FIA WTCC NEWSLETTER # 47 – 8 December 2007
WTCC CALENDAR APPROVED BY WMSC
During their meeting held yesterday in Monaco, the FIA World
Motor Sport Council have approved the 2008 FIA World Touring
Car Championship calendar. The series will start at Curitiba,
Brazil, on March 2nd and will come to an end in Macau on November
16th.
The only change compared to the first draft approved by the
WMSC last October concerns the Portuguese meeting at Estoril,
that has been moved back one week from July 6th to 13th.
The change was done in order to avoid the clash with the
Formula One British Grand Prix that will take place in Silverstone
on July 6th.
RYDELL REJOINS SEAT’S FIVE-CAR TEAM
SEAT Sport announced today that they will campaign again
with a five-car team in the 2008 FIA World Touring Car Championship.
Rickard Rydell who had raced for the Spanish manufacturer
in the 2006 season and made a guest appearance in this year’s
final meeting at Macau returns to the team alongside four
confirmed drivers from this year’s line-up: Jordi Gené,
Tiago Monteiro, Yvan Muller, and Gabriele Tarquini.
This year, SEAT was runner-up in both the Manufacturers’
and the Drivers’ championships after being in contention
until the finale in Macau. At the same time, SEAT made racing
history achieving the first victories of a diesel-powered
car in an FIA World Championship.
Jaime Puig, SEAT Sport director commented: “We’ll
have a team of five expert drivers. I’m sure we’ll
once again be highly competitive and strive to take home the
Manufacturers’ and Drivers’ world titles.”
PRIAULX CROWNED IN MONACO
Andy Priaulx has been officially named FIA World Touring
Car Champion for the third year during the traditional FIA
prize giving gala last night in Monaco.
In the sumptuous setting of the Sporting d’Eté’s
Salle des Etoiles, the FIA honoured all its champions. In
a progression from Karting to Formula 1, the FIA World Touring
Car Championship’s prize giving took place between those
of the FIA GT and the World Rally Championship.
On the stage, where the BMW Team UK winning car was exhibited,
the first three drivers classified – Andy Priaulx, Yvan
Muller and James Thompson – received their trophies,
while BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen collected the
Manufacturers’ champion trophy.
At the end of the ceremony Priaulx joined His Higness Prince
Albert of Monaco, the FIA President Max Mosley and his fellow
world champions Kimi Räikkönen (Formula One) and
Sébastien Loeb (World Rally Championship) for the traditional
picture.
N.TECHNOLOGY SPLIT FROM ALFA ROMEO
Following an 18-year old successful partnership, N.technology’s
sporting activities with Alfa Romeo and the Fiat Group came
to an end.
“It is extremely poignant to see the end of such a
successful relationship,” said Team Principal Mauro
Sipsz. “Together with Fiat and Alfa Romeo, we have achieved
numerous victories in motorsport including six Drivers, three
Manufacturers and four Team Championships during the Alfa
Romeo 156’s ten year history.”
This year the team and James Thompson have once again shown
the might of the Alfa Romeo 156 car, with two wins, eight
podiums and the third place in the WTCC Drivers’ Championship.
N.technology is currently negotiating with other manufacturers
to define their future sporting activities in the FIA World
Touring Car Championship.
CONTEST TO DECORATE WTCC CHEVROLET
The Chevrolet team will be closely associated in 2008 with
“Young? Creative? Chevrolet!” a pan-European contest
for students of applied arts schools that covers five disciplines:
photography, video, visual arts, interior design and fashion.
The contest was launched in 2007 and creating a special livery
for the WTCC Lacetti racing car is the theme of the 2008 contest
in the Visual Arts discipline.
National juries will chose the best project in each country
that will qualify for a European finale. The winning project
will be reproduced and sported by one of the Lacetti cars
in one of the WTCC events after the summer break.
Information may be found in the contest’s website,
www.youngcreativechevrolet.eu. “We are delighted to
participate to this exciting initiative”, says Eric
Nève, Chevrolet Europe Motorsport Manager, “Motorsports
and arts have often been associated in the past, and we are
happy to contribute enriching this tradition.”
MARCO MELANDRI RACES AGAIN FOR ALFA
Today MotoGP star Marco Melandri joins N.technology at the
Bologna Motor Show, racing in the Nivea For Men Eurotouring
event alongside James Thompson.
The Italian team won last year’s event with Augusto
Farfus, whilst Melandri finished third. “I’m looking
forward to repeating the experience,” said Melandri,
who will ride for Ducati in 2008. “I was in an Alfa
156 from the Italian Touring Car Championship and this year
I drive the N.technology WTCC car with Thompson … It’s
pretty good! I hope I can finish at the top again!”
Other competitors in the event are Nicola Larini (Chevrolet),
Gabriele Tarquini and Roberto Colciago (SEAT) and Sergio Hernández
(BMW).
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