During the 2014 season, WTCC competitors will benefit from a 30-minute test session on Friday in most of the race meetings.
Following a request coming from the teams, it was decided to run a Friday test session in the early afternoon at all race meetings except the one at the Moscow Raceway on June 8.
In Macau the test session will be run on Thursday, as usually.
In previous seasons Friday test sessions were only held at the new venues and in the overseas events.
This compensates for the previous decision of cancelling the 15-minute Warm-Up session on Sunday morning.
CHILTON: THE FASTER THE CAR, THE BETTER
This year Tom Chilton will be racing for ROAL Motorsport in one of the RML-built Cruze TC1 cars.
A former race winner and Independents’ champion in the British Touring Car Championship, the 28-year old Briton faces his third season in WTCC. After a maiden year in the Arena Motorsport’s Ford Focus, in 2013 Chilton established himself as one of the series’ top drivers, winning his first races and fighting for second in the Drivers’ Championship.
“I’m really happy with my second year in the WTCC. I was with a great team and team-mate. For sure I wish I had finished second overall, not fifth, as I wanted it to give RML a 1-2 finish, but I couldn’t foresee being hit off in both of the last races at Macau…”
LADA DRIVERS COMMENT ON NEW CIRCUITS
LADA Sport drivers look forward to visit some new circuits during the 2014 WTCC season, especially because they feel that their LADA Granta car is good on the fast racetracks.
James Thompson: “Each new racetrack is a challenge for me. Spa is a very demanding circuit; I have raced there and I really look forward to returning. Suzuka’s Grand Prix layout will be another great addition. It’s a fantastic track and will provide a much more entertaining spectacle and, from a driver’s point of view, it really brings out the best in you. I expect really spectacular, action-packed races there!”
HUFF TO DRIVE 1982 RENAULT F1
Rob Huff has joined the star-studded list of names who will attend the 72nd Goodwood Members’ Meeting on March 29th and 30th.
The 2012 FIA WTCC champion will first race in the Gerry Marshall Trophy for Group 1 touring cars from the mid-Seventies to early Eighties, sharing a 1980 Rover 3500 SD1 with Tom Scott Andrews.
Later he will take part in the weekend’s high-speed demonstration of turbocharged F1 machinery at the wheel of René Arnoux’s mighty Renault RE30B from the 1982 season.
“I can’t wait!” said an enthusiastic Huff. “To race a Rover SD1 will take me back a few years, because my granddad used to take me to school in one every day, and to get behind the wheel of the ex-Arnoux turbo Renault is going to be pretty special. I’ve never driven a grand prix car before and I’m told that this machine in particular is a bit of an animal!”