top. Tarquini and Gené made contact coming into a corner and the latter came off the track, his SEAT stranded just beyond the kerbs. This incident resulted in the first period of three, finishing under the red flag.

After resuming, Colciago topped the time sheet once again with a lap in 1:29.830. This was the best lap of the entire session. Within a matter of minutes, Thompson went wide on the banked corner and hit the wall. Once again the red flags were issued as his Alfa Romeo car was towed away. Terting shot to second position as the session continued. His time was a mere 0.029 of a second slower than Colciago’s. In the following laps, Farfus improved his times and slotted into fourth position, demoting team-mate Thompson to fifth.

With seven minutes remaining, Larini went wide and crashed into a concrete wall causing the red flags to be waved again. Not all of the cars returned to the track for the final stages of the session and none of the top positions were altered. Tom Coronel was the best of the independent drivers and 13th overall. Due to their crashes in the first free practice, Jörg Muller and Adriano De Micheli missed the qualifying session. 

“I’m really happy because I have great confidence in my car," commented Giovanardi after the qualifying session, "I drove cleanly during the practice sessions and qualifying so it looks good for me tomorrow, especially as I have nobody in front of me. I’m so sorry for Roberto (Colciago) and Peter (Terting) being penalised, and I have to admit that I was lucky today. When the team saw the layout of the track and began to think about setups we thought it could be difficult for us but all of the Alfa cars are fast so have it right.”