ETCC: Imola: Driver race quotes

Gabriele TARQUINI - AutoDelta Squadra Corse, 1st in Race 1 and 1st in Race 2
"I was suprised in qualifying yesterday to see how fast the Alfas were. The car is very good in acceleration out of the corners. The race result also comes as a surprise to me. Normally, we have lots of problems with the heat, and this was probably the hottest race in history! Particularly the second race went really well. I have to thank my team and my team-mates for doing a very good job! Many people came here to see Alfa Romeo in first position and when we scored a double podium today, the dream came true. Now the Championship is open again--"

Fabrizio GIOVANARDI - AutoDelta Squadra Corse, 2nd in Race 1 and 2nd in Race 2
"The car was very fast and has been working well all weekend. I'm happy to have finished second in both races. I think we will be very competitive from now until the end of the Championship. The second race today was not so easy, but our car was fast and when the BMWs had some difficulties we took our chance."

Augusto FARFUS - AutoDelta Squadra Corse, 3rd in Race 1 and 11th in Race 2
"It was a perfect race day for me! I made a very good start in the first race. I don't really know what happened at the restart. The safety car was really slow, so the water temperature went up too high and I dropped back, then I think that I did not deserve the penalty they gave me."

Dirk MÜLLER - BMW Team Deutschland, 8th in Race 1 and 3rd in Race 2
"I'm really really happy that I'm still leading the championship, after the bad luck in the qualifying with the gearbox. I did my best today. On the other hand, I have to congratulate Alfa for the powerful engines. It helps them gain a lot speed on the straights. The competition is going to be hard in the next two races. But we will never give up. Jörg and Andy still have really good chances on the Championship as well, they are just one point behind Tarquini, so this race is not going to change our strategy."

Jordi GENÉ - SEAT Sport, 4th in Race 1 and 4th in Race 2
"I've picked up some good points this weekend and I don't think we could have been any better than fourth, so I'm very pleased with my couple of fourth places. My only problem was the brakes; in the second race I could take half a second or so off Dirk Müller each lap, but I was completely unable to out-brake him. Still, there are four races left and perhaps the Alfas will go back to normal so I will be able to catch Farfus in the points!"

Jörg MÜLLER - BMW Team Deutschland, 7th in Race 1 and DNF in Race 2
"Antonio Garcia just hit me into the drivers' side of my car, but I don't know what really happened. I just saw that he locked a wheel, and heard a big bang, and that was it. Things are not looking too bad for the championship, though, because at least I've got no weight now. There are still 40 points to give, if I collect them, it's okay for me!"

Andy PRIAULX - BMW Team Great Britain, 5th in Race 1 and DNF in Race 2
"I was involved in several incidents during the races, each of them caused by an Alfa Romeo. I'm very very disappointed. If I win this championship, I will win it fairly. I don't think they will get any credit by doing it the way they do. In some respects, this makes me more determined to fight for the Championship. But I will not just drive into the side of another car to win a race."

Salvatore TAVANO - Oregon Team, 6th in Race 1 and DNF in Race 2
"The first race was fantastic: fighting for an overall podium and winning the Independents Trophy. In the end I handed the fifth place to Priaulx, because I was not able to keep that pace any longer. The second race was a nightmare. First the collision with Priaulx; I've got the blame, but I was on the inside. Then the accident: Zanardi came backwards at a frantic speed and crashed into me, then D'Aste T-boned my car. I have pains everywhere, and I hope I've got no broken ribs."

Alessandro BALZAN - JAS Motorsport, 10th in Race 1 and 6th in Race 2
"It hasn't really been an easy weekend. I was very lucky to win the second race, because Tavano was quicker, but then he was involved in the accident with Zanardi. However, this is the reward for all our work. My car is improving race by race. I'm really happy with the result here."

-fia/etcc-