FIA WTCC NEWSLETTER # 28 – 19 July
SEAT IN SWEDEN WITH TWO DIESEL CARS
SEAT will be the first Manufacturer to run diesel-powered
cars in the FIA World Touring Car Championship. Next week
in Anderstorp Jordi Gené and Yvan Muller will drive
two León TDI machines equipped with a 280 hp turbo-diesel
engine. This will be a milestone for both SEAT and the FIA
as it is the first time diesel cars line up at an FIA World
Championship race.
Jaime Puig, Director of SEAT Sport, explained: “The
regulations allow us to register a car equipped with a diesel
engine, and we were happy to rise to the challenge. We are
satisfied with the testing results and believe the León
TDI can become competitive in the mid and long term.”
Chief Engineer Benoît Bagur said: “The basis
for the engine is the 170 hp 2.0 of the León FR. We
kept the engine block and cylinder head of the production
model, but changed the turbo charger and gearbox. We had to
alter the front part to house the intercooler and create new
air intakes. The diesel engine is 35 kilos heavier than the
petrol engine, so we had to redistribute some weight.”
ROUTE TO: ANDERSTORP, SWEDEN
The 13th and 14th rounds of the FIA WTCC will take place next
week in Sweden, on Anderstorp’s Scandinavian Raceway.
This is the first visit paid by the WTCC to Anderstorp, which
hosted the FIA European Touring Car Championship five times,
from 1984 to 1987 and again in 2002 and 2003. The event also
marks the return of an FIA World Championship to Anderstorp
after three decades. In fact the racetrack, located 130 km
East of Gothenburg, was home of the Formula One Swedish Grand
Prix from 1973 to 1978.
BMW MEN ON MAXIMUM BALLAST
Fellow BMW drivers Jörg Müller, Augusto Farfus and
Andy Priaulx, who currently occupy the first three positions
in the Drivers’ Championship will carry the 60-kg maximum
handicap weights during the next meeting in Anderstorp. However
their closest competitors will not be much lighter: SEAT’s
Yvan Muller and Chevrolet’s Nicola Larini will have
55 extra kilos onboard.
60 kg Jörg Müller, Augusto Farfus and Andy Priaulx
55 kg Nicola Larini and Yvan Muller
45 kg Gabriele Tarquini
35 kg Alain Menu
20 kg Félix Porteiro, Robert Huff and James Thompson
15 kg Tom Coronel
10 kg Tiago Monteiro, Rickard Rydell, Fredrik Ekblom, Carl
Rosenblad, Robert Dahlgren, Alexander Lvov and Andrey Smetskiy
5 kg Alessandro Zanardi, Luca Rangoni and Jordi Gené
RUSSIAN HONDAS JOIN AT ANDERSTORP
Russian team Golden Motors will race in Anderstorp
with two Honda Accord Euro R cars built by JAS Motorsport
and driven by Alexander Lvov and Andrey Smetskiy The team’s
leading man, Lvov, is the current leader of the Russian Championship,
he claimed a national title (in 2001) and last year’s
FIA European Super Production Cup at Estoril.
SEAT SPORT ITALIA’S APPEAL
The appeal lodged by SEAT Sport Italia against the decision
taken in Porto by the Stewards will be heard next Monday in
Paris. Further to a collision between Roberto Colciago and
Félix Porteiro during the qualifying session at Porto,
the Stewards fined the Italian driver 3,500 euro and imposed
him a drop of ten grid positions for both the Anderstorp races.
EUROSPORT COVERAGE FROM ANDERSTORP
Saturday, 28th: Qualifying Eurosport 2, 19.00/19.30
Sunday, 29th: Warm up – LIVE Eurosport International,
09.30/10.00
Race 1 – LIVE Eurosport International, 11.55/12.40
Race 2 – LIVE Eurosport International, 14.15/15.00
Times are CET (Central European Time)
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