Jarama 2002 FIA European Touring Car Championship 02/06/2002   30/05/2002 Preview - BMW Spain   BMW Spain hoping for an improvement After winning the 2001 FIA European Super Production Drivers Championship with Peter Kox, Ravaglia Motorsport gained the support of BMW Iberica in order to take part in the 2002 Championship. The team's two BMW 320i cars are driven by Spaniard Jordi Gene and Italian Fabrizio De Simone. Under management from former World and European Touring Car Champion Roberto Ravaglia, the team races under the name of BMW Team Spain. "So far, we have had a tough time in the Championship," Gene explained. "We arrived at Magny Cours somewhat unprepared due to the late delivery of our cars. Silverstone was even worse, as I was involved in Tom Ferrier's accident at the start of Race One. My car was so damaged that I could not take part in Race Two. We finally had a good qualifying session in Brno, and I managed to set a time only six tenths slower than the fastest of the BMW cars, driven by Dirk Muller." The team remained in Brno to test, with 2001 driver Norman Simon joining De Simone and Gene. "He suggested a few changes which have enabled us to improve a bit more. I think we are on the right way to close the gap to the Schnitzer cars. Considering that Jarama, where a good chassis is more important than a powerful engine, should suit the BMW cars very well, I will be aiming for a top ten position in qualifying. This would mean that, with some luck, I might score my first points in the races." Copyright ©2000-©2023 TotalMotorSport