FIA WTCC NEWSLETTER # 42 – 26 October 2007
2008 FIA WTCC CALENDAR APPROVED
This Wednesday in Paris the FIA World Motor Sport Council
approved the draft for the 2008 World Touring Car Championship.
Eleven meetings are listed, including one in Japan on October
26th that will be hosted by the Okayama International Circuit,
formerly known as Aida Tanaka International Circuit. The track,
located mid-way between Hiroshima and Osaka on the Honshu
island, was home to the Formula One Pacific Grand Prix in
1994 and 1995. Like in 2007, the next season will start in
Curitiba, Brazil, and end in Macau.
2008 FIA WTCC CALENDAR
Date Country Venue
02 March BRAZIL Curitiba
18 May SPAIN Valencia
01 June FRANCE Pau
15 June CZECH REPUBLIC Brno
06 July PORTUGAL Estoril
27 July GREAT BRITAIN Brands Hatch
31 August GERMANY Oschersleben
21 September SWEDEN Anderstorp *
05 October ITALY Monza
26 October JAPAN Okayama
16 November MACAU Macau
* subject to the ASN confirmation and the FIA homologation
of the circuit
RYDELL BACK TO SEAT FOR MACAU
Rickard Rydell will drive for SEAT Sport in Macau. It is
a comeback for the Swede who drove for the Spanish marque
from the 2004 FIA European Touring Car Championship to the
2006 WTCC, claiming four pole positions and two race victories,
including SEAT’s first ever in an FIA racing championship,
at Oschersleben in 2004. At Macau Rydell won the Formula 3
Grand Prix back in 1992 and finished three times on the podium
in the Guia Race.
"I’m really looking forward to joining the SEAT
Sport team for the race in Macau. I feel right at home with
SEAT and it’ll be good to work with them again. My main
goals of course are to support the team to win the manufacturer’s
championship and Yvan Muller in the driver’s. Macau
has always been one of my favourites because I like urban
tracks, and coming back to one that saw me win an F3 race
brings back fond memories,” said the Swedish driver.
During the current season Rydell made a one-off appearance
at his home event in Anderstorp, joining Chevrolet and winning
the second race.
A RECORD ENTRY OF 37 FOR THE ETCC
The third edition of the FIA European Touring Car Cup, that
takes place this weekend at the Adria Raceway, Italy, has
already met with a brilliant result: a new record in terms
of participations.
Thirty-seven drivers came from 11 countries and at the wheel
of cars from 12 different manufacturers. This equates to a
50 percent increase compared to the two previous editions.
Twenty five of these competitors (again a new record) will
fight for the FIA Super 2000 Cup and 7 for the FIA Super Production
Cup. Five other drivers have been accepted to compete in the
new Super 1600 class and they will not be eligible for any
of the two FIA Cups.
The FIA European Touring Car Cup’s first edition, held
in Valellunga, Italy, on 16th October 2005 was won by Richard
Göransson from Sweden in a BMW 320i (Super 2000) and
Lorenzo Falessi from Italy in an Alfa Romeo 147 (Super Production).
The second edition took place in Estoril, Portugal, on 22nd
October 2006 and saw victories of Ryan Sharp from Scotland
in a SEAT León (Super 2000) and Alexander Lvov from
Russia in a Honda Civic (Super Production).
|
