There was plenty of action in the WTCC field during the first race at Imola, but none of it concerned race winner Gabriele Tarquini. The Italian led his home race from beginning to end, while also in control over his fight with 2nd placed Yvan Muller. Title rival Augusto Farfus was involved in a racing incident early in the race which eventually led to his DNF shortly after.
Chevrolet's Robert Huff managed to keep his cool and secure his team their first podium of the weekend, finishing the chaotic race in 3rd place.
The second race was much calmer, with Muller and Tarquini making use of their turbo-powered Seats to advance from 7th and 8th place respectively. Getting back in front of the field was no tough job for either of them, as they managed to clinch a comfortable 1-2 after only a few laps. Tarquini pushed his teammate to the limit in the closing stages, but the reigning WTCC champion managed to fend off his teammate for his first win in the last 10 races.
The Italian settled for the runner-up spot, ahead of Chevrolet's Alain Menu, while BMW's best placed driver was Alex Zanardi in 4th place. Augusto Farfus had to pay tribute to his DNF in Race 1 and started the second race from the rear of the pack. Nevertheless, the Brazilian driver managed to walk out of Imola with one point in his bag, as he finished Race 2 in 8th place.
With only 2 rounds to go, things look pretty good for Tarquini on top of the drivers' standings, as the Italian extended his championship lead to BMW's Augusto Farfus to 18 points. His nearest rival for the title is now reigning champion and teammate Yvan Muller, who is 7 points behind him in the standings.
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