FIA WTCC NEWSLETTER # 43 – 15th November 2005
FIA WTCC FINALE READY TO GET UNDERWAY
The last preparations for the FIA WTCC finale in Macau are
over. Expectations are high, as the whole season will be decided
on the streets of the former Portuguese protectorate.
Everything is still at stake. The Drivers’ Championship,
in which two BMW men – Dirk Müller and Andy Priaulx
– are leading the classification separated by just one
point and closely chased by Alfa Romeo’s Fabrizio Giovanardi
who is five points behind Dirk. The Manufacturers’ Championship,
with BMW leading Alfa Romeo by 25 points with 36 still to
be awarded. And the Independents’ Trophy, awarding double
points in Macau, led by Marc Hennerici from Giuseppe Cirò
and Tom Coronel.
Action will begin tomorrow at the Guia street circuit, with
a 30-minute testing session at 15.40 local time.
FIA WTCC DRIVERS WIN MACAU JIGSAW GAME
This afternoon, at the Macau’s Senado Square, an FIA
WTCC team – formed by Coronel, Couto, Farfus, Harrison,
Hennerici and Larini – defeated two other teams, formed
by the F3 Grand Prix drivers and the Motorcycle Grand Prix
riders respectively, in “The Historic Centre of Macau
Jigsaw Game”. A special promotional event to celebrate
Macau’s inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage Site
List.
Each team was asked to complete jigsaw puzzles of three different
Macau landmarks which have been listed as UNESCO World Heritage
sites.
Following the prize-giving ceremony, an autograph session
was held with drivers and riders meeting the fans.
NEW GARAGES BUILT FOR THE FIA WTCC CARS
The Macau Grand Prix Committee put in great efforts to accomodate
the FIA WTCC teams in the best possible way, including the
construction of 34 temporary garages inside the paddock area,
whereas until last year Guia Race cars were sheltered under
canopies.
The garages are fully metallic structures with sizes varying
between 16 x 4.6 and 8.9 x 4.6 m; the inner height is 2.5
m. Their cover is made of deformed zinc plate, supported by
galvanized hollow section pipes fixed on concrete beams covered
with galvanized steel sheets. The inner partition walls are
of steel with zinc plate skin, supported by a steel frame.
Each garage has false ceiling and steel roller shutter and
fitted with water pipes, power sockets, television signal,
air compressor and Internet access.
SEAT TO ENTER DREAM TEAM IN THE 2006 FIA WTCC
Last Saturday, in Barcelona, SEAT Sport unveiled their aim
to fight for both the 2006 FIA WTCC Drivers’ and Manufacturers’
titles. To achieve this goal they have put together one of
the strongest line ups ever seen in motor sport: six top-rated
aces who come from six different countries and boast impressive
CVs in Touring Car racing will drive the SEAT León
cars in the 2006 FIA World Touring Car Championship.
Current SEAT Sport drivers, Rickard Rydell, Jordi Gené
and Peter Terting will be joined by Yvan Muller, Gabriele
Tarquini and James Thompson.
Jaime Puig, Director of SEAT Sport, said: "The introduction
of Muller, Tarquini and Thompson will permit us to form a
team at the same level as our main competitors. Their experience
will be an important strengthening and makes us very optimistic
that 2006 should see SEAT fighting for the title."
FLASH NEWS
GR ASIA: A last minute change to the FIA
WTCC entry list occurred when James Kaye pulled out. He has
been replaced at the wheel of the second GR Asia SEAT Toledo
Cupra car by Hong Kong driver Lo Ka Fai. 29-years old, the
youngest of three brothers – all racing drivers –
Lo Ka Fai competed in the Asian Touring Car Championship’s
Division 2.
CHEVROLET: After a successful experiment
from Istanbul, Chevrolet is again hosting live internet press
conferences at Macau. Chevrolet drivers, Menu, Larini and
Huff will answer questions from the media and racing fans
on Thursday, Friday and Sunday at 12.30 pm CET (8.30 pm Macau
time).
Fans can log via http://www.chevroleteurope.com/wtcc/ and
click the button.
PROTEAM: Proteam Motorsport was the first
independent team to unveil their plans for next year. They
will continue campaigning with two BMWs in the FIA WTCC and
have already signed their first driver: Luca Rangoni –
a competitor in the 2004 FIA European Touring Car Championship
– who had already joined Proteam for the FIA ETC Cup.
ATCC: The FIA WTCC first race in Macau will
also count as 13th and final round of the Asian Touring Car
Championship. Four ATCC drivers – Ao Chi Hong, Paul
Poon, Peter Scharmach and Hironori Takeuchi – will fight
for Division 1 points. Seven other ATCC competitors will race
in Saturday’s CTM Macau Cup, aiming for Division 2 points.
THEY SAID: QUOTE OF THE WEEK Chevrolet driver
Robert Huff: “Macau is a special track that requires
special preparation. For that reason we went to Millbrook
with plans and a tape measure to reproduce the Melco hairpin.
The idea was to see what we could do if we run wide, or how
quickly we can get ourselves out of different worse case scenarios.”
FIA WTCC TIMETABLE – MACAU, 18th and
20th November (Local Time)
Friday 09.00 – 09.30 Free practice
12.30 – 13.00 Free practice
15.00 – 15.30 Qualifying
Sunday 07.45 – 08.00 Warm-up
12.05 Race 1
13.00 Race 2
EUROSPORT COVERAGE FROM MACAU (Central European Time)
Sunday 20th: Warm up – LIVE EUROSPORT, 00.45/01.15
Races 1 & 2 – LIVE EUROSPORT, 04.45/07.00
Races 1 & 2 – repeat EUROSPORT, 07.00/08.30
Races 1 & 2 – highlights EUROSPORT, 11.30/13.00
Races 1 & 2 – repeat EUROSPORT 2, 15.00/16.00
Motorsport Weekend Magazine EUROSPORT, 21.00/21.30
Thursday 24th: WTCC Magazine EUROSPORT, 20.15/20.45
Friday 25th: WTCC Magazine EUROSPORT, 08.30/09.00
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