FIA WTCC NEWSLETTER # 41 – 24 November 2006
RECORD ATTENDANCE FOR THE MACAU EVENT
The Macau Grand Prix Committee announced a record attendance
for the event that included the 53rd Macau Grand Prix, the
40th Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix and the WTCC Guia Race of
Macau.
Over 40,000 spectators crowded the grandstands during the
four days, and furthermore over 200,000 people watched the
Macau Grand Prix from their hotel rooms, their flats and from
restaurants’ terraces around the track.
And furthermore, the Macau Immigration Department reported
a dramatic increase in the number of visitors in the period
15th/19th November: 576,968 people, meaning a 149% increase
compared to the 231,708 who arrived in the same period last
year. Other significant figures come from the Hotels’
daily occupancy rate that averaged 83.5% over the 11,508 rooms
available.
Media accreditation was also massive: 1332 persons coming
from 23 different countries were granted media credentials
in representation of 134 publications, 31 agencies, 19 websites
and 44 TV and Radio.
END OF SEASON STATISTICS
The 2006 FIA World Touring Car Championship is placed in
the archives with the same winners as in 2005: Andy Priaulx
and BMW as Drivers’ and Manufacturers champions respectively.
However the season was extremely exciting and only the chequered
flag at the end of the second and final race in Macau sanctioned
Priaulx’s second world title.
50 DRIVERS, 11 DIFFERENT WINNERS
50 drivers coming from 17 different countries and three continents,
at the wheel of cars built by 7 manufacturers, took part in
the championship, for an average participation of 27.5 cars
per event.
11 drivers managed to win at least one of the 20 races, with
only three of them being capable of winning more than one
(Priaulx 5, Jörg Müller 4, Augusto Farfus 3); 16
drivers led at least one lap during the season, 20 achieved
podium results and 23 scored championship points.
Priaulx emerged as the most effective man, topping the statistics
for race victories (5), pole positions (3, like Rickard Rydell;
Gabriele Tarquini and Jordi Gené took 2 apiece) and
laps led (65, or 25.7% of the 253 laps run during the whole
season; J. Müller and Farfus led 45 and 39 respectively).
The 20 fastest laps during the races were clocked by 14 different
drivers; only Farfus, Tarquini, Alain Menu, Gené and
Yvan Muller set more than one fastest lap during the season.
Only two drivers were given drive through penalties: Yvan
Muller and Jordi Gené, both due to jump starts. 16
drivers were dropped 10 grid positions due to engine changes
or incidents; Luca Rangoni had the dubious honour of topping
this list having been dropped 30 positions.
FOUR MANUFACTURERS WON RACES
Seven major car manufacturers were represented in the 2006
FIA World Touring Car Championship: Alfa Romeo, BMW, Chevrolet,
SEAT, Honda, Peugeot and Toyota. The first four of them also
competed for the Manufacturers’ Championship that went
to BMW after a tough fight with SEAT.
In spite of the fact that the BMW 320si cars won 11 of the
20 races and led 135 laps out of 253 (53 %), life was not
easy for the German make that clinched the title only after
the first race at Macau.
Alfa Romeo (4 victories), SEAT (3) and Chevrolet (2) were
all capable of winning races and the SEAT León proved
to be the fastest car on the track throughout the season,
claiming 5 pole positions (BMW had 3 and Alfa Romeo 2) and
9 fastest laps (against BMW’s 4, Chevrolet’s 3,
Alfa Romeo’s 2 and Honda’s 1).
FIA WTCC TROPHIES AWARDED IN MACAU
Last Sunday night the 2006 FIA WTCC trophies were awarded
during the traditional Macau Grand Prix party at the Macau
Fishermen’s Wharf, where Andy Priaulx’s championship
winning BMW 320si was exhibited on the stage.
After a spectacular film that included highlights of the
season, KSO president Jacques Behar delivered a brief speech.
The awarding of the trophies followed, starting with the Yokohama
Trophies. Tom Coronel, Luca Rangoni and Stefano D’Aste
filled the Independents’ podium, while Teams’
trophies were awarded to GR Asia’s team principal Tim
Huxley, Proteam Motorsport’s team manager Samuel Francalanci
and JAS Motorsport’s team principal Alessandro Mariani.
The ceremony culminated with the Manufacturers’ Championship
– BMW (represented by BMW Motorsport director Mario
Theissen), SEAT (represented by SEAT Sport director Jaime
Puig) and Alfa Romeo (represented by N.technology director
Mauro Sipsz) – and the Drivers’ Championship podiums
– Andy Priaulx, Jörg Müller and Augusto Farfus.
RACE – THE OFFICIAL WTCC GAME RELEASED
Today Eidos Interactive and Simbin Development Team have
released RACE – The Official WTCC Game across Europe.
With over 60 different and accurately modelled cars and ten
officially licensed tracks, the game features the hard-hitting,
intense action of the WTCC championship for the first time
ever. Boasting the complete 2006 FIA WTCC season, all the
cars, drivers and locations, and a variety of difficulty levels
to attract every gamer from hardcore simulation gamers to
beginners.
The game’s selling price is euro 49.9, while the global
investment requested for its development totalled to euro
2 million.
For further information visit: www.race-game.org.
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