BMW Team Germany drivers Augusto Farfus and Jörg Müller, both celebrate their birthday on September 3rd. This year they celebrated it together by visiting the BMW factory in Leipzig, a few kilometres away from Oschersleben.
Farfus and Müller enjoyed visiting the assembly line of the new BMW X1 and meeting the workers before signing autographs for the employees during the shift changeover.
"I’ve never been here before, I’m surprised how modern everything is. Really great. At my home race I want to win my first race this year, that is for sure", said Jörg Müller.
The tour ended with the team mates being offered a double birthday cake.
Farfus and Müller during their visit at the BMW factory in Leipzig
CHINESE COMMITTEE VISITS OSCHERSLEBEN
A large committee of FASC (the Federation of Automobile Sports of China) is visiting the WTCC paddock at Oschersleben this weekend.
The group is led by Xian Tongchun, Division Chief in charge of Touring Cars and includes key persons in charge of organising and promoting the Chinese Touring Car Championship that will switch to the FIA S2000 technical regulations next year.
"We are very happy to welcome the Chinese delegation and show them how the WTCC works. It is great to see the CTCC embracing the FIA regulations, because this is a crucial market for car manufacturers. Even those who are interested in joining the WTCC in the near future are keen to have the opportunity to race in China with the same cars. It is something that the FIA and ourselves have worked on, together with FASC president Mr Yu Zaiqing, for a long time," said WTCC promoter Marcello Lotti.
SHAPOVALOV BACK IN THE DRIVER’S SEAT
The LADA Sport team spent the summer break building two new Priora cars. This enabled the team to respect the original plan of switching to a full trio of Prioras from this weekend’s meeting at Oschersleben.
The Russian car recently completed a test session at Magny-Cours that focused on general development of chassis and engine. With James Thompson unable to race in Oschersleben, due to a clashing commitment, team principal Viktor Shapovalov is back in the driver’s seat.
"Of course I’ve missed driving, so this is a very nice opportunity for me," said Shapovalov. "I’ve been out of competition for a couple of months so I might not be up to speed straight away, but I’m certainly going to be trying my best."