FIA WTCC NEWSLETTER# 33 – 9th September 2005
TURKISH DRIVER JOINS FIA WTCC IN HOME RACE
Turkish motorsport fans have a further reason to attend the
FIA WTCC rounds at the new Istanbul Park: the participation
of a local driver. Erkut Kizilirmak will be at the wheel of
a GR Asia SEAT Toledo Cupra car, alongside Independents’
Trophy title contender Tom Coronel.
The 36 year old Kizilirmak began his motorsport activity
in 1992 as a rally co-pilot, then became a car racing driver
in 1996. Last year he was runner up in the 1.6-litre Class
of the Turkish Touring Car Championship with an Opel Corsa.
In the current season he his driving an Opel Astra Coupé
in the 2.0-litre class, leading the Turkish championship with
three wins in three races.
ALFA ROMEO APPEALS TO BE HEARD NEXT WEEK
The two appeals pending on the FIA WTCC’s 12th round
– held in Spa on July 30th – will be heard next
week by the International Court of Appeal. The two hearings
will be held on Tuesday, September 13 at the FIA headquarters
in Paris; they concern the 3-second time penalty to Stefano
D’Aste and the decision to consider the collision between
Gabriele Tarquini, Dirk Müller and Antonio García
in Race 2 as a normal race incident. The decisions are expected
on Wednesday, September 14, in the afternoon.
TOURING CAR BUREAU’S LATEST DECISIONS
The Touring Car Bureau have confirmed the cars’ minimum
weights will remain as they were during the previous meetings
in Spa amd Oschersleben.
A 10-kg reduction for all the front-wheel drive cars, plus
another minus 10 kg for the Ford Focus and the Chevrolet Lacetti
cars.
MAXIMUM HANDICAP FOR DIRK AND ANDY
Dirk Müller and Andy Priaulx remain on the 60-kg maximum
handicap weight, while Fabrizio Giovanardi lost 15-kg after
an unlucky weekend in Oschersleben. As a result of the German
event, Jörg Müller has gained 35 kg, while Alessandro
Zanardi joins the ballast list for the first time further
to his victory in Race 2.
Driver |
handicap for results in the previous meetings |
handicap for the championship points |
total handicap |
Andy Priaulx |
40 kg |
30 kg |
60 kg |
Dirk Müller |
40 kg |
30 kg |
60 kg |
Jörg Müller |
30 kg |
20 kg |
50 kg |
Fabrizio Giovanardi |
20 kg |
25 kg |
45 kg |
Rickard Rydell |
15 kg |
20 kg |
35 kg |
Alessandro Zanardi |
20 kg |
5 kg |
25 kg |
Gabriele Tarquini |
0 kg |
20 kg |
20 kg |
Antonio García |
0 kg |
20 kg |
20 kg |
James Thompson |
0 kg |
15 kg |
15 kg |
Augusto Farfus jr. |
0 kg |
15 kg |
15 kg |
Peter Terting |
0 kg |
10 kg |
10 kg |
Jordi Gené |
0 kg |
5 kg |
5 kg |
Jason Plato |
0 kg |
5 kg |
5 kg |
Tom Coronel |
0 kg |
5 kg |
5 kg |
MAN OF THE WEEK: ADRIANO DE MICHELI
This week we spoke to Adriano De Micheli who races with JAS
Motorsport. After a cardestroying crash in Puebla the Italian
missed the Mexican event as well as Spa. But he came back
with a vengeance at Oschersleben to claim an Independent victory
in his first year in a professional championship.
How do you feel about your season so far?
“To be honest I was expecting more. The first part
of the season was not good for me because I had no experience
and we were down on knowledge as we hadn’t tested. This
meant we lost out on some opportunities. It was especially
disappointing in Puebla because I saw how fast my team-mate
Colciago was and I felt as though I could have achieved something
also.”
But you came back from that to win at Oschersleben.
“I had never driven there before so it was great for
me and the team to get such a good result. It was even more
of an achievement when you think how high the level of competition
is.”
Do you have any plans for next year?
“I hope to finish this season well and then race again
next year. It has always been a dream of mine to race in touring
cars so I would love to stay in this championship. I would
also be happy to stay with JAS because they are a great team
and have helped me so much.”
FLASH NEWS VOYAGE:
Teams are already on their way to Istanbul. On Monday the
trucks will be boarded on cargo ships for a 56-hour voyage
across the Adriatic, Aegean and Marmara seas, from Trieste
(Italy) to Pendik, which is only 20 km from the circuit.
FARFUS:
Technical checks of the ECU box of Augusto Farfus’
Alfa Romeo – that was sealed after the Brazilian driver
set pole position at Spa – have been successfully completed
by the FIA Technical Delegate Lionel Carre, who declared the
car conform.
THEY SAID: QUOTE OF THE WEEK Jost Capito,
Ford TeamRS director, speaking about next season in an interview
to weekly magazine Autosport: “Oschersleben gave an
indication of the potential of the car and now we need to
confirm it. We never intended to join the series for just
one year, so now we have to start planning to see how we go
on.”
TV COVERAGE FROM ISTANBUL (Central European Time)
Saturday, 17th: Qualifying – LIVE SPORTITALIA, 14.15/14.45
Qualifying – highlights EUROSPORT, 19.30/19.45
Sunday, 18th: Warm up – LIVE EUROSPORT, 09.30/10.00
Races 1 & 2 – LIVE EUROSPORT, 14.55/17.00 Races
1 & 2 – LIVE SPORTITALIA, 15.00/17.00 Races 1 &
2 – LIVE TV8 (TUR)/RTL TVI (BEL), 15.10/17.00
Monday, 19th: Races 1 & 2 – repeat EUROSPORT 2,
16.00/17.00
Thursday, 22nd: FIA WTCC Magazine EUROSPORT, 17.30/18.00
Monday, 26th: FIA WTCC Magazine – repeat EUROSPORT,
08.30/09.00
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