BMW TEAM GERMANY'S JORG MULLER CLAIMS PODIUM FINISH IN IMOLA

Imola, 21st September 2008. Jörg Müller (DE) finished second in the 18th round
of the FIA World Touring Car Championship. The BMW Team Germany driver crossed
the finish line in Imola (IT) behind Honda’s James Thompson (GB) and relegated
Robert Huff (Chevrolet, GB) to third. BMW Team UK’s Andy Priaulx (GB) scored
two points by coming seventh, while Müller’s team-mate, Augusto Farfus (BR),
took the chequered flag in eighth. In the first race of the day, Farfus and
Müller were the only BMW drivers to collect points by finishing seventh and
eighth, with SEAT’s Yvan Muller (FR) securing victory.

BMW Team Italy-Spain’s Alessandro Zanardi (IT) missed out on championship
points in both races. Following finishing tenth in race one, Zanardi’s
team-mate, Félix Porteiro (ES), was involved in a heavy accident at the start
of race two. While accelerating, he crashed into the SEAT of Gabriele Tarquini
(GB) who hadn’t moved when the red lights went off. Fortunately both drivers
walked away from this incident. With 55 points to his tally, Priaulx remains
the best-placed BMW driver in the overall classification. However, the gap to
the championship leader Muller increased to 25 points. In the manufacturers’
standings, BMW still holds second with 207 points.

Jörg Müller (BMW Team Germany):
“I must say I’m really happy with finishing second as I knew it would be nearly
impossible to keep James Thompson behind me for long. Therefore I tried to
avoid any mistakes and to secure another podium result. It was no big surprise
for us to see the competition in such an impressive shape here.”

Andy Priaulx (BMW Team UK):
“When I look back at the weekend, and especially race one, I feel this was a
missed opportunity and I am taking the blame. I could have braked half a second
later into the first corner and could have been more aggressive.”

Augusto Farfus (BMW Team Germany):
“Over the course of the weekend Jörg and I were always the quickest BMW
drivers. In the first race we used this to achieve the best possible result.
However, at the start of race two I just lost too many positions.”

Félix Porteiro (BMW Team Italy-Spain):
“This was quite a heavy crash. My neck is still painful, but overall I’m okay.
I had a good start and tried to overtake Yvan Muller on the right-hand side.
Then I switched to the left – and suddenly there was this car. I didn’t have a
chance to avoid it.”

Alessandro Zanardi (BMW Team Italy-Spain):
“My poor grid position had a major impact on the outcome of my two races. Today
we were faster in the corners than the opposition, but slower on the straights.
That’s why it was extremely hard to overtake. In the first race I tried to pass
Tiago Monteiro and unfortunately made a mistake.”