FIA WTCC NEWSLETTER # 30 – 19th August 2005
ALFA ROMEO APPEALS TO BE HEARD ON SEPTEMBER 13
The International Court of Appeal will meet in Paris on
Tuesday, September 13, for the hearings of the two appeals
lodged by the Automobile Club d’Italia/Commissione Sportiva
Automobilistica Italiana on behalf of Alfa Romeo Racing Team,
against the decisions taken by the Stewards during the latest
meeting of the FIA WTCC in Spa:
- decision TC04: 3-second time penalty to Stefano D’Aste
in Race 2;
- decision TC08: considering the collision between Gabriele
Tarquini, Dirk Müller and Antonio García in Race
2 as a normal race incident.
The International Court of Appeal will meet in the FIA Salle
du Comité, 8 place de la Concorde, Paris; at 10.00
for the first hearing and at 15.00 for the second hearing.
The decisions are expected on Wednesday, September 14, in
the afternoon.
THREE DRIVERS ON MAXIMUM HANDICAP
Dirk Müller, Fabrizio Giovanardi and Andy Priaulx,
the first three currently classified in the Drivers’
Championship, will all carry the 60-kg maximum handicap weight
in the next meeting at Oschersleben.
All their competitors will be considerably lighter, starting
with Antonio García who has lost 15 extra kilos after
Spa and will have a 40-kg handicap on board.
Half a dozen of the top drivers –
Thompson, Tarquini, Farfus, Rydell, Terting and Jörg
Müller – will have handicaps between 25 and 15
kg, meaning excellent fighting chances for Oschersleben.
The list of the handicapped cars has grown by two after Spa.
The latest additions were Stefano D’Aste (20 kg) and
Tom Coronel (5 kg), who finished second and third overall
in the Belgian Race 2. It is the first time that Independent
drivers join the handicap weight list.
Driver |
handicap for results in the previous meetings |
handicap for the championship points |
total handicap |
Dirk Müller |
40 kg |
30 kg |
60 kg |
Fabrizio Giovanardi |
40 kg |
25 kg |
60 kg |
Andy Priaulx |
40 kg |
25 kg |
60 kg |
Antonio García |
20 kg |
20 kg |
40 kg |
James Thompson |
10 kg |
15 kg |
25 kg |
Stefano D’Aste |
20 kg |
0 kg |
20 kg |
Rickard Rydell |
5 kg |
15 kg |
20 kg |
Gabriele Tarquini |
0 kg |
20 kg |
20 kg |
Augusto Farfus jr. |
0 kg |
15 kg |
15 kg |
Peter Terting |
10 kg |
5 kg |
15 kg |
Jörg Müller |
0 kg |
15 kg |
15 kg |
Jason Plato |
0 kg |
5 kg |
5 kg |
Jordi Gené |
0 kg |
5 kg |
5 kg |
Tom Coronel |
0 kg |
5 kg |
5 kg |
MAN OF THE WEEK: JORDI GENÉ
At Oschersleben, Jordi Gené will be the first man
to race the new SEAT León Cupra. The Spaniard is the
only driver from SEAT Sport who is yet to achieve a race win
this season. How does it feel to be the first man to drive
SEAT’s new car? “I’m really proud. I like
the car, it is very modern and has a better design than the
Toledo. We will need a bit of time to get to know it fully
because we have not done extensive testing. I am confident
it will eventually be faster than the old car.”
Oschersleben has been a good track for SEAT in the past,
do you have high expectations? “I am dreaming about
fighting for the podium in the new car. Realistically though
we know it is going to be difficult to hit the track and be
at the top straight away. Oschersleben is a lucky track for
SEAT as it was the place where we obtained our podium and
our first victory. I am hoping it will continue to be lucky
for us this year.”
How do you feel about your season so far? “I’m
happy. Of course, I would have preferred not to be involved
in accidents but I don’t dwell on bad luck. What is
important is that I have consistently been quick in testing
and qualifying. The team is good, the car is good and I know
that if I keep working hard as I have done, the race win will
come. That is my aim.”
FLASH NEWS
HEIDEPARK SOLTAU: Cars and drivers of the
FIA WTCC will be at the Heidepark Soltau to promote the meeting
in Oschersleben on Thursday, 25 August. Cars will be on exhibition
from 9.00 to 17.00, while drivers will meet the public for
an autograph session from 14.00 to 15.00. Heidepark Soltau,
located 80 kilometres North of Hannover, is one of the most
popular leisure parks in Germany and attracts about 5,000
visitors per day.
KARTING RACE: FIA WTCC drivers
and journalists will take part in a karting race on Friday,
26 August, at the Motorsport Arena karting track at 18.30.
Teams formed by a driver and a journalist will be competing
in a 20-minute race.
THEY SAID: QUOTE OF THE WEEK
Jaime Puig, SEAT Sport Director: “The best way of
testing a new car is to race it and so Oschersleben will accelerate
the León testing programme. It’s also very important
for SEAT that both the road car and the racing car are being
launched at exactly the same time. We chose to take one León
and two Toledos to give us a comparison between the two, but
the León is our future.”
TV COVERAGE FROM OSCHERSLEBEN (Central European Time)
Saturday, 27th: FIA WTCC Magazine – repeat EUROSPORT,
08.30/09.00 Qualifying – highlights EUROSPORT, 20.30/20.45
Sunday, 28th: Warm up – LIVE EUROSPORT, 09.00/09.40
Races 1 & 2 – LIVE EUROSPORT, 15.00/17.00 Races
1 & 2 – LIVE ZDF, 15.15/17.00
Monday, 29th: Races 1 & 2 – repeat EUROSPORT 2,
16.00/17.00 Thursday, 1st: FIA WTCC Magazine EUROSPORT, 10.30/11.00
Friday, 2nd: FIA WTCC Magazine – repeat EUROSPORT, 08.30/09.00
|
