Barth on top in the Rookie challenge

Swiss driver Fredy Barth has clearly emerged as the fastest of the competitors in the new WTCC Rookie Challenge after the first two events in Curitiba and Marrakech. Not only has Barth claimed three victories out of four races, but he was also consistent in scoring overall points and lies a brilliant ninth in the Drivers’ Championship.

At Marrakech Barth, whose SEAT León TDI sported a new red-and-white livery to pay homage to SEAT’s Swiss importer, was especially effective in the first race, setting the overall fastest lap and being classified immediately behind the podium finishers.

His closest competitors in the Rookie Challenge are the other SEAT driver: Michel Nykjær and Norbert Michelisz. The Dane, winner of the second race in Brazil, and also a solid scorer in the Drivers’ Championship, chases Barth 3 points behind. As for the Hungarian youngster, who is one further point adrift, has definitely some regrets for the Moroccan round. First he crashed during Saturday’s qualifying after setting the fastest lap in Q1, which resulted in him being sidelined during Q2, and then he stalled from the second row of the grid at the start of Race 2. Without these problems he would surely have done better.

For the time being the other competitors – Mehdi Bennani in a BMW and the bamboo-racing duo of Darryl O’Young and Harry Vaulkhard have not been able to match the pace of the SEATs. However the situation should change as the championship will visit tracks that are not so favourable for the turbodiesel cars.