Fredy Barth experienced a tough opening WTCC weekend at Monza, on his first appearance with the BMW 320 TC run by Wiechers-Sport.
Problems began in qualifying, when Barth’s car was damaged in a collision with Rob Huff’s SEAT and a broken drive-shaft prevented the Swiss racer to achieve a better place than 18.
Starting from the back of the grid on a soaked track, resulted in Barth spinning in the early stages of the first race. However he did not give up and managed to recover up to tenth, pocketing his first championship point of the year and finishing third in the Yokohama Trophy.
In the second race Barth, after taking a good start, cruised to the end in 14th position.
“I can be happy with how the races went, although I’m still unfamiliar with the rear-wheel drive, especially in such conditions. But even in the rain, I felt comfortable from lap to lap and collected Yokohama Trophy points in both races,” Barth commented.
Team manager Dominik Greiner echoed: “I’m happy with Fredy’s performance. Before the season we had only two test days and he needs a bit more time to get a better feeling with the BMW. But I’m confident that he will show again a good performance in Marrakech!”