Last lap chaos hands BMW Monza 1-2

Date published : 23 May 2010 - 11:38:39

Andy Priaulx and Augusto Farfus capitalised on last lap punctures for Gabriele Tarquini and Rob Huff to steal a sensational one-two for BMW in Sunday's first World Touring Car race at Monza.Tarquini and Huff had spent every lap of the race in first and second places after Huff passed pole-sitter Farfus at the start and Tarquini launched from seventh on the grid to second at the first chicane.Huff's Chevrolet remained on the bumper of Tarquini's SEAT right up until the final two laps, when the reigning champion began to edge away.But on the approach to the Ascari chicane on the last lap - just two corners from home - Tarquini sprung a left-front puncture. Huff leapt on the opportunity to dive up the inside of the SEAT, but he too found a left-front punture when he hit the brakes.Both cars scrabbled around Ascari and set off up the back straight with Andy Priaulx, Farfus, Michel Nykjaer's SEAT and Yvan Muller's Chevrolet closing fast.What was left of Huff's tyre blew out half way up the straight, while Tarquini took a slightly more cautious approach. The pack caught Tarquini on the way into the turn but Priaulx had to wait to clear the yellow flag for the debris from Huff's blow out before diving inside the SEAT half way round Parabolica, closely followed by Farfus.Huff was already out of the corner and making a desperate break for the line, but the BMWs quickly swept around his outside to clinch an unexpected one-two. He held on to third though, with Yvan Muller making the most of the madness to jump up to fourth.Tom Coronel was next along in fifth - from 13th on the grid after an electrical problem ruined his qualifying session - with Fredy Barth sixth. Tarquini crawled over the line seventh, with Nykjaer taking pole for race two in eighth after a puncture of his own on the last lap.Elsewhere, Alain Menu had to pit for a new bonnet after hitting the back of Norbert Michelisz's SEAT at the first chicane. Michelis carried on with half of his rear splitter missing, but he was eventually shown the black and orange flag and then suffered a puncture, forcing him to retire in the pits.Pos Driver Car Time/Gap 1. Andy Priaulx BMW 18m32.008s 2. Augusto Farfus BMW +0.248 3. Robert Huff Chevrolet +1.653 4. Yvan Muller Chevrolet +1.820 5. Tom Coronel SEAT +2.271 6. Fredy Barth SEAT +2.308 7. Gabriele Tarquini SEAT +2.375 8. Michel Nykjaer SEAT +2.726 9. Tiago Monteiro SEAT +3.24310. Mehdi Bennani BMW +3.97211. Harry Vaulkhard Chevrolet +9.03212. Stefano D'Aste BMW +10.00013. Sergio Hernandez BMW +11.57514. Andrey Romanov BMW +30.32015. Fabio Fabiani BMW +59.15516. Jordi Gen? SEAT + 1 lap17. Alain Menu Chevrolet + 1 lapNot classified Leonel Pernia Chevrolet 7 laps Norbert Michelisz SEAT 7 laps Franz Engstler BMW 3 laps Darryl O'Young Chevrolet 1 lap Kristian Poulsen BMW 1 lapFastest lap, Tarquini 2m01.590s