The Alfa Romeo Racing Team has got off to a great start in the inaugural round of the FIA World Touring Car Championship at Monza (Italy), with victory for British driver James Thompson in Race 2, and second and third places for team mates Gabriele Tarquini and Augusto Farfus in a close fought Race 1.

Thompson, starting from the front row in Race 2, edged past pole-sitter Rydell’s Seat to take the lead, a position he never relinquished despite attacks from Race 1 winner Dirk Muller in his BMW. At the end of a nail-biting race watched by a huge crowd, Thompson’s Alfa Romeo 156 finished 0.530 seconds ahead to take top spot on the podium.

"The second race was fantastic," says James Thompson. "I was disappointed with the first one but I knew the car was good and I wanted to benefit from the reverse grid for the second. Finishing 7th in the first race was not necessarily a bad thing. I planned to concentrate hard and get a good start which I did. It was very important that I passed Rydell early on and got a bit of a gap but it didn’t go quite according to plan as Dirk was behind me for most of the race. I think it was a fantastic show and I’m sure everyone will agree that we could not have asked for a better start to the new WTCC!"

Race 1 saw Muller capitalise on his pole position and managed to sprint ahead of his rivals. Among the Alfa Romeo drivers, Farfus got off to a great start from the second row and immediately mounted an attack on Garcia (BMW) into the first bend. The Spaniard resisted but Farfus continued to tail him and finally got past on lap three. Tarquini in turn got past the BMW and, pulling out all the stops on the next lap, slipped past his team mate to move into second place.

Alfa Romeo goes into Round Two of the WTCC at Magny-Cours, France on 1st May just one point behind BMW in the Constructors’ Championship.

 1. D.Muller (BMW) 9 laps in 18’03.203", average speed 172.23 km/h;
 2. Tarquini (Alfa Romeo 156) + 2.465";
 3. Farfus (Alfa Romeo 156) + 3.854";
 4. Priaulx (BMW) + 3.977";
 5. Garcia (BMW) + 8.088";
 6. Giovanardi (Alfa Romeo 156) + 8.248";
 7. Thompson (Alfa Romeo 156) + 8.910";
 8. Rydell (Seat) + 9.192";
 9. Genè (Seat) + 9.414";
 10. Zanardi (BMW) + 14.843".

 1. Thompson (Alfa Romeo 156) 9 laps in 18’13.906", average speed 170.55 km/h;
 2. D.Muller (BMW) + 0.570";
 3. Garcia (BMW) + 0.765";
 4. J. Muller (BMW) + 1.248";
 5. Rydell (Seat) + 1.467";
 6. Genè (BMW) + 2.470";
 7. Zanardi (BMW) + 5.976";
 8. Giovanardi (Alfa Romeo 156) + 6.767";
 9. Farfus (Alfa Romeo 156) + 8.904";
10. Hennerici (BMW) + 18.231".

Drivers:
 1. D.Muller (BMW) 18 points
 2. Thompson (Alfa Romeo) 12
 3. Garcia (BMW) 10
 4. Priaulx (BMW) 9
 5. Tarquini (Alfa Romeo) 8
 6. Farfus (Alfa Romeo) 6
 7. J.Muller (BMW) 5
 8. Giovanardi (Alfa Romeo) 4
 9. Genè (Seat) 3
10. Zanardi (BMW) 2.

Constructors:
1. BMW 29 points
2. Alfa Romeo 28
3. Seat 15