FIA WTCC NEWSLETTER # 18 – 9 June 2006
NEXT STOP: CURITIBA, BRAZIL
The FIA WTCC competitors prepare themselves for the first
overseas race meeting of the season: the WTCC HSBC Race of
Brazil at Curitiba.
This will be the first time the 1.8 million inhabitant-capital
city of the state of Paraná hosts an FIA event on its
3,695 metre-long Autodrómo Internacional, which is
located between Curitiba and the village of Pinhais.
The championship lands in Brazil with a greatly tangled classification
as, following the results in Oschersleben, the top six drivers
classified are covered by only two points. Andy Priaulx and
Yvan Muller have a joint lead on 33, followed by Dirk Müller
and James Thompson on 32, while Rickard Rydell and Gabriele
Tarquini are one further point adrift. However, the most awaited
driver by the Brazilian fans is Alfa Romeo’s Augusto
Farfus, who was born right in Curitiba 22 years ago.
70 KG HANDICAP FOR DIRK MÜLLER
In total the seven drivers on top of the championship’s
classification will carry 415 kg of handicap weight in Curitiba.
With a 2nd and 3rd position, Dirk Müller emerged as
the highest scorer in Oschersleben, which costs him 70 kg
of ballast. His fellow BMW competitors Andy Priaulx and Jörg
Müller follow him closely in the weight list, 5 and 10
kg behind respectively. All the best SEAT drivers –
Y. Muller, Rydell, Thompson and Tarquini – have 55 kg
onboard their León cars, while Alfa Romeo’s main
man Farfus arrives in his home town with 40 extra kilos.
Driver - handicap for results in the previous meetings
- handicap for the championship points - total handicap
Dirk Müller 15 kg + 40 kg = 55 kg 15 kg 70 kg
Andy Priaulx 40 kg + 10 kg = 50 kg 15 kg 65 kg
Jörg Müller 20 kg + 30 kg = 50 kg 10 kg 60 kg
Rickard Rydell 30 kg + 10 kg = 40 kg 15 kg 55 kg
Yvan Muller 60 kg – 20 kg = 40 kg 15 kg 55 kg
James Thompson 45 kg – 5 kg = 40 kg 15 kg 55 kg
Gabriele Tarquini 30 kg – 5 kg = 25 kg 15 kg 55 kg
Augusto Farfus 10 kg + 20 kg = 30 kg 10 kg 40 kg
Alain Menu 30 kg – 20 kg = 10 kg 5 kg 15 kg
Peter Terting 0 kg + 0 kg = 0 kg 10 kg 10 kg
Jordi Gené 0 kg + 0 kg = 0 kg 5 kg 5 kg
THE WTCC CARS ARE ON THE HIGH SEAS
The cargo ship NYK Espirito set sail yesterday from Hamburg,
carrying 27 containers loaded with 24 out of the 25 WTCC cars,
200 tonnes of spares and over 1500 tyres. After the Atlantic
crossing the vessel is due to dock in Paranagua, Brazil, on
21st June. The 25th car, Alain Menu’s Chevrolet Lacetti,
badly damaged in a crash at Oschersleben, was sent back to
the team’s workshop in the UK; after the needed repairs
it will be dispatched to Brazil via air freight.
TOM CORONEL BUILTS A SOLID LEAD
GR Asia driver Tom Coronel has built a solid lead in the
Yokohama Independents’ Trophy. Since the third meeting
of the season at Brands Hatch, when he switched to the new
SEAT León, the Dutchman has claimed three victories
out of four races.
His double win in Oschersleben resulted in him stretching
the leading margin to 24 points over his closest competitors.
Behind Coronel, three drivers are covered by only two points:
Proteam Motorsport’s Stefano D’Aste is currently
second on 36, chased by JAS Motorsport’s Ryan Sharp
on 35 and by his own team-mate Luca Rangoni on 34.
A PROMISING RESULT FOR PEUGEOT
Jens Edman and the Peugeot Sport Denmark team left Oschersleben
with a couple of fourth positions in the Independents Trophy.
Which are positive results for their second appearance of
the season in the FIA WTCC.
The Danish team took part in the first race meeting at Monza,
where Edman and his Peugeot 407 were eliminated during the
first race following a collision with Roberto Colciago’s
SEAT Toledo.
In both races at Oschersleben, Edman was able to fight for
podium positions in the Independents’ Trophy.
“I believe we might have finished with better results
without the 10-grid position penalty we were given after qualifying,”
team manager Jørgen Agergaard commented.
Edman was penalised because the team changed the engine after
Monza to compete in two rounds of the Danish Touring Car Championship.
“We committed a mistake not applying for the change
between the two races at Monza. By doing so we had paid the
penalty in the second race,” explained Agergaard.
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