WTCC NEWS & ETCC NEWS

< WTCC News Index

FIA WTCC NEWSLETTER # 41 – 4th November 2005

2006 PROVISIONAL CALENDAR UNVEILED

Last week in Rome, the FIA World Motor Sport Council approved the provisional calendar for the 2006 FIA World Touring Car Championship.

The season will start in Monza, Italy, on April 2, and will end in Macau on November 19. The championship will be contested on twenty rounds divided in ten race meetings, visiting ten different countries over three continents. Compared to the 2005 calendar, Brno will replace Imola, while a Brazilian event – most probably Curitiba – should replace Spa. The British round will be moved from Silverstone to Brands Hatch.

An 11th meeting might be added on November 5 (location to be announced), while the official test and media days will be in Monza on March 21 and 22.

2006 FIA WTCC – provisional calendar

* subject to ASN confirmation ** subject to circuit approval

MAN OF THE WEEK: RICKARD RYDELL

Rickard Rydell is one of the most experienced men in Macau. In 1992 he took victory in the F3 GP and last year he came third in the Touring Car Guia Race with SEAT. What does he think this year will bring?

How do you feel about Macau?

“It is one of the greatest tracks. One of my top two alongside Bathurst in Australia, another street circuit. When you are racing through the streets of Macau there is no room for error and you have to be 100% in control of the car. I can definitely say I am looking forward to going back there.”

What do you think you can achieve over the weekend?

“Anything can happen in Macau. If we have a good weekend I believe I could finish fourth in the championship. Of course, it will be difficult to beat Jörg Müller in the BMW but I will do my best. The León may be a bit slow on the long straight but should be good round the back of the track.”

What did you do in October?

“A bit of testing because we are still working on the development of the León. I have had holidays though. In fact, I am currently in Majorca by the pool having just finished a round of golf, so I can’t complain!”

TOURING CAR BUREAU’S LATEST DECISIONS

In view of the final race meeting of the season, the FIA Touring Car Bureau decided to confirm the same minimum weights adopted in the previous event at Valencia. Frontwheel drive and rear-wheel drive cars will run according to basic weights fixed by the Sporting Regulations: 1110 kg + 30 for using a sequential gearbox and 1140 kg respectively.

Only to the hatch-back cars – Ford Focus and SEAT León – will a 10-kg reduction be granted.

HARRISON TESTED JAS MOTORSPORT HONDA IN MONZA

Yesterday at Monza, Simon Harrison had his second test in the JAS Motorsport Honda Accord Euro R car that he will be driving in the FIA WTCC finale at Macau. Harrison had already tested the car for the first time in Valencia, on Monday 3rd October, after the FIA WTCC meeting.

At Monza, in the morning the Briton tested the car his team-mate Adriano De Micheli will drive at Macau, and in the afternoon he shared with Roberto Colciago the wheel of a second Accord, also in Super 2000 technical specifications but prepared by JAS for long distance races, like the Nürburgring 24 Hours.

Both, Harrison and team principal Alessandro Mariani were pleased with the test. In Macau, Harrison’s and De Micheli’s car will sport a new white-and-yellow livery, carrying the colours of the Hong Kong-based Noble Group.

FLASH NEWS

ZANARDI: Alessandro Zanardi doesn’t stop winning; after having claimed the FIA WTCC race in Oschersleben, the Italian Superturismo title and Race 1 in the FIA ETC Cup, the Italian driver was victorious in the Mini Challenge VIP Race at Misano. Among the competitors who lined up behind him was Zanardi’s team manager Roberto Ravaglia, third classified.

MENU: Again Alain Menu claimed a podium result in the 200 Km of Buenos Aires. In the race, counting towards the Argentine TC2000 Championship, Menu and his team-mate Christian Ledesma drove their Chevrolet Astra home in third position behind a Ford Focus and a Volkswagen Bora. They finished second in last year’s event.

SPONSOR: The WTCC LG Guia Race of Macau will be presented by the Sociedade de Jogos de Macau (SJM), the leading casino operator in Macau, which has been the title sponsor of the Guia Race since 2001.

THEY SAID: QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Fabrizio Giovanardi, to Italian magazine Autosprint: "I go to Macau for winning. The last time I saw the track was in 1988, but I have refreshed my memories with the… simulator. BMW drivers have an advantage, because of BMW experience there. But I have got nothing to lose! My only strategy will be full attack!”