The 2014 World Touring Car Champion José María López will attend the Essen Motor Show ahead of WTCC’s return to Germany.
The 2015 season will mark the return of the FIA WTCC to Germany, one of the key automobile markets and one of the cradles of touring car racing. The WTCC will write history on 15-16 May 2015 when it will bring back a round of an FIA World Championship to the legendary 23-km Nürburgring Nordschleife.
Promotional activities ahead of WTCC’s return to Germany will kick-off this weekend, with a strong presence at the Essen Motor Show, the prestigious yearly gathering of motorsports players and fans. Europe’s first motorsport exhibition will open its doors for the public on Saturday 29 November and go on until Sunday 7 December.
The 2014 FIA WTCC champion, José María López, will attend the traditional Race Night of Auto Bild Motorsport that will take place today.
A WTCC car, the Honda Civic WTC, will be on display at the Eurosport and DMAX joint stand, and a number of activities are foreseen to foster awareness on the Nürburgring race among the 350,000 visitors expected at Essen’s fair complex over the nine days.
THE ETCC AT THE ESSEN MOTOR SHOW
Once again, also the FIA European Touring Car Cup will be well represented at the Essen Motor Show.
Three racing cars will be on display in the FIA ETCC stand: the Krenek Motorsport BMW 320si that finished second in the Super 2000 TC2 class with Czech driver Michal Matějovský; the Ravenol Team Ford Fiesta 1.6 16V with which Ulrike Krafft claimed four race victories in in the Super 1600 class and the Ladies’ Tropy title; the Single-Make Trophy SEAT León of Pfister Racing.
Details about the 2015 FIA ETCC season will be unveiled at the show.
LOEB TO COMPETE IN THE RALLYE MONTE-CARLO
Sébastien Loeb will make a one-off comeback to the World Rally Champions, competing in the Rallye Monte-Carlo from 19 to 25 January.
The nine-time WRC champion who switched to WTCC at the beginning of 2014, will drive a Citroën DS 3 WRC, accompanied by his regular co-pilot Daniel Elena. The duo has claimed seven victories in the Rallye Monte-Carlo.
Yves Matton, Citroën Racing Team Principal said: “With seven wins here, Seb and Daniel are undeniably the event’s greatest specialists and I’m sure that they will be extremely competitive in a DS 3 WRC, which will have some significant technical upgrades.”
Loeb – who won two races in his maiden WTCC season – commented: “I didn’t hesitate for a second when I was offered the chance to compete at the opening round of the 2015 World Rally Championship in the DS 3 WRC. I think Daniel and I would agree that Monte-Carlo is one of our favourite events. With the DS 3 WRC I have a lot of good memories; I hope that the 2015 Rallye Monte-Carlo will provide yet another. Obviously, it’s going to be a personal challenge for me, as I haven’t competed in a rally for over a year.”
