ETCC: Spa: Race one, two quotes

Dirk MÜLLER - BMW Team Deutschland, 1st in Race 1 and 2nd in Race 2
"I'm really happy at the moment. I didn't expect to hold Jörg in the first race. But the car was brilliant, and I pushed very hard. The first race was very tough, but fair. It was actually one of the best touring car races I every had. I hope the spectators enjoyed it as well. In the next meeting we'll be fully packed, with 40 extra kilos on board, and Imola is the home track of the Alfas. Our advantage is not that big. 20 points are almost nothing! I think it will only be the final round at Dubai that will show what's going on."

Jörg MÜLLER - BMW Team Deutschland, 2nd in Race 1 and 1st in Race 2
"Dirk was very strong in the first race. I was getting a little scared because he was becoming larger and larger in the rear-view mirror. Then when he made his move, I gave him a little room. Last year I'd made a mistake and we crashed, and I wanted to avoid that. So he went by, and then there was no way for me of getting past him in a fair way. But we finished first and second, which is a great result for the team. The second race was very unfair! The Alfas were struggling and I was fighting with Tarquini when I got into that incident with Farfus, which really shouldn't have happened!"

Jordi GENÉ - SEAT Sport, 3rd in Race 1 and 13th in Race 2
"Before I came here to Spa, I never thought I'd be fighting for the podium! The car was great, and the first race was fantastic, both for the spectators and for us. At one moment, I managed to be side by side with one of the Müllers, but it was not my fight and I didn't want to risk too much. Our goal this year is to achieve podiums. I know we're not involved in the fight for the Championship, but there must be some good results."

Antonio GARCÍA - BMW Team Italy-Spain, 6th in Race 1 and 3rd in Race 2
"The second race wasn't really fair. I didn't expect that move from Farfus. Our car was really good, and I knew I had the opportunity to do well - but then suddenly all my opportunities were gone. I couldn't overtake the way I wanted to, because they were fighting for the Championship up there in front, so I wasn't in the position to win the race even though I was faster than them. I had a tough fight with Dirk and finished on a reasonable third."

Gabriele TARQUINI - AutoDelta Squadra Corse, 5th in Race 1 and 4th in Race 2
"We have improved a bit, reducing our tyre consuption, but the BMWs were far away ahead; in speed and acceleration they are much better than us now. In this conditions it is very difficult to defend the positions. They have a brand new engine, which resulted in a giant leap forward. Now it's the moment for the FIA to take some actions, as it was the case two years ago. A few corrections to the regulations should be appropriate for balancing the performances."

Andy PRIAULX - BMW Team Great Britain, 4th in Race 1 and 5th in Race 2
"I would have loved to repeat my success from last year and have a win in Spa, but I claimed a fourth and a fifth with 40 kilos of ballast. Race 1 was tough as I had Dirk Müller and Jörg Müller in front of me. I was trying to get by Jörg but he didn't see me and put me on the grass. In race two, on the first lap I locked up my brakes and flat spotted the tyres. I am still in with a shout of the championship. I am only five points behind Dirk."

Tom CORONEL - Carly Motors, 14th in Race 1 and 6th in Race 2
"It sems like I have to start at at back of the grid if I want to have a good race; it was like this in Donington, and again today! I was surprised how well the second race worked out. I was behind six people and got quite a bit of slipstream from everyone. I was holding back a bit and didn't want to to be involved in the fighting going on there because I was obviously going for the privateer's trophy and didn't want to risk that!"

Kurt MOLLEKENS - BMW Team Belgium-Luxembourg, 18th in Race 1 and 7th in Race 2
"I was pretty happy with my pace. But I got blamed for the incident at the first start, which I'm convinced I'm not responsible of. On the grid everybody was in a different place, and nothing was right. I was too close to Rydell, and I was even further back than where my spot was, but he was not where he was supposed to be. I got between an Alfa and a SEAT, they hit me and I got blamed for it. I'm annoyed and disappointed, because I'm sure it was not my fault."

Salvatore TAVANO - Oregon Team, 10th in Race 1 and 12th in Race 2
"I enjoyed the first race a lot, even though it was very hard. Unfortunately, we had a problem with our front tyres in the second race after just a few laps, and the balance of the car was completely off."

Carl ROSENBLAD - Crawford Racing, 12th in Race 1 and 9th in Race 2
"A really good weekend. We made good progress. Now we are further up in the grid, and that makes a big difference. On the very last lap, I got by Molekens, and almost would have finished in the points, but I couldn't fight back when they were pushing it. However, I'm quite happy with ninth, even though I would have liked to get a point."

Alessandro BALZAN - JAS Motorsport, 11th in Race 1 and 10th in Race 2
"It was the best weekend so far for me this year. We worked very well, as it is proved by the 8th fastest time in the warm-up. I could have won the Independents' Race 1, but I got some traffic problems. In the second race Coronel was in a class of his own. The Accord is getting better and better, race after race."

Thomas WINKELHOCK - Schubert Motorsport, 15th in Race 1 and 15th in Race 2 (1st in DPM)
"Things were going really well for us. We had a very good set-up, and the team did a fantastic job. No problems whatsoever. I was in an advantage because I had 30 kilos less on board than the others, which is about four tenths in each lap."

Cladia HÜRTGEN - Schubert Motorsport, 16th in Race 1 and 19th in Race 2 (2nd in DPM)
"Thomas has been doing really well all weekend. Of course, his car was 30 kilos lighter than mine. I had two really bad starts and was fighting to keep off the other cars behind me before I could go and catch up with Thomas. They were hard races, and It was great to race here with the FIA ETCC, as it is like a 'next step' for us."

Michael FUNKE - Hotfiel Sport, 19th in Race 1 and 20th in Race 2 (3rd in DPM)
"I'm very very happy. I knew the race wouldn't be easy, because Spa is a BMW course. Considering that, I'm happy with third place. At least this is a consolation for the team, which had a difficult weekend, after Thomas Klenke 's car was destroyed in yesterday's practice."

-fia-