WTCC - ROUNDS 19 AND 20 - MACAU - QUALIFYING

FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) 2005
Rounds 19 & 20, Macau (China) - 18th/20th November 2005 - Qualifying

Priaulx clinches pole with lap record in Macau.

Macau (China), 18th November 2005. During qualifying for round 19 of the FIA
World Touring Car Championship, Andy Priaulx (GBR) claimed his first pole
position of the season. The BMW Team UK driver clocked a best time of 2.31.712
minutes in the very first lap on the Guia Circuit, undercutting the lap record
for the 6.2-kilometre street circuit set up last year by BMW Team Deutschland
driver Jörg Müller (GER). "It's a fantastic result," said Priaulx. "From the
start my car handled really well. In qualifying the balance was good too. It
paid off to go on the attack right at the start, as later it became difficult
to make good times because of the many interruptions."

But that doesn't mean the rivals of the reigning European Touring Car Champion
have been shaken off in the battle for the World Championship title. Dirk
Müller (GER) of BMW Team Deutschland, who heads the drivers' rankings with a
one-point lead over Priaulx and is celebrating his 30th birthday today, is in
sixth place on the grid for the penultimate race of the season. Fabrizio
Giovanardi (ITA), third in the championship, is in ninth position for Alfa
Romeo.

BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen, who has come to Macau for the final
races of the FIA WTCC, said of the qualifying results: "With his pole position
Andy has earned himself a good starting position for Sunday's races and
delivered an outstanding performance. To shave more than half a second off his
rivals with his maximum weight handicap of 60 kilograms is impressive. But we
are aware that a great deal can happen in Macau. Qualifying has already shown
how accidents and spins can influence events here. So, as before, we'll just
have to wait until after tomorrow's races to see who emerges as World Champion."

As is par for the course in Macau, the drivers had to contend with a turbulent
qualifying session marked by several interruptions and an early end. Following
two red flags at the beginning of the session, Gabriele Tarquini (ITA) and
Rickard Rydell (SWE) collided in the R bend with five minutes to go, bringing
on the race marshals once again to remove the cars. Then, a few seconds before
the end, Augusto Farfus jr (BRA) and Paul Poon (HKG) also collided. Apart from
damage to the vehicles, all drivers emerged unscathed if slightly shaken.

The other drivers in the BMW national teams were unable to exploit the full
potential of their BMW 320i cars due to the frequent stoppages. BMW Team
Deutschland driver Jörg Müller (GER), struggling with a heavy cold, finished
eleventh, while Antonio Garcia (ESP) of BMW Team Italy-Spain came twelfth.
Duncan Huisman (NLD), competing for BMW Team Holland, ended up in 16th place
after technical problems. Garcia's team-mate Alessandro Zanardi (ITA) will be
starting from 27th on the grid on Sunday.

Results

BMW Team Deutschland - Schnitzer Motorsport
No. 42 - Jörg Müller (DEU) 11th - 2:33.896 minutes
No. 43 - Dirk Müller (DEU) 6th - 2:33.062 minutes

BMW Team UK - RBM
No. 1 - Andy Priaulx (GBR) 1st - 2:31.712 minutes

BMW Team Italy-Spain - ROAL Motorsport
No. 4 - Alex Zanardi (ITA) 27th - 2:38.942 minutes
No. 5 - Antonio Garcia (ESP) 12th - 2:33.983 minutes

BMW Team Holland - RBM
No. 41 - Duncan Huisman (NLD) 16th - 2:34.812 minutes

BMW private teams
Crawford Racing
- No. 28 - Carl Rosenblad (SWE) 19th - 2:36.199 minutes
Proteam Motorsport
- No. 30 - Stefano d'Aste (ITA) 22nd- 2:36.781 minutes
- No. 31 - Giuseppe Ciro (ITA) 14th - 2:34.459 minutes
Wiechers-Sport
- No. 32 - Marc Hennerici (GER) 26th - 2:38.686 minutes
Engstler Motorsport
- No. 63 - Paul Poon (HGK) no lap time
- No. 64 - Peter Scharmach (GER) 18th - 2:36.176 minutes

Results:
1st Andy Priaulx (GBR, BMW 320i) 2:31.712 minutes, 2nd Andre Couto (MAC, Alfa
Romeo) 2:32.334, 3rd Augusto Farfus jr. (BRA, Alfa) 2:32.466, 4th Gabriele
Tarquini (ITA, Alfa Romeo) 2:32.524, 5th Nicola Larini (ITA, Chevrolet)
2:32.808, 6th Dirk Müller (GER, BMW 320i) 2:33.062, 7th Rickard Rydell (SWE,
SEAT) 2:33.238, 8th Alain Menu (SUI, Chevrolet) 2:33.572

Race 19 of the FIA WTCC starts on Sunday at 4.40 hrs CET.
Eurosport will be broadcasting live.