FIA WTCC NEWSLETTER # 3
TIAGO MONTEIRO TESTED FOR SEAT SPORT
The second day of WTCC testing at Valencia was enlivened
by the unexpected appearance of Portuguese Formula One driver
Tiago Monteiro, who accepted the invitation from SEAT Sport
to test their León car. The idea came from Paulo Ferreira
(co-promoter of the WTCC meeting in Porto) and Jaime Puig
(SEAT Sport director).
“It was a very useful day,” Monteiro said. “I
tested the car and simulated a race, qualifying session and
starts. It was a quite interesting experience as I didn't
think that a touring car could be so reactive and fast. It
was really exciting and I had lot of fun at the wheel. I was
impressed by the team and it was good meeting the works drivers
and hearing their positive feedbacks on my driving and my
lap times.”
TEAMS WORKED ON SET-UP AT VALENCIA
The six WTCC teams that took part in the two-day test Valencia’s
Ricardo Tormo circuit on Monday and Tuesday focused on trying
different set up solutions for the new season. The weather
was mostly sunny, with temperatures up to 15°C. “The
ideal conditions for a pre-season test!” commented SEAT
Sport team manager Antonio Rodrigues.
SEAT SPORT WITH THE BALLAST ON BOARD
SEAT Sport ran two works León cars in Valencia. On
the first day Gabriele Tarquini tested different types of
suspensions carrying the success ballast onboard, while Mexican
driver Michel Jourdain continued his apprenticeship getting
used to the car. “I was delighted to work with the team.
They are very professional and the car is excellent,”
commented Jourdain.
On the second day – while Monteiro was having his first
drive in the León – Jordi Gené joined
Tarquini to work on the set up.
A third León took part in the test, Roberto Colciago’s
car run by the SEAT Sport Italia team.
A NEW LACETTI FOR THE CHEVROLET TEAM
At Chevrolet, Nicola Larini and Alain Menu completed a great
deal of laps in their 2007 Lacetti cars. Something that their
team-mate Robert Huff had already done in Jerez de la Frontera
some days earlier.
“They put in as many miles as possible,” explained
team manager Mark Busfield. “We are happy with the test,
because none of the cars suffered from technical problems.
In a test like this it is difficult to say where you are compared
to the others, however we got a good impression.”
THREE BMW TEAMS TESTED IN SPAIN
At BMW Team Italy-Spain Alessandro Zanardi drove on the first
day. “We also worked on the set up and did not look
for fast lap times,” team manager Roberto Ravaglia said.
On Tuesday the team’s new driver, Félix Porteiro,
stepped in for Zanardi: the young Spaniard completed 350 km.
Jörg Müller and Augusto Farfus spent two full days
testing the BMW Team Germany cars that were both sporting
Pitot tubes on the front bonnet, as did reigning World Champion
Andy Priaulx at BMW Team UK.
CORTHALS BACKED BY SEAT BELGIUM
Pierre-Yves Corthals will take part again in the FIA WTCC,
at the wheel of a SEAT León run by the French Exagon
team and backed by SEAT Belgique and Monroe. After an apprenticeship
season with JAS Motorsport and their Honda Accord, the driver
from Liège is ready for a more ambitious challenge.
“This campaign begins with the best premises,”
he said. “I have the dynamic support of SEAT’s
Belgian importer and like last year I am backed by Monroe.
The car is an ex SEAT Sport machine that was driven by James
Thompson in 2006 and it will be prepared by a professional
team managed by Luc Marchetti who has already proved his technical
competence. It is difficult to dream of a better package.
So now it’s up to me …” Corthals drove his
new car for the first time at Magny-Cours: “I was impressed
by how easy to drive the car is. My goal for the season is
to claim the Independents’ Trophy and try to make the
top-ten in qualifying and in the races.”
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