Portimao: BMW preview

The hot WTCC summer continues for BMW Team RBM in Portugal. Munich, 28th June 2010. In the FIA World Touring Car Championship it is now a string of events coming rapidly one after another, with this weekend marking the appearance of BMW Team RBM on the "Autodromo Internacional do Algarve" in Portimão (PT). For Augusto Farfus (BR) and Andy Priaulx (GB) the event marks their second of four WTCC race weekends interspersed by fourteen-day intervals between June and August.

By taking his third victory of 2010 in Zolder, Priaulx made a perfect start to this intensive phase of the season. The triple world champion intends continuing his run of success in Portimão at the 4.654-kilometre circuit's debut on the WTCC calendar so he can consolidate his position among the front-runners in the championship. By contrast, team-mate Farfus intends making up lost ground after some difficult weekends.

The event sees the first competition appearance of the WTCC on this modern circuit. After Estoril and Porto, the venue is the third Portuguese circuit to have hosted the series. Both Priaulx and Farfus have celebrated victory in Portugal before: The former during Porto's 2007 street race, with Farfus last year emulating him.

Bart Mampaey (Team Principal): "After we managed to get the maximum possible with Andy during the past three race weekends, we now head for a relatively unknown circuit. We had wet conditions during our two tests there, so we were only able to collect a limited amount of data we could use in the dry. The venue, which lies directly on the Atlantic coast, is great. It is undulating, and should remind our drivers of the Nordschleife. We know the next few races are extremely important, for it is vital to rack up points if we are to remain in contention for the world championship. That is precisely what we are aiming for. Obviously our target is to post good results with both cars."

Augusto Farfus (Car Number 10): "In Portugal I feel totally at home. They speak my language and the sun mostly shines. Portimão is perfect for touring cars, and I am convinced we will experience two spectacular races. It is undulating and offers a lot of overtaking opportunities. Although it will not be easy for us, I aim to score as many points as possible in order to move myself up in the championship."

Andy Priaulx (Car Number 11): "In Portimão we are in virgin territory, although we have tested there twice. However, then it rained, so the data will not necessarily be helpful. For us the weekend will be a major challenge, for the circuit has a lot of uphill sections which follow slow corners. These conditions do not really suit our car. However, I still plan to collect as many points as possible. That is crucial, for they will keep me in the championship hunt and give me a good starting point for the races in Brands Hatch and Brno. A lot of race weekends in a short space of time now face us. We are approaching this task with total concentration and a lot of confidence."

-source: bmw