FIA WTCC NEWSLETTER # 40 – 10 November 2006
CLAIMANTS TO THE WORLD TITLE COMPARED
No less than nine drivers will be fighting to become World
Champion during the 2006 FIA WTCC final race meeting, next
week in Macau. The comparative table below summarises their
respective situations:
driver Car age points gap ballast best result in Macau
A. Farfus Alfa Romeo 23 60 80 kg 1st FIA WTCC 2005
A. Priaulx BMW 32 59 - 1 45 kg 2nd FIA WTCC 2005 2nd Guia
Race 2003/04
J. Müller BMW 37 59 - 1 75 kg 1st Guia Race 2004 1st
F3 Grand Prix 1993
G. Tarquini SEAT 44 57 - 3 45 kg 10th F3 GP 1988
R. Rydell SEAT 39 54 - 6 35 kg 1st F3 Grand Prix 1992 3rd
Guia Race 2004
D. Müller BMW 31 53 - 7 35 kg 10th FIA WTCC 2005
J. Thompson SEAT 32 49 - 11 20 kg 7th FIA WTCC 2005
Y. Muller SEAT 37 48 - 12 20 kg DNF F3 GP 1991
P. Terting SEAT 22 48 - 12 30 kg 6th FIA WTCC 2005
MACAU: A CIRCUIT THAT MAKES THE DIFFERENCE
It is interesting to see which kind of relationship each
driver has with the infamous 6.1km Guia street circuit. In
52 years of racing at Macau, Jörg Müller was only
the second man capable to win both, the Grand Prix and the
Guia Race, after John McDonald who added the Motorcycle GP
on top of it!
Last year Augusto Farfus managed to win the Guia Race on
his first visit to Macau, while Andy Priaulx and Rickard Rydell
proved on different occasions that they like the track. Among
the WTCC magnificent nine, those who have struggled most at
Macau so far are Yvan Muller and Gabriele Tarquini. The Frenchman
raced there only in the 1991 F3 Grand Prix and retired, while
the Italian finished 10th in the first leg of the 1988 F3
Grand Prix and recently made two unsuccessful attempts in
the Guia Race: he retired in 2002 while fighting for the podium,
and did not even take the start last year after a massive
crash in qualifying.
WHAT IF…
• either Augusto Farfus or Peter Terting wins the title:
- he would be the youngest FIA World Champion ever: on the
race day Farfus will be 23-years, 2-months and 16-days old,
Terting 22-years and 10-months; the current record is held
by Fernando Alonso who claimed the 2005 Formula One crown
being 24-years, 1-month and 27-days old.
• Augusto Farfus wins the title:
- he would be the first Brazilian World Champion in motor
sport after Ayrton Senna in 1991.
- he would give Alfa Romeo their first World title since the
1977 World Sportscar Championship.
• Andy Priaulx wins the title:
- he would equal Roberto Ravaglia (1986 and 1988 ETCC, 1987
WTCC), being FIA Touring Car champion for three years in a
row.
• Jörg Müller wins the title:
- he would be the second driver ever to be FIA champion for
single-seaters (1996 in F3000) and touring cars after Jacky
Ickx who claimed European titles in Touring Cars (1965) and
F2 (1967).
• any of Jörg Müller, Dirk Müller and
Peter Terting wins the title:
- he would be the first German to win an FIA Touring Car title,
ten years after Manuel Reuter in the 1996 International Touring
Car Championship.
• Gabriele Tarquini wins the title:
- he would be the first Italian FIA World Champion since Teo
Fabi won the 1991 World Sportscar Championship.
• Rickard Rydell wins the title:
- he would be the first Swede to become FIA World Champion
in car racing.
• James Thompson wins the title:
- this would reassert the superioriy of the British touring
car school, following Priaulx’s two titles and the recent
success of Ryan Sharp in the FIA European Touring Car Cup.
• Yvan Muller wins the title:
- he would be the second French World Champion of the season
together with WRC winner Sébastien Loeb.
• any SEAT driver wins the title:
- this would be the first international motor sport championship
won by a Spanish car manufacturer.
AO CHI HONG JOINS FOR HIS HOME RACE
Macanese Ao Chi Hong will join the WTCC for his home race
at the wheel of an Ao’s Racing Team BMW 320i.
A podium finisher in the Asian Touring Car Championship,
the 46-year old was due to take part in last year’s
WTCC, but a crash at Fishermen’s bend during qualifying
sidelined him for the rest of the weekend.
EUROSPORT COVERAGE FROM MACAU (CET)
Saturday, 18th: Qualifying EUROSPORT, 23.30/00.15 Sunday,
19th: Warm Up – LIVE EUROSPORT, 00.15/01.00 Race 1 and
Race 2 – LIVE EUROSPORT, 04.00/06.30 Race 1 and Race
2 – repeat EUROSPORT, 06.30/09.30 Race 1 and Race 2
– repeat EUROSPORT, 20.00/21.00
COUNTDOWN: - 9 DAYS to the 2006 FIA WTCC
Guia Race of Macau – 17th/19th November, in Macau presented
by Sociedade de Jogos de Macau
# class team driver car
1 BMW Team UK Andy Priaulx (GBR) BMW 320si
2 SEAT Sport Italia Gabriele Tarquini (ITA) SEAT León
3 SEAT Sport Sverige Rickard Rydell (SWE) SEAT León
4 BMW Team Italy-Spain Alessandro Zanardi (ITA) BMW 320si
6 Chevrolet Robert Huff (GBR) Chevrolet Lacetti
7 Chevrolet Nicola Larini (ITA) Chevrolet Lacetti
8 Chevrolet Alain Menu (SUI) Chevrolet Lacetti
9 SEAT Sport España Jordi Gené (ESP) SEAT León
10 SEAT Sport Deutschland Peter Terting (GER) SEAT León
11 SEAT Sport UK James Thompson (GBR) SEAT León
12 SEAT Sport France Yvan Muller (FRA) SEAT León
15 N.technology Augusto Farfus (BRA) Alfa Romeo 156
16 N.technology Gianni Morbidelli (ITA) Alfa Romeo 156
18 N.technology Salvatore Tavano (ITA) Alfa Romeo 156
19 I GR Asia Maurizio Ceresoli (ITA) SEAT León
20 I GR Asia Tom Coronel (NED) SEAT León
25 JAS Motorsport Fabrizio Giovanardi (ITA) Honda Accord Euro
R
30 I Proteam Motorsport Luca Rangoni (ITA) BMW 320si
31 I Proteam Motorsport Stefano D'Aste (ITA) BMW 320i
34 I Wiechers-Sport Diego Romanini (ITA) BMW 320i
40 BMW Team UK Jan Magnussen (DEN) BMW 320si
41 BMW Team Italy-Spain Duncan Huisman (NED) BMW 320si
42 BMW Team Germany Jörg Müller (GER) BMW 320si
43 BMW Team Germany Dirk Müller (GER) BMW 320si
62 I Ao's Racing Team Ao Chi Hong (MAC) BMW 320i
66 SEAT Sport André Couto (MAC) SEAT León
I = Yokohama Independents' Trophy
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