Following a request from the SEAT Sport team, the FIA Stewards have published a decision that states: "Considering the particular weather conditions in which the qualifying took part (at Oschersleben) and the impossibility of calculating a realistic time, the Stewards decide to allocate the time set during Q1 as the notional time in application of Art. 79 A)1) of the 2009 FIA WTCC Sporting Regulations."
As a consequence of this decision, the BMW 320si car is promoted to the fastest car of the German weekend, 0.1 seconds faster than the SEAT León TDI.
However, the only effect on the weight list for the Imola event is that the Chevrolet Cruze cars are allocated 30 kilos of compensation weight instead of 20.
Compensation weights Imola (amended)
+ 40 kg BMW 320si, SEAT León TDI
+ 30 kg Chevrolet Cruze LT
– 20 kg BMW 320si Zanardi, LADA Priora, SEAT León TFSI
CORONEL TO TAKE PART IN ASIAN ROUNDS
Tom Coronel has secured his participation in the two final events of the 2009 FIA World Touring Car Championship, at Okayama in Japan and Macau.
Despite SEAT Holland’s decision to stop supporting him after Imola, the Dutchman and the SUNRED Engineering team will be able to compete in the Asian rounds thanks to the support of clothing company McGregor and SEAT Sport.
Coronel is still in contention for the Independents‘ Trophy title and after his two recent victories at Oschersleben he is leading the standings.
"It was quite hard for me when I was told that we wouldn’t be racing in Japan and Macau. However, Dutch SEAT importer Pon Car gave me all the possibilities to go and look for a solution to make the participation in Asia happen after all. From that moment on, I have tried every possible option and thanks to many people who have provided ideas and support, we have succeeded. Of course, that makes me very happy," said Coronel.
For the final three events of the season – Italy, Japan and Macau – Coronel’s SEAT León will sport a new blue livery.
The new livery of Tom Coronel’s SEAT León car
ZANARDI 14th IN HANDBIKE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Alessandro Zanardi claimed an outstanding 14th place in the Handbike World Championship last Sunday at Borgogno, Italy. On his maiden appearance as a member of the Italian handbike national team, the BMW Team Italy-Spain driver put in a strong performance, finishing the in-line race only 11.29 seconds behind the winner.
"It has been a great experience although my expectations were for better results. In both, the chrono and in the in-line races I left behind the same number of opponents that finished in front of me but I did not have in my arms strength and resistance to fight with the best ones. I could have obtained better results by managing my resources in a different way, if I only had more experience…," said Zanardi.
Alessandro Zanardi in action during the Handbike World Championship
ENGSTLER MEETS MUNICH FOOTBALLERS
After his home event at Oschersleben and before heading to Imola, Independent front runner Franz Engstler took some time to visit football club 1860 Munich.
He took his BMW 320si race car to the grounds and met the Bavaria-based team who compete in the Second Bundesliga.
Both are supported by Liqui Moly and are fighting to be winners in their respective championships. While Engstler sits third in the WTCC Independents‘ Trophy, 1860 Munich are currently placed seventh.
Franz Engstler and his car with 1860 Munich’s football players
INDIES‘ PRIZE MONEY WILL RISE TO 500,000 EUROS
Next year the prize money for the FIA World Touring Car Championship’s Independents‘ Trophy will be raised from the current 384,000 euros to 500,000.
"We are very grateful to Yokohama for continuing to support the privateer drivers‘ efforts to stay in the championship. And thanks to Yokohama we are now able to offer an impressive half-million prize money," WTCC promoter Marcello Lotti declared.
The way this prize money is going to be awarded will be unveiled in the next weeks.
"We are currently in negotiations with other partners to increase the prize money by another 250,00 euros. We hope to confirm this new deal soon," concluded Lotti.