FIA WTCC NEWSLETTER # 16 – 26 May 2006
NEXT STOP: OSCHERSLEBEN, GERMANY
From England the FIA WTCC is now heading for the Oschersleben
Motorsport Arena, located in the German region of Bode, a
few km West of Magdeburg. The championship lands in Germany
with SEAT leading both, the Drivers’ (Yvan Muller, Rydell
and Tarquini fill the top three positions) and Manufacturers’
championships. However this is far from domination, because
in the six rounds held so far all the four registered Manufacturers
– Alfa Romeo, BMW, Chevrolet and SEAT – and five
different drivers have claimed at least one race win.
YVAN MULLER CLOSE TO MAXIMUM BALLAST
Yvan Muller’s results in Brands Hatch gave him back
the championship lead, but will also result in 75 kg of handicap
weight for the next race meeting in Oschersleben. Meaning
only 5 kilos less than the maximum applicable. A new record
for the season. 11 other drivers will be given extra loads,
from James Thompson (55 kg) down to Gené and Terting
(both on 5 kg). Among them, all BMW drivers have achieved
significant deductions: Priaulx and J. Müller –
20, D. Müller – 10. While Rydell and Menu are new
to the handicap list.
Driver - handicap for results in the previous meetings
- handicap for the championship points - total handicap
Yvan Muller 40 kg + 40 kg = 60 kg * 15 kg 75 kg
James Thompson 15 kg + 30 kg = 45 kg 10 kg 55 kg
Andy Priaulx 60 kg – 20 kg = 40 kg 10 kg 50 kg
Gabriele Tarquini 30 kg + 0 kg = 30 kg 10 kg 40 kg
Rickard Rydell 0 kg + 30 kg = 30 kg 10 kg 40 kg
Alain Menu 0 kg + 30 kg = 30 kg 5 kg 35 kg
Jörg Müller 40 kg – 20 kg = 20 kg 5 kg 25
kg
Dirk Müller 30 kg - 15 kg = 15 kg 5 kg 20 kg
Florian Gruber 20 kg (new entry) 20 kg
Augusto Farfus 30 kg – 20 kg = 10 kg 5 kg 15 kg
Jordi Gené 20 kg – 20 kg = 0 kg 5 kg 5 kg
Peter Terting 0 kg + 0 kg = 0 kg 5 kg 5 kg
* maximum handicap applicable
SEAT SPORT’S MAGNIFICENT SEVEN
The SEAT Sport team is stepping up from six to seven works
car for the event in Oschersleben. The seventh León,
entered under the name of SEAT Sport Deutschland, will be
in the hands of Florian Gruber.
For the 23 year-old German, this special participation is
a reward for his success in the 2005 SEAT European Masters
at Barcelona.
According to art. 79 of the FIA WTCC Sporting Regulations,
Gruber will be given an automatic 20-kg handicap weight.
PEUGEOT BACK ON THE TRACK
Jens Edman and his Peugeot 407 run by Peugeot Sport Denmark
will rejoin the WTCC field at Oschersleben. The Swedish driver
already took part in the opening event of the season at Monza,
with little luck. Edman was involved with Roberto Colciago
in a massive shunt that caused a safety car period during
the first race.
Afterwards Edman and his team participated in the first two
race meetings of the Danish Touring Car Championship, claiming
an encouraging third place last week at Padborg Park.
MAN OF THE WEEK: ERIC NÈVE Eric Nève
is the project manager for Chevrolet; the team that scored
their first FIA WTCC win in Race 2 at Brands Hatch. We spoke
to him about how this victory felt.
Describe how you felt when Alain Menu crossed the
line first.
“I was very proud. He had a strong race and didn’t
make mistakes. He wrote history for Chevrolet as it was the
first win for the make in a world championship. It was a great
reward for everyone who has worked so hard.”
Why were the Chevrolet cars so much more competitive
at Brands Hatch?
“We spent some time testing there over the winter and
it was raining then too so we had the knowledge about how
to approach the conditions. Another factor is that the track
suits our cars because there are a lot of corners and flat
curbs. Finally, Alain and Rob (Huff) are experienced there.
It was a combination of all these things.”
What can we expect from Chevrolet for the rest of
the season?
“We are aiming to be in a position to win as many races
as possible. This became reality at Brands Hatch but we want
to be in a good position at the other tracks. Rob and Nicola
(Larini) will have little ballast at Oschersleben so let’s
see.”
ADAC PROCAR SERIES TO PROVIDE THE STARTER
Spectators coming to Oschersleben to attend the FIA WTCC
race meeting will be offered a succulent starter as the ADAC
Procar Series competitors will contest their two races immediately
before the WTCC drivers.
The ADAC Procar replaced the DMSB Produktionswagen Meisterschaft
– the German series for Super 2000 saloons. Cars of
three divisions will take part in the two 20- minute races,
with the S2000 machines competing for Division 1. After the
first two meetings – Oschersleben and Lausitz –
the championship is led by Vincent Radermecker of Belgium,
at the wheel of a former WTCC Chevrolet Lacetti run by Maurer
Motorsport. The third event of the ADAC Procar will be held
this weekend at the Nürburgring.
TV COVERAGE FROM OSCHERSLEBEN (CET)
Saturday, 3rd: FIA WTCC Magazine EUROSPORT, 08.30/09.00
Qualifying – LIVE EUROSPORT 2, 15.00/15.45
Sunday, 4th: Warm up – LIVE EUROSPORT 2, 09.15/09.30
Race 1 and Race 2 – LIVE EUROSPORT, 15.10/17.10
Race 1 and Race 2 – repeat EUROSPORT 2, 19.00/20.00
Monday, 5th: FIA WTCC Magazine EUROSPORT 2, 18.00/18.30
Tuesday, 6th: Race 1 and Race 2 – repeat EUROSPORT,
09.00/10.00
FIA WTCC Magazine EUROSPORT, 19.45/20.15
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