FIA WTCC NEWSLETTER # 44 – 9 November 2007
ANDRÉ COUTO TO RACE FOR ALFA IN MACAU
Local hero André Couto will join the Alfa Romeo N.technology
team for his home race in Macau. The 30-year old driver had
his first test in the Alfa Romeo 156 car last week at the
Varano racetrack in Italy.
Couto, a winner of the Macau Formula 3 Grand Prix in 2000,
has become a regular competitor in the Touring Car Guia Race
since 2002, racing for BMW, SEAT (last year) and Alfa Romeo.
He has already driven twice for the Italian Manufacturer at
Macau: in 2003 at the wheel of a Super Production Alfa 147
(setting pole position) and in the 2005 FIA WTCC finale, when
he crashed out of the lead during Race 1. Couto replaces Olivier
Tielemans to join title contender James Thompson.
HENRY LEE JR WILL DRIVE A RUSSIAN BMW
Henry Lee jr, one of the most victorious racing
drivers from Hong Kong, will make his FIA WTCC debut in Macau
at the wheel of a BMW 320i E46 entered by the Russian team
Avtodom Racing.
Lee, 49-years old, boasts a long and successful racing career
which includes five Touring Car titles. He has been works
driver in Asia for Nissan, Peugeot and Ford and claimed brilliant
results at Macau where he won the 1990 ACP Cup and the 1995
Macau Cup and finished second in the 2000 Guia Race in a Peugeot
306. The Avtodom Racing – BMW Team Russia is also very
successful, having won a number of races in the Russian Touring
Car Championship. In 2007 they took part in the German ADAC
Procar series, scoring two victories with Alexander Labazov.
ENGSTLER ENTERS THIRD CAR FOR LOCAL DRIVER
Engstler Motorsport have entered a third BMW 320i car for
Hong Kong driver David Louie, alongside those of Franz Engstler
and Andrey Romanov.
This will be 45-year old Louie’s maiden touring car
appearance, after he claimed some brilliant results in the
Asian and Chinese Formula Renault championships. Louie will
be at the wheel of the same BMW 320i driven by Richard Kaye
in the FIA European Touring Car Cup at Adria; unlike Engstler’s
and Romanov’s, this car is equipped with a sequential
gearbox.
BMW CARS WITH SEQUENTIAL GEARBOX GET +60
The FIA Touring Car Bureau decided to impose a 60kg ballast
for the races in Macau to all the BMW cars equipped with a
6-speed sequential gearbox. These cars are accepted on the
basis of national homlogations and are not eligible to score
championship points. The 60kg ballast will be added to the
car’s minimum weight of 1170 kg, as per Art. 5 of the
WTCC Technical Regulations. This decision concerns the BMW
320si E90 cars of Colin Turkington, Duncan Huisman and Carl
Rosenblad and the BMW 320i E46 of David Louie. 2
Handicap Weights Update
60 kg A. Priaulx, Y. Muller, A. Farfus, J. Thompson, J. Müller,
N. Larini, G.
Tarquini, R. Huff, D. Huisman, C. Turkington, C. Rosenblad,
D. Louie
55 kg A. Menu, J. Gené
15 kg T. Monteiro, F. Porteiro
10 kg T. Coronel, A. Zanardi, F. Engstler, A. Romanov, A.
Couto, H. Lee jr
5 kg L. Rangoni
EUROSPORT COVERAGE FROM MACAU
Live coverage of all the action in Macau will be broadcast
live on Eurosport International, starting from Friday’s
qualifying session that will be aired in Europe in the morning.
Live coverage of the two races will start on Sunday morning
at 4.45 (Central European Time) to go on until 7.00.
Friday, 16th: Qualifying – LIVE Eurosport International,
09.15/10.00
Sunday, 18th: Warm up – LIVE Eurosport International,
01.00/01.30
Races 1 & 2 – LIVE Eurosport International, 04.45/07.00
Races 1 & 2 – highlights Eurosport International,
10.00/11.00
Races 1 & 2 – highlights Eurosport 2, 17.30/18.30
Times are CET (Central European Time
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