FIA WTCC NEWSLETTER# 22 – 24th June 2005
COLCIAGO’S HONDA FASTEST IN TESTING
Due to the surface of the new track needing to be cleaned,
the test session took place
in three groups. Each group consisted of eight cars and had
20 minutes on the track.
Alessandro Zanardi was the very first driver to complete a
lap in a FIA WTCC racing car
on the newly inaugurated Puebla track but it was Stefano D’Aste
that clocked the
quickest lap of the first group: 1:35.201.
As the track surface cleared, the second group posted the
fastest times of the entire
session. Thompson and Colciago were battling for the top spot
on the timesheet but it
was the latter who posted a lap of 1:33.836. This was the
best time overall and the only
lap to be completed in less than 1 minute 34 seconds. Thompson’s
time which was
0.231 of a second slower than Colciago’s was second
fastest overall.
During the third session, light rain fell. Giovanardi was
the quickest of this group in his
Alfa Romeo: 0.367 of a second off the best lap. SEAT’s
Jordi Gené had the fourth
quickest time of the day and Andy Priaulx was fifth fastest
in his BMW 320i. The best of
the Independent drivers was Tom Coronel with the sixth best
lap of the entire field, set
during the second session.
TOURING CAR BUREAU’S LATEST DECISIONS
The Touring Car Bureau has confirmed the decision, taken before
Imola, to reduce the
minimum weight of Alessandro Zanardi’s BMW 320i by 20-kg.
The Bureau has also decided to reduce the minimum weight
of Chevrolet Lacetti and
Ford Focus cars by 10-kg.
All these decisions will be applied in the Puebla event,
however Ford cars will not take
part in the Mexican races.
ENTHUSIASTIC FANS SWEEP DRIVERS AWAY IN PUEBLA
On Thursday the FIA WTCC drivers were greeted by a throng
of people in Puebla, during
a promotional event organised by the local Government.
The first part of the event saw the drivers parading through
Avenida Juárez, Puebla’s
most elegant street, and Avenida Reforma on board a convoy
of pick up vehicles.
At the end of the parade the drivers arrived at the Zócalo,
Puebla’s central square,
where some of the racing cars were exhibited between the Cathedral
and the City Hall.
An autograph session was held from 7.00 to 8.00 PM, and the
drivers were literally
swept away by the enthusiastic crowd.
MEXICAN SELL OUT FOR THE FIA WTCC !
The grandstands are set to be full for the FIA World Touring
Car Championship races in
Puebla Amozoc, Mexico. Before a car has even hit the track,
event promoters have
confirmed that 38,000 weekend tickets have been pre-sold.
Fans have been purchasing
tickets through the website ‘Ticketmaster’ as
well as 52 selling points in Puebla and 400
throughout the whole of Mexico.
It is expected that more tickets will be sold before Sunday,
which means not a single
spare seat will be available at the circuit which has a capacity
of 42,500. A sell out!
PUIG: NEW SEAT LEÓN WILL RACE IN OSCHERSLEBEN
SEAT Sport’s new SEAT León WTCC completed its
first real test in Almeria last week.
Jordi Gené and Rickard Rydell shared driving duties
for three days.
"The testing session was extremely positive,” commented
Jaime Puig, SEAT Sport
director. “The car confirmed the potential of the new
chassis, which we had previously
tested with a SEAT Altea bodywork, for development and set-up
purposes. Higher downforce
makes the car faster through bends, and the new and advanced
multi-link rear
axle of the new León provides the racing car with excellent
dynamics.
During the three days at Almeria, the car run for over 700
kilometres without any
technical failure, which is really outstanding and shows the
potential of the León WTCC.
Despite the fact that there is still a great deal of work
to be done, we are optimistic and
look forward for the León WTCC’s debut at Orchesleben,
late August."
FLASH NEWS
INAUGURATIONS: The Medical Centre and the
Media Centre of the Miguel E. Abed
circuit have been inaugurated yesterday. The Medical Centre
has been named after Dr.
Jean Jacques Isserman, the FIA Medical Delegate for the FIA
WTCC event.
THEY SAID: QUOTE OF THE WEEK
Adrián Fernández, during a telephonic conversation
with Carlos Mastretta: “All I can wish
you is good luck. You will be the only Mexican driver in such
an important event, and
you will be under a lot of pressure. Try to learn, because
in this championship you have
have more to earn than to lose.”
OFFICIAL FIGURES
Drivers who have passed scrutineering: 24
Represented countries: 9
Represented Manufacturers: 5
FIA WTCC TIMETABLE – PUEBLA, 25th
and 26th June (local time, GMT – 6)
Saturday 09.00 – 09.30 Free practice Sunday 09.40 –
09.55 Warm-up
11.30 – 12.00 Free practice 13.05 Race 1
14.50 – 15.20 Qualifying 14.15 Race 2
TV COVERAGE FROM PUEBLA (Central European
Time)
Saturday, 25th: Qualifying – LIVE EUROSPORT, 21.45/22.30
Sunday, 26th: Warm up – LIVE EUROSPORT, 16.30/17.00
Race 1 – LIVE EUROSPORT, 20.00/20.45
Race 2 – LIVE EUROSPORT, 21.05/21.50
Tuesday 28th: Races 1 & 2 – highlights EUROSPORT
2, 15.00/16.00
Thursday, 30th: FIA WTCC Magazine EUROSPORT, 22.30/23.00
Friday, 1st: FIA WTCC Magazine – repeat EUROSPORT, 09.30/10.00
FIA WTCC Magazine – repeat EUROSPORT 2, 19.00/19.30
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