The 5th and 6th rounds of the season will be held on May 3rd in Morocco, at Marrakech’s new street circuit, marking WTCC’s first visit to Africa.
The 4.6-km racetrack has been traced out in the hotel district of Agdal, which lies only a few chilometres South of the Medina, Marrakech’s historical centre. More than 2500 concrete impact blocks and as many debris fence panels have been put in place to bound the track, while the paddock has been paved alongside the walls of the Royal Garden.
The event was launched on Thursday in Marrakech, during a crowded press conference at the Naoura Barrière Hotel and Ryad.
"This is a great event for our city and requires special services and extraordinary measures. Huge efforts have been made to facilitate custom clearance of the teams‘ trucks that will arrive at Tangier’s harbour and immigration of WTCC staff, teams‘ personnel and international media at Marrakech Menara airport. Special plans have been established for public security and circulation. We have done whatever is possible to guarantee that the event will run smoothly and with success, because the common goal is to help the championship’s and the event’s promoters to extend their deal for a further three years," explained Mounir Chraibi, Waili of the city.
Marrakech will host the championship’s 5th and 6th round next week
BMW CARS SPORT NEW LOOK IN MARRAKECH
BMW National Teams‘ cars will adopt a new face lift from the next WTCC event in Marrakech. The five 320si machines run by BMW Team Germany for Augusto Farfus and Jörg Müller, BMW Team UK for Andy Priaulx and BMW Team Italy-Spain for Alessandro Zanardi and Sergio Hernández, will sport the new bonnet, headlamps and front bumper with wider air intakes that were tested during last winter in Valencia.
Friedhelm Nohl, BMW Motorsport General Manager for Sports and Touring Cars explained: "The face lift is mainly an optical change. The WTCC cars are based on the normal production cars, and in September 2008 the facelifted version of the BMW 3 Series was launched on the markets. This is the reason why the race version adopts now these modifications as well. The new design will have only some marginal influence on the aerodynamics."
The BMW racing cars adopt the new face lift from the event in Morocco
EUROSPORT COVERAGE FROM MARRAKECH
Saturday, 2nd: Qualifying – LIVE Eurosport 2, 17.00/18.00
Sunday, 3rd: Warm up – LIVE Eurosport International, 12.00/12.30
Race 1 – LIVE Eurosport International, 14.45/15.45
Race 2 – LIVE Eurosport International, 15.45/16.45
Tuesday, 5th: WTCC Magazine Eurosport International, 23.00/23.30
Times are CET (Central European Time)