FIA WTCC newsletter 26
MARRAKECH JOINS 2009 WTCC CALENDAR
The FIA World Touring Car Championship will extend to Africa
in 2009. With the addition of a race meeting in Marrakech,
Morocco, the world championship is now set to visit four continents
next year: Americas, Africa, Europe and Asia.
Morocco's first international race in more than 50 years was
launched yesterday during a crowded press conference at Marrakech's
El Saadi Palace. The historical city will host the WTCC on
a brand new temporary street circuit in the heart of the red
city on May 3rd, 2009.
The Marrakech WTCC event will be the first international car
race in Morocco after the 1958 Formula One Grand Prix in Casablanca.
"This will be everybody's event. We all have to work
together to prove the world that Morocco can build a street
circuit and organize a motorsport event according to the FIA
standards. To do this we need to mobilize all our resources.
This event will have an unprecedented impact on Moroccan economy
and tourism," said the President of the Marrakech Grand
Prix Ali Horma.
ROUTE TO: ESTORIL, PORTUGAL
The 11th and 12th rounds of the FIA WTCC will take place next
week in Portugal, at Estoril's Autódromo Fernanda Pires
da Silva.
This is the first time that the championship visits the 4.1km
circuit, which is home to the Portuguese Moto GP, bringing
an automobile world championship event back there twelve years
after the 1996 Formula One Grand Prix.
However, the FIA touring cars have already visited Estoril
three times in the past. The European Touring Car Championship
raced there in 2002 and 2003: Fabrizio Giovanardi's Alfa Romeo
and Jörg Müller's BMW shared victories in 2002,
while the year after Alfa Romeo's Gabriele Tarquini obtained
a double win that propelled him towards the European title.
In 2006 Estoril hosted the FIA European Touring Car Cup; in
a soaked wet weekend Ryan Sharp (GR Asia SEAT León)
and Alexander Lvov (Golden Motors Honda Civic) claimed the
Super 2000 and Super Production titles.
BOARDMAN WINS WTCC PARTICIPATION
24-year old Briton Tom Boardman is the second SEAT Eurocup
driver to win participation in the FIA WTCC.
Boardman, who scored the most points in the cup's second race
meeting at Pau, will drive the SEAT León TFSI run by
SUNRED Engineering Development at Estoril; he succeeds the
Spaniard Oscar Nogués who took part in the WTCC event
at Pau after emerging as the best Eurocup driver in Valencia.
Despite his young age, Boardman boasts an impressive racing
career with saloon cars. From 2000 to 2003 he raced in the
British National Saloon and Touring Car Championships, claiming
seven race wins and a fifth place in Production Class in the
2003 BTCC. Afterwards he switched to SEAT trophies, winning
the 2005 British Cupra Cup and finishing third in the 2006
Spanish Supercópa.
THOMPSON CLAIMS DANISH VICTORY
A few days after emerging as the fastest in the WTCC official
test at Monza, James Thompson claimed his first victory for
Honda. The Briton won the first race during the fifth meeting
of the Danish Touring Car Championship that took place last
Sunday at Padborg Park.
Thompson had clocked the second fastest qualifying time, only
eight thousandths of a second behind Chevrolet's Henrik Lundgaard;
but the Briton had a better start and took the lead at the
fist bend and kept it until the chequered flag, giving the
Hartmann Honda Racing their first ever victory. Despite starting
the second race from eighth on the reverse grid, Thompson
managed to recover up to third place and also set the fastest
lap. Additionally he won pole position on the grid for the
final race, which is awarded on the basis of the combined
results of the two qualifying races.
Thompson's hopes for a second victory ended when he was given
a stop-and-go penalty for clashing with Schlünssen's
Peugeot 407, and this propelled Michael Outzen and his Chevrolet
Lacetti towards their second win of the season.
"I was told that there was a safety car on the circuit
and being the leader I thought it right to back off. It would
be irresponsible to arrive at the scene at full speed. However,
there were no yellow flags or safety car signs, so Schlünssen
was to make an attempt at passing. We made contact and he
went off the circuit, and that of course is my responsibility,"
Thompson explained.
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