FIA WTCC newsletter 10
BALLAST FOR TEN IN MEXICO
The new FIA WTCC success ballast system will come into force
from the second race meeting of the season, which will take
place in Puebla, Mexico, on April 6th.
Ten drivers will carry extra weight on board their cars,
with SEAT Sport team-mates Yvan Muller and Gabriele Tarquini
both on +44 kg. They are joint leaders in the championship
after they took one victory apiece in Curitiba. This resulted
in 30 kg of ballast for being the highest scorers during the
Brazilian weekend, plus 14 kg due to the championship points
collected.
BMW men Andy Priaulx and Jörg Müller - who are
currently third and fourth in the Drivers' championship -
will be given 33 and 26 extra kilos respectively, with Rickard
Rydell on +20 and Félix Porteiro on +14.
Three other drivers will carry a minimum amount of success
ballast according to the championship points they have scored:
Augusto Farfus +3, Tom Coronel 2, Jordi Gené and Independent's
Trophy leader Olivier Tielemans +1.
44 kg Y. Muller, G. Tarquini
33 kg A. Priaulx
26 J. Müller
20 R. Rydell
14 F. Porteiro
3 A. Farfus
2 T. Coronel
1 J. Gené, O. Tielemans
BACK TO MEXICO IN THREE WEEKS
The FIA WTCC stays in America for its second race meeting.
After the season started two weeks ago in Curitiba, Brazil,
the championship is now heading to Mexico's Autódromo
Miguel E. Abed, where rounds 3 and 4 will take place on April
6th.
This is the third time the 3.2 km circuit located some 30km
East of Puebla, hosts the championship, which comes back to
Mexico after a one-year break.
The WTCC visited Puebla for the first time in July 2005. In
front of a huge crowd of 71,000, Fabrizio Giovanardi's Alfa
Romeo won the first race, while SEAT's Peter Terting claimed
his first and only WTCC victory in the second.
The following year's event - on a completely revised track
- was dominated by the Alfa Romeo men. SEAT's Rickard Rydell
set pole position, but was dropped ten positions on the grid
due to an engine change; this left pole position to Salvatore
Tavano, who won the first race from team-mate Augusto Farfus.
Later the young Brazilian and third Alfa driver Gianni Morbidelli
finished 1-2 in the second race. However, the new track record
was set by Ryan Sharp in the JAS Motorsport Honda Civic with
a time of 1:44.994, and the Scotsman finished a brilliant
third in Race 1.
The attendance of Mexican fans was even larger than in 2005,
with 76,000 spectators gathering at the track during the weekend.
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