FIA WTCC NEWSLETTER # 26 – 4 August 2006
FIA WTCC HEADING BACK TO EUROPE
After the two American events – at Curitiba, Brazil
and Puebla, Mexico – the FIA World Touring Car Championship
faces a one month summer break before resuming at Brno, Czech
Republic.
The Czech racetrack will host rounds 13 and 14, marking the
beginning of the series’ second European phase that
will continue in Turkey and Spain before the grand finale
at Macau.
SIX DRIVERS COVERED BY NINE POINTS
Alfa Romeo’s double triumph in Mexico propelled Brazilian
youngster Augusto Farfus back into the fight for the world
title.
SEAT Sport’s James Thompson is the new championship
leader, however he has a very slim margin – only three
points – over his fellow countryman and reigning champion
Andy Priaulx (BMW Team UK) who is joint with Farfus in second.
Another pair of SEAT Sport drivers – Rickard Rydell
and Gabriele Tarquini – are both 5 further points adrift,
with BMW Team Deutschland Dirk Müller one mere point
behind them.
With 20 points at stake in Brno, three other men –
Yvan Muller, Peter Terting and Jörg Müller –
have theoretical chances of grabbing the championship lead.
SEAT STRETCH MANUFACTURERS’ LEAD
On the eve of the Mexican event, SEAT edged BMW by one single
point in the Manufacturers’ classification. In the two
races at Puebla, the Spanish make managed to stretch their
margin by 8 points.
At the same time Alfa Romeo – which is lying third
– reduced the gap from BMW to 28 points.
INDEPENDENTS: CORONEL vs SHARP
Tom Coronel and Ryan Sharp have shared all the victories
in the Independents Trophy during the four latest events.
The Dutchman from GR Asia claimed five wins in his SEAT León,
while the Scotsman and his JAS Motorsport Honda Accord three,
including a brilliant third place overall in Puebla’s
Race 1.
Coronel has a solid 33-point lead over his rival, while Proteam
Motorsport’s Luca Rangoni is third, 15 points behind
Sharp.
ZANARDI AND YVAN MULLER UNDER OBSERVATION
BMW Team Italy-Spain’s Alessandro Zanardi and SEAT
Sport’s Yvan Muller collided twice in Puebla, once in
each race; their second collision eliminating both. The Italian
and the Frenchman had already come to blows in the first race
at Oschersleben. They were both summoned by the Stewards after
the second race in Puebla, and judged guilty for “unacceptable
driving behaviour”; Muller received blame, while Zanardi
was given a penalty of five positions on the grid for the
next race. However this penalty is suspended for one event;
should Zanardi be involved in another collision at Brno he
will be dropped by five positions on the grid for Valencia’s
Race 1. Otherwise the penalty will be scrapped.
THE WTCC RETURNS AT BRNO AFTER 19 YEARS
Whilst Brno is a regular venue for Moto GP and Superbike,
the FIA WTCC event will be the first car racing world championship
hosted by the Czech track in 19 years. The previous was the
sixth round of the… 1987 World Touring Car Championship.
On 16 August 1987 Klaus Ludwig and Klaus Niedzwiedz won the
19th Brno Grand Prix at the wheel of an Eggenberger Motorsport
Ford Sierra RS500, beating by a small margin the sister car
drivern by Steve Soper and Pierre Dieudonné. Third
overall and winner of Division 2 was the Bigazzi BMW M3 driven
by Luis Pérez Sala and Olivier Grouillard. Among the
drivers who took part in that race was the Olympic ski champion
Franz Klammer, in an AMG Mercedes 190E, but also three of
the current WTCC main men: Roberto Ravaglia, Nicola Larini
and Gabriele Tarquini.
On his way to clinch the World title, Ravaglia – now
team manager at BMW Team Italy- Spain – classified fourth
in a BMW M3 run by Schnitzer Motorsport; the team was already
directed by Charly Lamm. Both, Tarquini and Larini were at
the wheel of Alfa Romeo 75 Turbo cars, entered by Brixia Motorsport
and Alfa Corse respectively.
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