FIA WTCC NEWSLETTER # 20 – 23 June 2006
GIOVANARDI RETURNS WITH HONDA
Fabrizio Giovanardi will make a one-off return to the FIA
WTCC for the Brazilian race meeting in Cutiriba. The Italian
driver who fought with Andy Priaulx and Dirk Müller for
the 2005 world title until the final race in Macau, will replace
Pierre-Yves Corthals at the wheel of a JAS Motorsport Honda
Accord Euro R. “It was planned that Pierre-Yves was
not racing the overseas rounds,” explained team manager
Alessandro Mariani “He will rejoin in Brno to finish
the season.”
Unanimously regarded as one of the best Touring Car drivers
ever, Giovanardi sports an impressive CV, having won a number
of championships, including two FIA European Touring Car titles
(2001 and 2002) for Alfa Romeo. In the current season he is
taking part in the British Touring Car Championship at the
wheel of a VX Racing Vauxhall Astra. “Although Fabrizio
will not have the chance to test the car before Curitiba,
I am confident that his skill and experience will take him
to the front,” Mariani commented. Giovanardi added:
“I am delighted. This is a fantastic opportunity for
me to be back in the WTCC. The Accord and JAS are certainly
competitive and I look forward to fight against my fellow
colleagues”.
With Giovanardi committed to a clashing BTCC meeting, JAS
Motorsport have yet to announce the name of the driver who
will be racing in the following meeting at Puebla.
AUTOMATIC HANDICAP FOR THE NEW DRIVERS
All the three new drivers who will join the championship
at Curitiba – JAS Motorsport’s Fabrizio Giovanardi,
BMW Team Italy-Spain’s Duncan Huisman and TekProm’s
Lucas Molo – will be imposed a 20-kg automatic handicap
weight as per art. 79 a) of the FIA WTCC Sporting Regulations.
EXTRA TEST SESSION FOR WTCC IN CURITIBA
The FIA has authorized a private 30-minute test session on
Friday, June 30, at 3.00 PM. The session was approved by the
WTCC Bureau in order to give the teams some more time to know
the Autódromo Internacional de Curitiba which is new
to the championship.
BRAZILIAN RACES ANTICIPATED DUE TO TV COVERAGE
The two WTCC races in Brazil will be held earlier than normal:
Race 1 will start at 12.05 local time, followed by Race 2
at 1.15 PM. This change to the standard timetable has been
made in order to enable Eurosport to broadcast the event live
in Europe on Sunday afternoon.
SOUTH AMERICAN F3 AND BRAZILIAN TOURING CARS
The WTCC HSBC Race of Brazil will also feature two important
support races: the South American Formula 3 and the Brasileiro
de Marcas championships. The former, better known as Formula
3 Sudám, is one of the most popular South America-based
international series. Since 1987 it launched a number of talented
drivers, including Christian Fittipaldi, Ricardo Zonta and
Nelson Piquet jr. The round in Curitiba will be the fourth
of the season for the championship which is currently led
by Mario Moraes.
WTCC AND THE FOOTBALL FEVER – PART 2
As the group stages of the World Cup draw to an end and the
knock-out stages begin, we gained further insight into how
members of the WTCC family enjoy the football from across
the globe.
Spain: Jordi Gené, SEAT. “I really enjoy football,
especially when Spain win! Usually I watch the matches with
friends at someone’s home; that way we can shout as
loudly as we like without anyone looking at us.”
Czech Republic: Miroslav Bartos, deputy race director. “The
World Cup is something special for my country as almost all
of us believe we are the best football experts. The atmosphere
is changing the whole nation, even those people who are normally
not interested in sport at all. A typical Czech goes out to
one of the pubs or bars downtown to enjoy the match with his
friends and beer. The breweries expect to increase production
by 30% during the championship!”
Germany: Peter Terting, SEAT. “In March I moved from
Germany to Barcelona so it feels as though I am missing out
on some big parties at home. But I am still enjoying the football
by going to some bars. The German team looks good and if we
progress further in the tournament I will definitely make
a trip back home to enjoy it there. I have to!’
EUROSPORT COVERAGE FROM PUEBLA (CET)
Saturday, 1st: FIA WTCC Magazine EUROSPORT, 09.00/09.30
Qualifying – LIVE EUROSPORT 2, 19.55/20.45
Qualifying – highlights EUROSPORT 2, 23.17/23.45
Sunday, 2nd: Race 1 and Race 2 – LIVE EUROSPORT, 17.45/19.00
Race 1 and Race 2 – repeat EUROSPORT 2, 22.00/23.00
Monday, 3rd: Race 1 and Race 2 – repeat EUROSPORT, 10.00/11.00
Tuesday, 4th: FIA WTCC Magazine EUROSPORT 2, 18.00/18.30
Race 1 and Race 2 – repeat EUROSPORT 2, 20.00/21.00
Wednesday, 5th: FIA WTCC Magazine EUROSPORT, 18.00/18.30
|
