Rounds 1 & 2 of the 2005 World Touring Car Championship took place at Monza yesterday, with good results for Alfa Romeo.
The works 156's came 2nd and 3rd in Round 1, with Alfa driving legend Gabriele Tarquini and Brazilian ace Augusto Farfus Jr following German Dirk Muller's BMW across the finish line.
Italian Alfa works driver & 2002 ETCC champion Fabrizio Giovanardi came in 6th place with the 2004 BTCC champion James Thompson in 7th in the other works 156.
Things improved still further for Thompson in Round 2, after the top 8 finishers in Round 1 had thier finishing positions reversed to give thier starting positions and he found himself on the front row of the grid. James took the lead early in the race and held on to take the chequered flag, while a couple of unfortunate "coming-togethers" robbed Farfus and Tarquini of 2nd and 3rd. Farfus eventually finished 9th, just behind Giovanardi with Tarquini failing to finish.
All this leaves James Thompson 2nd in the drivers championship, 1 point behind Dirk Muller who took 2nd place in Round 2. Tarquini, Farfus and Giovanardi place 5th, 6th and 8th respectively, with Alfa 2nd in the manufacturers championship.
Next stop is Magny-Cours in France on 30th April & 1st May - tune in and watch it live on Eurosport!
WTCC Round 1 & 2 - Alfa Off To A Good Start
) and Farfus nowhere to go, bl00dy beemers! 
