Qualification – Yvan Muller starts the season with a bang!

Yvan Muller (SEAT) clinched the pole during the qualifying in Curitiba on Saturday. The session was marked by Alain Menu’s (Chevrolet) accident. Muller is ahead of his teammate Rickard Rydell and Augusto Farfus in the BMW 320si. Andy Priaulx, the reigning champion also in a BMW, only qualified in 12th position.

The Alsatian Yvan Muller set the fastest time during the qualifying session of the Curitiba meeting and will thus start as the favorite in the first race on Sunday at 5:15 PM French time.

The first to stand out, however, was Rickard Rydell. On his first flying lap, the Swede set the fastest lap after five minutes on the track (1:24.704). The SEAT TDIs then continued to dominate the session. The Spanish manufacturer’s armada maintained control thanks to Yvan Muller. The Alsatian took the lead with a strong second sector of the track, setting the benchmark very high at 1:24.295.

Very few drivers subsequently were able to match Muller’s time. However, it was Alain Menu who became the unfortunate protagonist of this half-hour session. With just over a dozen minutes left, the Swiss driver from the Chevrolet team went too wide in the last curve and violently hit a tire wall. Menu emerged unscathed, without any physical injury, and returned to his pit, looking disheartened.

The state of the Lacetti was pitiful and the qualification had to be neutralized. After a ten-minute stop, the final sprint to the pole began and it was the BMWs that, one after another, almost managed to displace Muller from the lead position. Although local hero Augusto Farfus didn’t get his chance, Jörg Müller might have regretted lacking clarity while there were still 120 seconds left to erase the new reference from the Brazilian track’s record. The German driver spun out in a sequence and had to say goodbye to the pole.

Muller, who had already decided to station himself in his garage and wait in case a driver attempted to steal the spotlight from him, ultimately remained in front and did not hide his surprise.

And this one is not wrong since Gabriele Tarquini finished fourth. The BMWs, however, disappointed. Augusto Farfus came in third, Jörg Müller sixth. Worse, Andy Priaulx only ranked twelfth behind the unfortunate Menu and just ahead of his teammates Félix Porteiro and Alessandro Zanardi. The supremacy of the Bavarian brand is well on its way to being challenged in the first Sunday race.

Yvan Muller (SEAT Sport, pole position): « It’s a good start to the season, but qualifying is one thing and the race is another. We can be very competitive over one lap, but the race will be more difficult because of the tires. Last year, we were completely out of it when BMW did 1-2-3 in both races. I hope we will do better this time. The sky tells us that it should be nice and warm on Sunday, but rain would suit us. »

Rickard Rydell (SEAT Sport, 2nd): « I’m very happy to be back with SEAT. I love this championship and after trying other competitions, I feel this is the best here. Being on the front row with Yvan looks like a very good start. But, as Yvan said, it will be different over several laps. The turbo diesel makes things more difficult in the race and we have to deal with the issues at the front. »

Andy Priaulx (BMW Team UK, 12th): « In Macau, I started from twelfth place and ended up as world champion. My position will not deter me from fighting for points at this start of the season. On my last flying lap, I made a mistake in turn 7 which cost me a better position. We haven’t found the solution for better grip yet. We will work hard to make it happen. »

Brazil – Qualification – TOP 10

According to the WTCC