FIA WTCC NEWSLETTER # 39 – 3 November 2006
ALESSANDRO ZANARDI TO DRIVE BMW SAUBER F1
Alessandro Zanardi will make his return to the cockpit of
a Formula One car. On the occasion of the DELL Formula BMW
World Final, at Valencia from 24th to 26th November, the 40-year-old
Italian will hit the track at the wheel of a modified BMW
Sauber F1.06.
By driving for the BMW Sauber F1 Team, Zanardi will become
the first person with amputated legs to test an F1 machine.
“First of all I would like to say thank you to BMW
for this opportunity. It is just amazing for me. I know that
I won’t get a contract with the F1 team, however, having
the chance to drive an F1 car again is just incredible. I’m
really excited to see what has changed since my last Grand
Prix in 1999. I can hardly wait for the moment, when the V8
engine is started,” Zanardi commented.
BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen said: “Zanardi
is a truly impressive character. With an unprecedented show
of will and dedication, he fought his way back into motor
racing and proved in the WTCC that he is able to win races
at the highest level. It was rather a joke when he asked me
at the beginning of the year, if he could do an F1 test with
us. We will give him this chance now as the engineers made
it possible.”
Zanardi will drive a BMW Sauber F1.06 that differs in many
ways from the car that is used by the BMW Sauber F1 Team drivers.
It features a special brake pedal, which has been moved to
the right side of the cockpit. A conventional throttle is
missing and to accelerate Zanardi will use the shifting paddle
on the left rear side of the steering wheel, which has been
modified for this purpose. The paddle travel was increased
considerably, in order to allow the right throttle percentage
and smooth acceleration.
FIRST TEST FOR COUTO IN THE SEAT LEÓN
Macau’s local hero André Couto had his first
test in the SEAT León car that he will drive at his
home race track during the FIA World Touring Car Championship
final meeting on November 19. Couto joined the SEAT Sport
team as they visited the Albacete track for a two-day test.
Couto spent an entire day in Albacete getting used to the
car and adapting it to his racing style. He said: “The
SEAT León is a great car. It’s very effective,
but what impresses me the most is its tremendous balance”.
Gabriele Tarquini, who is currently fourth in the drivers’
championship, only four points off the lead, joined Couto
on the track during the first day.
On the second day, Richard Rydell and Jordi Gené took
over. The Swede is another title contender as he currently
lies fifth in the classification, two further points behind
Tarquini.
MENU WINS BUENOS AIRES 200KM FOR CHEVROLET
Swiss Chevrolet WTCC driver, Alain Menu won the Buenos Aires
200 Kilometres last Sunday, the main race of the Argentine
TC2000 Championship. Menu, who shared a Chevrolet Astra run
by Elaión Racing with local driver Matías Rossi,
took the wheel halfway through the race with a 14-second advantage
and gradually extended his lead claiming a comfortable victory
from the Ford Focus cars of Martín Basso-Hoover Orsi
and Fabián Flaqué-Ernesto Bessone.
With this win, Rossi retook championship lead with two races
left. Chevrolet’s other first-class hired hands, Robert
Huff and Nicola Larini, were less fortunate as both their
team mates (Marcelo Bugliotti and Christian Ledesma respectively)
retired on the first laps in two different incidents. Same
bad luck hit the fourth WTCC driver in the race, Fabrizio
Giovanardi, whose teammate Fabián Yannantuoni was also
caught in an early crash that forced his Honda Civic to retire.
RANGONI AND PROTEAM TEST HEAVY CAR Usually
Independent drivers don’t have to cope with heavy handicap
weights. This is not the case for Luca Rangoni in Macau, as
the Proteam Motorsport’s driver will be carrying 45
extra kilos after his two podium results in Valencia. In order
to set up their BMW 320si car with the ballast onboard, Rangoni
and the team tested one day at the Italian racetrack of Magione,
completing 75 laps.
RACE - OFFICIAL WTCC GAME’S DEMO RELEASED
Eidos Interactive and Simbin Development Team released the
demo of RACE – The Official WTCC Game.
The demo features two of the current FIA WTCC cars, the SEAT
León and the BMW 320si, racing at Brands Hatch. On
top of this it is also possible to experience the ingame support
classes which will be included in the full version: ‘WTCC
87’ and the Mini Cooper Challenge.
RACE – The Official WTCC Game will be released on November
24th, 2006 across Europe. The PC demo and additional info
on the support classes are available from the official RACE-website:
www.race-game.org.
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