FIA WTCC NEWSLETTER # 8 – 2 March 2007
CURITIBA HOSTS WTCC OPENING ROUND
The start of the 2007 FIA World Touring Car Championship
is just one week away. The series’ third season will
get underway next weekend at the Autódromo Internacional
de Curitiba, Brazil.
This is the second time the 3.7 km circuit hosts the WTCC.
Last year the World Championship visited Curitiba for the
first time at the beginning of July; a record crowd of 34,000
attended two thrilling races that were won by Jordi Gené
(SEAT León) – after an exciting fight with pole
sitter and local hero Augusto Farfus – and eventual
World Champion Andy Priaulx (BMW 320si).
21 DRIVERS ENTERED IN THE RACE OF BRAZIL
21 drivers from 11 countries and representing four different
car Manufacturers – Alfa Romeo, BMW, Chevrolet and SEAT
– will compete in the season’s opening event,
the WTCC Race of Brazil.
Among the newcomers are Mexican ace Michel Jourdain (SEAT
Sport) and two young Spaniards coming from the GP2 Championship:
Félix Porteiro (BMW Team Italy-Spain) and Sergio Hernández
(Proteam Motorsport).
The major changes compared to last year, were Augusto Farfus
switching from Alfa Romeo to BMW and James Thompson from SEAT
to Alfa Romeo.
SWEDEN REPLACES TURKEY ON THE CALENDAR
The seventh race meeting of the 2007 FIA WTCC, that was scheduled
on July 28th and 29th at the Istanbulpark, Turkey, will take
place instead at Anderstorp, Sweden, on the same weekend.
Anderstorp’s 4.0 km Scandinavian Raceway is not a new
venue for the FIA Touring Cars, as it hosted rounds of the
FIA European Touring car Championship in 2002 and 2003.
Since then the circuit has undergone major works to improve
the facilities, including the construction of a building in
which there are located pit garages, administrative offices
and the media centre.
ROLLING START FOR THE FIRST RACE
Last Tuesday, during their extraordinary meeting, the FIA
World Motor Sport Council approved a proposal coming from
the Touring Car Commission to change the start of the first
race of each FIA WTCC event from standing to rolling.
The second race will retain the usual standing start as well
as the top-eight reverse grid.
This change was agreed by representatives of all the Manufacturers
committed to the championship.
N.TECHNOLOGY SIGN OLIVIER TIELEMANS
N.Technology Alfa Romeo signed Olivier Tielemans as the second
driver for their FIA World Touring Car Championship team.
He will race alongside James Thompson for the 2007 season.
The 22-year-old from Holland has experience in single-seaters
and touring cars with drives in DTM, Mégane Eurocup
and Formula 3000 under his belt.
“This is the best drive I have ever been offered so
I am really happy,” said Tielemans. “DTM is the
highest I have ever competed in before this so I hope to use
my experience from there to do well in my new team. N.Technology
are really good in the WTCC and so is James Thompson, I hope
to learn from them. The other exciting thing is that Holland
is hosting the second event of the Championship. I live close
to Zandvoort and have raced there many times so I hope I can
help the team with my knowledge of the track and produce a
good result for them.”
“With James Thompson we have a great driver,”
said N.Technology Team Principal, Mauro Sipsz. “It has
always been my ambition to team him with a worthy, young driver
and we have found that in Olivier. I look forward to continuing
N.Technology’s success story with both of them.”
TEN KILOS OF BALLAST TO START
All the drivers will receive a 10-kg handicap weight for
the opening round in Curitiba, according to article 79a of
the WTCC Sporting Regulations.
This initial ballast will be adjusted for the following events
according to the results obtained in the races and the points
scored for the championship classification. The maximum handicap
weight applicable has been set at 60 kg.
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