The FIA World Touring Car Championship has a strong presence at the Essen Motorshow this year. The show is one of the most popular motor sport exhibitions in Europe and opened on November 27^th, continuing until December 5^th.
The WTCC stand that is located close to those of its major partners in Germany, Motorsport Arena Oschersleben and the ADAC Procar series, exhibits two racng cars: the 2010 world champion Chevrolet Cruze of Yvan Muller and Andy Priaulx’s BMW 320si.
Animation for the fans is provided by the "Race" simulator that awards WTCC merchandising and items signed by the drivers, such as Chevrolet shirts by Muller and BMW gloves and shirts by Augusto Farfus.

Chevrolet and BMW racing cars exhibited in the WTCC stand at the Essen Motorshow

NEW KIDS ON THE WTCC BLOCK
The 2010 FIA World Touring Car Championship has launched some new faces in the stardom of international tin-top racing.
A bunch of young drivers – some of them having already achieved impressive results in the national series – attracted attention with remarkable performances, showing the speed and skill to compete against the established top-guns of the category.
Two of them, Colin Turkington (28 years old from Northern Ireland) and Norbert Michelisz (26 from Hungary), even claimed their maiden WTCC victories during the season.
Michelisz, the winner of the 2009 SEAT Eurocup, drove a SEAT León TDI run by the Zengö Dension Team. His rise was fast and consistent, leading him to an unexpected 9^th position in the Drivers‘ championship and to a well deserved win in Macau’s Race 2.
Even more impressive was Colin Turkington’s path. The 2009 British Touring Car champion took part in only five events – Portimão, Brands Hatch, Brno, Okayama and Macau – in a West Surrey Racing BMW 320si. Right from the beginning he found his place among the best and claimed three podium results out of his first six races: third and second in Brands Hatch, second in Brno.
He shone again in the soaked Japanese event, finishing second in Race 2 behind fellow BMW driver Augusto Farfus; when Farfus was excluded by the International Court of Appeal, Turkington inherited a victory that he clearly had the potential to claim on the track. He also managed to make the top-ten in the Drivers‘ Championship despite taklng part in only ten races out of 22.

Colin Turkington and Norbert Michelisz claimed maiden WTCC victories in 2010

WTCC STATISTICS AND FIGURES
They say figures speak for themselves. Well, let’s check the most important figures that resulted from the 2010 FIA WTCC season.

PARTICIPATION
46 drivers took part in at least one event, coming from 20 different countries and four continents. The most represented nations were Great Britain, Japan and Macau with five drivers apiece, while Italy, Morocco and Spain had three each.
For the first time the championship welcomed drivers from Argentina (Leonel Pernía at Monza) and Taipei (Kevin Chen at Okayama and Macau).
Competitors were at the wheel of cars built by five manufacturers: BMW, Chevrolet, Honda, SEAT and Volvo. The average participation was 22.6 cars per event with a peak of 29 in Macau.
148 drivers have started in at least one WTCC race since the championship was launched in 2005, from Ao Chi Hong (Macau) to Evgeny Zelenov (Russia) in alphabetical order.
Andy Priaulx is the only driver who has taken the start in all the 132 races held so far.

VICTORY
Andy Priaulx claimed six victories in 2010, matching Augusto Farfus‘ record from last year. Gabriele Tarquini won five races, Yvan Muller and Rob Huff three each, Tiago Monteiro two. One single win was achieved by Alain Menu, Norbert Michelisz and Colin Turkington.
Priaulx is also on top of the all-time statistics, with 18 victories. Three more than Farfus and Tarquini, five more than Muller. Three other drivers are in double-digit: Menu (12), Huff and Jörg Müller (10).
A total of 23 drivers have won at least one race from 2005 to 2010; this year the winners‘ circle has welcomed two new members: Colin Turkington and Norbert Michelisz.

SPEED
With three pole positions and six fastest laps during the season, Gabriele Tarquini emerged as the fastest of the field. Rob Huff, Yvan Muller and Augusto Farfus with two poles and Andy Priaulx with five fastest laps, ranked behind him in the year’s statistics.
Thanks to these results, Tarquini jumped on top of both the all-time lists. With 13 pole positions the 2009 World Champion leads from Augusto Farfus by two. They left everybody else well behind as Alain Menu and Yvan Muller are joint in third with seven poles each.
Speaking of fastest laps, Tarquini shares the lead at 16 with Jörg Müller and Andy Priaulx. Farfus is fourth with 14.

LEADERSHIP
Andy Priaulx led nearly one out of four of the 283 laps that formed the championship over the 22 races. Priaulx led 68 laps, 11 and 23 more than Gabriele Tarquini and Rob Huff respectively.
With a tally of three world titles won between 2005 and 2007, is not surprising to see Priaulx on top of the all-time list with 240 laps in the lead. Augusto Farfus is the only other driver who has led more than 200 laps: 211.
Gabriele Tarquini completes the ideal podium with 172 leading laps, while Yvan Muller made the most of his 161 laps in the lead, grabbing two world titles.
Alain Menu (141), Jörg Müller (140) and Rob Huff (134) are the other drivers who have led for more than 100 laps.

CONSISTENCY
Freshly crowned world champion for the second time, Yvan Muller tops the list of the all-time scorers with 711 points. He is followed by Andy Priaulx and Gabriele Tarquini who collected 677 and 665 points respectively.
Muller’s consistency is proved by the 6.46 points he scored on average in the 110 races he has started in. Tarquini (5.15 pts over 129 races) and Priaulx (5.13 pts over 132 races) have been less effective.
The best average is Colin Turkington’s 9.7 points per race, counting only the ten races he attended this year, as he was not eligible to score when he took part in the occasional races in 2007. However these results are influenced by the change of the point system occurred in 2010.
51 drivers have scored at least one point over the championship’s six seasons, but only two of them have been able to do it on their only appearance: Eric Cayrolle at Pau in 2009 and Leonel Pernía at Monza this year.

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The 2010 FIA WTCC Drivers‘ Championship has ended as in 2008, with Yvan Muller crowned as the new champion and Gabriele Tarquini and Rob Huff finishing on equal points, with the Italian classified second thanks to more race wins.
Muller has won his second world title, this time for Chevrolet, two years after the one he claimed for SEAT Sport.
"It feels good! I did my job properly and I’m pleased for the team," he commented.
He was given the absolute certainty of the title even before Macau, when the International Court of Appeal excluded Andy Priaulx from the Japanese meeting.
"Before the verdict I had done twenty races to win this title, so I don’t feel like I won this off the track. After Japan I felt it was already done, as I had a 37-point lead so there was only a small chance of losing it. I had been winning this title since the first race in Curitiba and kept hold to have the biggest advantage by Japan."
Muller showed impressive consistency since joining WTCC in 2006. In five seasons he was classified first twice, second twice and fourth once, claiming 13 victories and scoring more points than any other driver with 711. During the current season he obtained three wins and 13 podium results in 22 races.
"There are many keys to a championship. Consistency is important but you also need a good car, good engineers, good mechanics and a bit of luck! It is nice to have been fighting for the title in the last five years. I think if you do a world championship classification over the whole of the last five years, I would also win that!"
He was also the first driver to win the WTCC with different Manufacturers.
"To make comparison it’s unavoidable. When I won my first title with SEAT it was a very important year after I had lost the 2007 championship on the last lap. Winning now with Chevrolet has also been special. It has been my first year with them, and giving them their first title added a special feeling."

The 2010 championship podium: Tarquini 2^nd, Muller 1^st, Huff 3^rd

CHEVROLET CELEBRATED A TRIUMPHANT SEASON
The 1-2 finish of Rob Huff and Yvan Muller in the first race at Macau gave Chevrolet the 2010 FIA World Touring Car Championship title for Manufacturers‘.
The level of competition on the track between the three brands represented was incredibly high and balanced, as it is proved by the figures: BMW and Chevrolet claimed seven victories apiece and SEAT eight.
"I am very proud. To win Chevrolet’s first championship in the WTCC is fantastic. This is not only the first FIA world championship for Chevrolet, but the first ever for any GM brand and it feels great to be part of that," said Eric Nève, Motorsport Manager of Chevrolet.
For Chevrolet that joined WTCC in 2005, this was a triumphant season with the Cruze cars run by the RML team. A season that was also worth the Drivers‘ Championship with Yvan Muller. "We have fought for both championships this year and winning the Drivers‘ title obviously helped for the Manufacturers‘. To be able to get both was a great achievement. It has been a terrific season. We finished on the podium 21 out of 22 races, only missing out at Brands Hatch. The team have had a consistent season, from starting with a 1-2-3 in Brazil to ending on a high note in Macau," Nève added.
Chevrolet has already confirmed the winning team for next year: Yvan Muller, Rob Huff and Alain Menu. "Aside from Yvan and Rob, Alain has also been a great team player this year and although things haven’t gone his way he has really contributed to the team’s success," concluded Nève.

The Chevrolet Cruze cars finished on the podium in 21 races out of 22

TROPHIES – PROTEAM MOTORSPORT TOOK ALL
Just like Chevrolet did in the overall championship, Proteam Motorsport had a clean sweep in the Yokohama trophies. The Italian outfit clinched both the Independents‘ Trophy with Sergio Hernández and the Teams‘ Trophy, improving their already impressive tally to six titles in six years.
Hernández was crowned Independents‘ champion for the second time; his first win dated back to 2008. The Spaniard claimed five victories during the season and beat Franz Engstler by 29 points, while Kristian Poulsen completed a trio of BMW drivers on top of the standings finishing a further 10 points adrift.
Despite joining the championship on only the third event, Poulsen won seven races, more than any other driver, and was a serious threat for Hernández until he crashed out of Macau’s last race.
Hong Kong rookie Darryl O’Young obtained three victories to be classified fourth in the Trophy; he arrived to the final meeting with good chances to fight for the title but was victim of incidents in both races at Macau. Moroccan youngster Mehdi Bennani claimed fifth position in the trophy after winning his home race in Marrakech.
In the Team’s Trophy Proteam Motorsport grabbed their fourth title ahead of bamboo-engineering and Liqui Moly Team Engstler.

Sergio Hernández ended on a high note at Macau, winning the second race

SEAT DRIVERS DOMINATED ROOKIE CHALLENGE
The new Rookie Challenge offered some exciting fights among emerging young drivers, which is quite remarkable in Touring Car racing, where most of the top-drivers are over 35.
Norbert Michelisz (26), Michel Nykjær (31) and Fredy Barth (31) dominated most of the races at the wheel of their SEAT León TDI cars. Not only were they capable of restricting the title fight among them, but they also put in some impressive performances that resulted in briliant overall results that culminated in Michelisz’s maiden victory at Macau.
The Hungarian youngster had already come close to such an achievement during the season, as he was a regular qualifier in Q2, started from the front row of the reverse grid for race two four times and led for three laps in Portugal. With a number of top-ten finishes he was also able to claim ninth place in the Drivers‘ Championship, as well as clinching the Rookie title.
Nykjær a former double champion in the Danish and European touring cars showed impressive speed. He could have also won an overall race, as he was comfortably leading the pack in Monza and Okayama before retiring in the late stages (due to a puncture in Italy and a mistake in Japan). He finished runner up behind Michelisz, beating Barth by 7 points.
The latter had a dazzling start, collecting four wins in the Rookie challenge out of the first five races. However the second part of the season was not as lucky; the Swiss was often among the fastest but lacked in consistency.
Darryl O’Young and Mehdi Bennani tried their best, but their cars (Chevrolet Lacetti and BMW 320si) could hardly compete with the turbodiesel power. Only O’Young was able to break the winning streak of the SEAT drivers, in the second race at Brno.

Norbert Michelisz and Michel Nykjær classified 1^st and 2^nd in the Rookie Challenge

AUTO GP JOINS WTCC AS PARTNER SERIES
WTCC and Auto GP announced an agreement that will see Auto GP become partner series to the FIA World Touring Car Championship for six meetings of the 2011 season.
Auto GP will run two races, the first one on Saturday and the second one on Sunday, at the following events: Monza, Italy (15 May), Marrakech, Morocco (5 June), Brno, Czech Republic (19 June), Donington Park, UK (17 July), Oschersleben, Germany (31 July) and Valencia, Spain (4 September).
WTCC promoter, Marcello Lotti commented: "We are very pleased to welcome Auto GP as a partner series in six of our 2011 FIA WTCC events. Not only will this agreement bring high level single-seater racing in the WTCC package once again, but it also completes the attractive programme offered to the fans on site and on TV, that covers all the major forms of car racing: touring cars, one-make GT series and formula cars."

www.fiawtcc.com

Rob Huff continued his good form to claim pole position for tomorrow’s Race of Macau. The Briton claimed his second pole of the season after Brno and followed on from his success in 2009 when he also secured pole and victory in Race 1. Rookie Norbert Michelisz put in a great final lap to finish second quickest, but will start the race in seventh after receiving a 5-position grid penalty. Chevrolet’s newly crowned World Champion Yvan Muller was third while Hong Kong’s Darryl O’Young was the best independent in ninth.

Q2 – After yesterday’s qualifying session in Macau came to a premature end as darkness fell, the postponed 15-minute final top ten shootout took place in Macau this morning. After Q1 the drivers going through into Q2 were Yvan Muller from Rob Huff, Tiago Monteiro, Alain Menu, Norbert Michelisz, Darryl O’Young, Gabriele Tarquini, Andy Priaulx, Augusto Farfus and André Couto.
Huff was the first to top the times as Muller went into the barrier at the Lisboa Bend ruining his first lap and Couto’s but rejoined with the pair, alongside Monteiro, heading straight back into the pits. After the first completed laps Huff was quickest from Farfus, Menu, Tarquini, Priaulx, O’Young and Michelisz.
Farfus then clipped the tyres at the Lisboa and pitted for the rest of the session while O’Young went on to clock a second flying lap on his first run.
With his Chevrolet Cruze taped up following the damage, Muller came out to complete his only quick lap, moving up to second. Huff improved his earlier time to a 2:31.321 to secure pole while Michelisz put in a great final lap to demote Muller from second.
The final order at the chequered flag was Huff from Michelisz, Muller, Menu, Monteiro, Farfus, Tarquini, Priaulx, O’Young and Couto. With Michelisz’s penalty it leaves a trio of Chevrolets at the front putting them in an ideal position to secure the Manufacturers‘ Championship tomorrow.

WTCC Guia Race of Macau – Circuito da Guia – 19 / 21 November 2010
www.fiawtcc.com – www.macau.grandprix.gov.mo

In Paris last Friday, in the hearing for the appeals lodged by Chevrolet, the International Court of Appeal annulled decisions n. 1 and 2 taken by the Panel of Stewards on 30 October 2010 at the FIA WTCC event in Okayama that authorized the BMW cars of Augusto Farfus and Andy Priaulx to use sequential gearboxes.
Therefore the Court excluded both cars from the results of the event. This means that Colin Turkington inherited victory in the second race (his first WTCC win) and Yvan Muller is out of reach in the Drivers‘ Championship, as he now lies 55 points ahead of Gabriele Tarquini.
The Court also ordered that, with regard to the event in Macau, any compensation weight to be attributed to Farfus‘ and Priaulx’s cars in accordance with Article 79 of the WTCC Sporting Regulations, be calculated on the basis of their results during the three events preceding the Japanese one.

Farfus‘ exclusion in Okayama’s Race 2 resulted in Turkinton’s first WTCC win

COMPENSATION WEIGHTS FOR THE FINAL EVENT
Taking into account the fastest lap times set in Oschersleben, Valencia and Okayama, the Chevrolet Cruze and SEAT León TDI will run in Macau with the maximum compensation weight, or 40 extra kilos on board.
Following the decision taken by the International Court of Appeal, the BMW 320si cars will also be on +40kg taking into account the fastest lap times set in the events of Brno, Oschersleben and Valencia.
The BMW 320si cars in old specs will benefit from a 10kg reduction while the Chevrolet Lacetti cars will have 20kg deducted from their minimum weight.
The Honda cars of local drivers Philip Ma, Chan Kin Man and Kuok Io Keong will also be on the maximum compensation weight, as it will be the models‘ first appearance in the season.

Compensation weight Macau
+ 40 kg BMW 320si, Chevrolet Cruze LT, Honda Accord, Honda Civic, SEAT León TDI
– 10 kg BMW 320si (old model)
– 20 kg Chevrolet Lacetti

STANDINGS AFTER THE COURT OF APPEAL
(Updated classifications attached)

DRIVERS‘ CHAMPIONSHIP
Yvan Muller’s leading margin is now of 55 points ahead of Gabriele Tarquini, with 50 points still to be awarded.
As a matter of fact, unless a catastrophic point penalty hits him in Macau, the Frenchman will clinch his second FIA World Touring Car Championship title – the first for Chevrolet – after the one he grabbed in 2008 for SEAT.
The fight for the runner-up positions is wide opened, with Tarquini (246), Andy Priaulx (240) and Rob Huff (236) all covered by just ten points.

MANUFACTURERS‘ CHAMPIONSHIP
The title is still at stake, although Chevrolet has a comfortable margin of 74 points with a maximum of 86 to be awarded in Macau.
SEAT Customers Technology is now second in the classification, 27 points ahead of BMW.

YOKOHAMA TROPHIES AND ROOKIE CHALLENGE
The outcome of the appeal did not change the situation in these classifications.
In the Independents‘ Trophy, Proteam Motorsport’s Sergio Hernández defends a 21-point lead from bamboo-engineering’s Darryl O’Young. As double points will be awarded in the Macau races, the maximum booty available is of 43 points, which leaves a few chances also to Kristian Poulsen and Franz Engstler who lie 27 and 29 points behind respectively.
Proteam Motorsport are just one step from winning the Teams‘ Trophy for the fourth time (previous victories in 2005, 2007, 2008). The Italian outfit lead from bamboo-engineering by 25 points, with 72 still to be awarded.
Zengö Dension Team’s Norbert Michelisz is close to being crowned the first WTCC Rookie Challenge champion. The Hungarian youngster was consistent in putting in strong performances throughout the season and tops the standings with 147 points. With 20 points still at stake, his rivals Fredy Barth and Michel Nykjær who have gaps of 17 and 18 points respectively, have only a slim chance left of catching him.

www.fiawtcc.com

For the third consecutive year Japanese Gods sent the rain to soak the WTCC races at Okayama. In spite of this, local fans did not miss the last appearance of the World Championship before it moves to Suzuka from next year and a crowd of 31,000 attended over the weekend.
After a Saturday that was clearly in favour of BMW, the rainy Sunday smiled to Yvan Muller. In extremely difficult conditions the Chevrolet driver kept a cool head and collected two third places that are worth their weight in gold. Especially as his two rivals in the title fight. committed hara-kiri.
After a brilliant second place in the first race, Andy Priaulx spun off and retired in the early stages of Race 2. A few laps later Gabriele Tarquini lost control and crashed from the lead.
The Italian, reigning world champion, has been cut out of the fight, while Priaulx now has a 37-point gap with 50 still to be awarded.
In the Manufacturers‘ Championship, Chevrolet is only 14 points shy from securing the title.
Rob Huff and Augusto Farfus shared victories today. The Briton pushed beyond the limits in the first race to get past the BMW cars of Farfus and Priaulx, while the Brazilian managed to stay on the track in the final laps of the second race after forcing Tarquini to make the fatal mistake.
The championship will resume for the season finale (rounds 21 and 22) at Macau, on November 21 where the Rookie Challenge and the Independents‘ Trophy will also elect their champions.

RESULTS REMAIN SUSPENDED
The results of today’s races remain suspending pending the intention of Chevrolet to appeal against the Steward decisions n. 1 and 2 that authorized the BMW cars of Andy Priaulx and Augusto Farfus to use a 6-speed sequential gearbox.

WTCC Race of Japan – Okayama International Circuit – 30 / 31 October 2010
www.fiawtcc.com – www.okayama-internartional-circuit.jp

BMW Team RBM locked out the front row of the grid for tomorrow’s Race 1 at Okayama. Andy Priaulx claimed his first pole position since Macau 2006 with the quickest lap of the weekend so far, a 1:36.972 that is also a new track record for S2000 cars. His team-mate Augusto Farfus (1:37.408) will start alongside him ahead of Chevrolet’s Rob Huff (1:37.441).
Norbert Michelisz (1:37.577) emerged as the best rookie in fifth position overall, while Franz Engstler (1:38.605) will start in tenth, best of the independents after also making it through into Q2.
Q1 – Michelisz initially posted the fastest time, but the BMWs quickly took the advantage with Farfus and Priaulx jumping on top of the timesheets. With seven minutes to go, French newcomer Michaël Rossi improved to seventh and secured his place in Q2.
The BMW 320si cars looked strong with Colin Turkington recording a great lap in the final minutes to go fastest of anyone at that point in all three sectors and jump ahead of the Farfus-Priaulx pair with a time of 1:37.264.
With no improvements as the flag came out, the top ten going forward into Q2 remained Turkington, Farfus, Priaulx, Huff, Michelisz, Tarquini, Muller, Engstler, Menu and Rossi who managed to reach Q2 on his first appearance in the championship.

Q2 – With the help of a slipstream from his teammate, Andy Priaulx secured his first pole position of the season on his only flying lap in Q2. A best time of 1:36.972 gave him pole from Farfus by 0.436s and the team decided not to risk an extra flying lap on the tyres to hopefully give the pair an advantage in the race tomorrow.
Huff posted the third quickest time (1:37.441) from Turkington (1:37.495), and Michelisz (1:37.577), who was the quickest SEAT driver of the day as well as being the top rookie in fifth.
Reigning champion Gabriele Tarquini’s (1:37.727) best time was good enough for sixth ahead of Chevrolet’s Menu (1:37.844) and Muller (1:37.913). Rossi (1:38.387) was the only driver to improve on his second flying lap to move up to ninth ahead of Engstler.

SEQUENTIAL GEARBOX FOR PRIAULX AND FARFUS
Four BMW cars – Andy Priaulx’s, Augusto Farfus‘, Franz Engstler’s and Andrei Romanov’s – are equipped with an Xtrac 6-speed sequential gearbox. Although Romanov already used it in the previous three events, this is the first time ever since the Super 2000 regulations were adopted back in 2002 that BMW factory cars run with a sequential gearbox instead of the usual 5-speed H-pattern.
This change, along with the compensation weight system, enabled them to benefit from a significant weight reduction: 1168 kg compared to the 1198 kilos fixed by the sporting regulations and the application of the compensation weight.
Four other BMW cars – Kristian Poulsen’s, Colin Turkington’s, Yoshihiro Ito’s and Henry Ho’s – were accepted as "old" models and given a weight of 1123 kilos.

CHEVROLET INTEND TO APPEAL
The Chevrolet team announced their intention to appeal against the decisions 1 and 2 taken by the Panel of the Stewards that authorize the two BMW Team RBM cars to run with the 6-speed sequential gearbox.

WTCC Race of Japan – Okayama International Circuit – 30 / 31 October 2010
www.fiawtcc.com – www.okayama-internartional-circuit.jp

Chevrolet’s Rob Huff ended on top of the timesheets as the penultimate event of the WTCC 2010 season got underway this afternoon in Japan. Huff emerged as the fastest with 10-minutes to go but improved again to set a final time of 1:38.059 around the 3.7-kilometre Okayama International Circuit.
His teammate and current championship leader, Yvan Muller (1:38.698) was second quickest. Following a win apiece last year, the BMWs looked strong yet again with Andy Priaulx (1:38.779) ending the 30-minute test session third using a 6-speed sequential gearbox for the first time. His team-mate, Augusto Farfus (1:3.028) was fifth.
Chevrolet’s Alain Menu (1:38.794) was fourth with SR-Sport team-mates Tiago Monteiro (1:39.381) and Tom Coronel (1:39.453) sixth and seventh, despite the Dutchman locking up and running through the gravel at Turn 1 early in the session.
Darryl O’Young (1:39.503) was impressive in his Chevrolet Lacetti finishing the best independent in eighth position overall. Robert Dahlgren also had a good showing recording a 1:39.510 in his Volvo C30 to be placed ninth.
Michel Nykjær (1:39.628) rounded out the top ten to end the day as best rookie.
With a season record of 27 cars out on track, Yukinori Taniguchi (1:39.904) was quickest of the four Japanese drivers, clocking the in 15^th best lap.
Reigning champion Gabriele Tarquini (1:40.674) finished 17^th, losing running time after suffering a front left puncture. After he took a shortcut to the garages across the paddock the team got him back out for the final minutes.

Rob Huff and his Chevrolet Cruze emerged as the fastest in today’s test

MIMASAKA CITY WELCOMES WTCC
Official proceedings to the WTCC Race of Japan got underway yesterday when the Mayor of Mimasaka City and a delegation of the Okayama Prefecture, received the drivers and other WTCC representatives during a welcome dinner at the Junogou Grand Hotel.
After the speeches delivered by the Mayor and WTCC promoter Marcello Lotti, representatives of the Manufacturers and the drivers were invited onto the stage for a family picture.
Later the guests were treated to a Japanese buffet, while they were entertained by local artists who performed in classical Japanese dance and drum shows.
Eventually some of the WTCC guests enthusiastically had a go at fencing with the samurai swords and playing drums.

Family picture for WTCC drivers with Mimasaka City’s mayor and notables

JTCC WAS LAUNCHED TUESDAY IN TOKYO
The new Japanese Touring Car Championship that will be organised from 2012 was launched last Tuesday by Concorde Management and Askatsu-DK during a crowded press conference at Tokyo’s UDX Theatre.
"I am obviously extremely pleased that Concorde and ADK have decided to restore the Japanese Touring Car Championship and follow the way traced by the FIA in terms of technical regulations. Especially now, at the eve of a radical renovation that sees the launch of a new set of rules based on the 1.6 litre turbocharged engine," commented Lotti on the fact that the new series will follow the FIA Super 2000 technical regulations.
The JTCC promoter is already in negotiations with its counterpart of the China Touring Car Championship to organise a few joint events.

www.fiawtcc.com

ROUTE TO: OKAYAMA, JAPAN
The 19^th and 20^th rounds of the FIA WTCC will take place on October 31^st at Okayama International Circuit, Japan.
This is the third time the championship has visited this demanding racetrack that winds up among the green hills of the Honshu island and hosted the Pacific Formula 1 Grand Prix in 1994 and 1995.
Very wet weather plagued both the 2008 and 2009 events, however this did not prevent exciting races and a large attendance.
Incidents on the wet track and safety car interventions have been standard features in the previous year’s races. In 2008 pole sitter Augusto Farfus and Gabriele Tarquini were involved in a first turn incident at the start of the first race. The year after Tarquini lost his lead driving wide when Race 1 took the start behind the safety car.
SEAT won both races in 2008, with Rickard Rydell’s León TDI and Tom Coronel’s petrol-powered León. The latter became the first (and only so far) non factory driver to win a WTCC race.
Last year BMW drivers made a double, with Andy Priaulx and Augusto Farfus claiming one victory apiece.

Japanese fans are ready to brave bad weather to attend WTCC races

MICHAËL ROSSI FACES WTCC DEBUT
22-years old Frenchman Michaël Rossi will make his maiden appearance in the FIA WTCC next week in Japan.
At Okayama, Rossi will replace Jordi Gené at the wheel of a SR-Sport SEAT León TDI, the same car that will be driven by local hero André Couto at Macau.
After a traditional beginning in karting and formative formulas, Rossi switched to tin top racing. He won the 2008 Renault Mégane Eurocup and this year was classified a close second in the SEAT León Eurocup.
He also had the opportunity to try racing at a more competitive level, taking part in the first two rounds of the FIA European Touring Car Cup in a SUNRED petrol-powered SEAT León.

After driving a S2000 SEAT León in the ETCC, Michaël Rossi is ready for WTCC

HUFF VISITS CHINA AS CHEVROLET TESTS IN UK
Rob Huff is curreltly acting as Chevrolet’s ambassador in China, where he was invited by GM China to coach the media who are attending the launch of the Cruze 1.6L turbo road car.
At the same time the 2011 Cruze car continues its development and testing programme. With Huff in China and the duo Menu-Muller commited to race in Australia, RML’s BTCC driver Alex MacDowall was charged to test the new car at Snetterton.

Rob Huff attended the Cinese launch of the Chevrolet Cruze 1.6 Turbo road car

PRIAULX, MENU, MULLER AND MONTEIRO DOWN UNDER
WTCC drivers Andy Priaulx, Alain Menu, Yvan Muller and Tiago Monteiro will race at Surfers‘ Paradise, Australia this weekend in the Gold Coast 600 round of the V8 Supercars series.
Priaulx, who shares a Holden Commodore with Craig Lowndes (currently third in the points), was the fastest of the international contingent during a wet test session on Wednesday.
Menu, Muller and Monteiro will also share Holden Commodore cars with Jason Bright, Greg Murphy and Tony D’Alberto respectively.

www.fiawtcc.com

The 2011 FIA World Touring Car Championship calendar has had one amendment to the draft that was approved by the FIA World Motor Sport Council on September 8^th: the WTCC Race of the UK will move from Brands Hatch to Donington Park.

The switch from Brands Hatch – that has hosted WTCC from 2006 to 2010 – to Donington was mainly dictated by logistics.
"We are very happy with this agreement and we are sure that working in close collaboration we will be able to make the event one of the highlights of the WTCC season. Donington Park is an historical venue for international motor sport and after its recent renovation it offers the level of facilities that our championship needs. Besides this, we have good memories of our previous visits with the European Touring Car Championship," said WTCC promoter Marcello Lotti.

A two-year agreement has been signed and in 2011 the event will keep the same date – 17^th July – that was scheduled for Brands Hatch.

Before hosting the FIA ETCC from 2002 to 2004, Donington Park was home to the 1994 FIA World Touring Car Cup.
"Getting the British round of WTCC is a real coup, both for the track and the local area. It is a huge event which attracts large crowds and is watched the world over, so we can’t wait to bring it to Donington," commmented Kevin Wheatcroft, the track’s owner and son of the late Tom Wheatcroft who had bought and rebuilt the circuit in the Seventies.

Donington Park hosted the FIA European Touring Car Championship from 2002 to 2004

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The Chevrolet team spent three days on the Spanish circuit of Jerez de la Frontera where they ran both the current Cruze WTCC car and the 2011 model equipped with the new 1.6L turbo engine. Rob Huff and Yvan Muller shared the driving duties in Andalusia.
The test with the 2010 Cruze was aimed at preparing for the two final events of the season, focusing mainly on brakes, which are to play a key role in Japan and Macau, where Chevrolet and Muller will defend their respective leads in the Manufacturers‘ and Drivers‘ Championships.
In parallel, the 2011 Cruze completed an impressive 1020-kilometres without any technical issue; a very encouraging outcome for the first long test of the new car and engine.
Rob Huff commented: "This was a very positive test. The new engine is responding well and we are exactly where we wanted to be. The driveability of the car is really excellent, thanks to the much better torque of the turbo engine."
And Yvan Muller echoed: "It was the first time I was driving the 2011 Cruze with the new engine and I was very positively impressed. We still have a lot of work to do, but we have a very good basis to build upon and we are working in the right direction."

The 2011 WTCC Chevrolet Cruze was testing at Jerez de la Frontera

THE NEW ENGINE: A CHALLENGE FOR RML
The 2011 Chevrolet Cruze WTCC was built around the new engine that has been produced at RML during the last seven months. "We created our own engine division at the end of 2005," explained RML’s chief engineer Arnaud Martin, "but this is the first time we design, build and develop an engine entirely in-house. It represents a significant challenge, as this is clearly a project demanding a lot of resources that we had to utilise in parallel with the equally demanding normal racing programme."
The adoption of the new powertrain implied that many other things had to be redesigned. "It doesn’t show from the outside at all. Save the new air intake in the front and the bigger exhaust, the 2011 Cruze looks pretty much the same as the 2010 one. In reality, under the skin, 65% of the car is entirely new," explained Chevrolet’s chief engineer Ron Hartvelt.
Team principal Ray Mallock commented on the switch to the 1.6L turb "I think it was the right choice. Motor racing cannot live in isolation from the automotive trends and concerns of society. On the contrary, as always in the past, motor racing can be very useful in exploring new avenues and optimizing new concepts. This is happening again with the new 1.6 turbo, as it is already out-performing the 2.0L normally aspirated engine currently in use."
Focus is now on testing and testing again. The 2011 Cruze is off for a programme of 3,500-kilometres of tests in the forthcoming weeks and months, which will be carried out mostly on tracks in Spain and Portugal. One of the key goals is to reach the maximum reliability, as the new rules set by the FIA only allow one engine change during the 2011 season and none in 2012.

The 1.6L turbo engine of the Cruze was designed and built at RML

STRONG LIVE TV COVERAGE FOR WTCC IN JAPAN
The 2010 FIA WTCC Kenwood Race of Japan will receive a large TV coverage all around the world, including live transmissions in Europe, Japan and the Asia-Pacific region.
European WTCC fans will have to program their alarm clock and wake up early to follow the penultimate event of the season as Eurosport – Europe’s largest television sports channel – will offer live coverage of the qualifying sessions on Saturday at 8:30am cet, and the two races on Sunday, respectively at 6:15am and 7:45am cet.
In Japan, Gaora Sports – the Japanese Sports channel – will also show both races live at 2:00pm and 3:45pm (local times) as well as highlights on Tuesday, November 4^th at 2:30pm. In addition, the TXN network comprising of six Japanese regional broadcasters (TV Osaka, TV Tokyo, TV Aichi,TV Setouchi, TV Hokkaido, TVQ Kyushu Housou) will show a highlight programme on Sunday 7^th November at 4:00pm local time.
For those in America, Speed Channel will be broadcasting both races on a delayed basis

FRANCIACORTA HOSTS THE ETCC FINAL
The 2010 FIA European Touring Car Cup will come to an end in Italy this week. After the events at Braga, Portugal, and Austrian Salzburgring, the three FIA Cups for Super 2000, Super 1600 and Super Production are still at stake and will be awarded at Franciacorta, Italy.
A THREE-MAN FIGHT FOR THE S2000 CLASS
Reigning FIA European Super 2000 Cup champion James Thompson is well placed to retain the continental crown. However, with 20 points to be awarded, a three-man fight is set for the title.
Thompson and his Hartmann Racing Honda Accord won the first round at Braga and then claimed podium results in the other three races, but Tomas Engström in his own team’s Honda Accord is only ten points adrift.
WTCC regular Michel Nykjær – who won the ETCC twice in 2007 and 2008 – joined the series at Salzburgring claiming a double victory in the SUNRED SEAT León TDI that propelled him to third, only two points behind Engström.

Nykjær, Thompson and Engström will fight to clinch the S2000 ETC Cup

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Macau motorsport hero André Couto will join the WTCC final on his home racetrack once again. He will be at the wheel of a SEAT León TDI car run by the SR-Sport team.
Couto, who won the 2000 F3 Macau Grand Prix and took pole position in the 2003 Macau Guia race with an N.technology Alfa Romeo 147, has become a regular competitor in the WTCC final at Macau.
He took part in the 2005 and 2007 events with N.technology Alfa Romeo 156 cars; in 2006 he drove for SEAT Sport and in 2008 again for N.technology at the wheel of a Honda Accord.
Last year he took part in a SUNRED petrol-powered SEAT León.
His best result so far has been a seventh position in the 2006 Race 2.

Macau racer André Couto will join the WTCC on his home racetrack once again

HENRY HO JOINS FOR THE FINAL EVENTS
As last year, Henry Ho Wai Kun will take part in the two final events of the WTCC in Japan and Macau.
The 28-year old driver from Macau will be driving a BMW 320si car again, entered by the Ho Ch’un Kei team in cooperation with Portuguese outfit Sports & You.
His best result in the WTCC so far is the 19^th place in last year’s Macau Race 2.
Ho is currently leading the Macau Touring Car Championship, aiming to clinch the title for the fourth time, and he also managed to score one victory in the Asian Touring Car Series at Sepang International Circuit.

Henry Ho will take part in the two WTCC events at Okayama and Macau

LAUNCH OF THE 57^th MACAU GRAND PRIX
The 57^th Macau Grand Prix was launched on Wednesday at Macau; the event will include the FIA World Touring Car Championship’s final meeting as well as the 28^th edition of the FIA Formula 3 Intercontinental Cup and the 44^th Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix.
During a crowded press conference held at the Fisherman’s Warf Convention Centre, Engineer João Manuel Costa Antunes, coordinator of the Macau Grand Prix Committee, commented on the sixth appearance of the FIA WTCC in Macau: "Sociedade de Jogos de Macau is once again the title sponsor of the FIA World Touring Car Championship – Guia Race of Macau. Since its inception in 2005, the FIA WTCC has been decided at Macau, and we are thrilled that this year we will once again play host to the title decider. We are also very pleased to welcome Macau drivers André Couto, Henry Ho and Joseph Rosa Merszei who will join the WTCC field for their home event."

The 57^th Macau Grand Prix was launched on Wednesday during a press conference

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Polestar Racing, official Volvo Motorsport partner since 1996, were given the green light by Volvo Cars to enter a C30 car for Robert Dahlgren in the 2011 WTCC season.
According to Volvo’s press release "Racing results in 2011, however important, will be second priority. Polestar’s first and foremost task is to evaluate the car and the championship to provide Volvo Cars with a technical and commercial base to finalize an official Volvo entry from 2012."
"We are very happy and proud for this vote of confidence. It will be a challenge for us but we have been prepared for this for several years. Our organization is in place and we have already started the preparation," said Christian Dahl, Managing Director at Polestar Racing.
Volvo has won titles in the 1985 European Touring Car Championship, the 1998 British Touring Car Championship and more recently in the Swedish and Scandinavian Touring Car Championships. Now the Swedish manufacturer is set to take the first step towards a comeback to international motorsport.
"Volvo has a long standing tradition in touring car racing and through the WTCC we see a potential for converting this into a global commercial tool from 2012. It is vital that technical and commercial aspects of the series align with our ambitions and this is what Polestar will answer for us in 2011," explained Magnus Jonsson, Volvo Cars Senior Vice President of Product Development and chairman of the Motorsport Board.

The Volvo C30 of Robert Dahlgren during this year’s WTCC event at Brands Hatch

WTCC General Manager Marcello Lotti commented: "It is with the greatest satisfaction that we welcome Volvo’s participation in the 2011 WTCC. They supported us back in 2002 when we launched the FIA S2000 class in the European Touring Car Championship, and now they are back again the moment we adopt new technical rules, which shows their trust in the FIA and our organization. To have such an important brand backing WTCC in these difficult times for motorsport is a big boost for all of us, and I am confident that Volvo’s move will have a positive impact on those car manufacturers that have showed interest in joining the championship."
Meanwhile Volvo and Polestar remain focused on the end of the current season. Freshly crowned Scandinavian champion, Dahlgren can clinch a second consecutive Swedish Touring Car Championship title this weekend at Mantorp Park before making his second WTCC appearance of the year at Okayama.

The Volvo S60 took part in the 2002 and 2003 European Touring Car Championship

CHEVROLET CONFIRMS DRIVER LINE UP FOR 2011
Chevrolet and RML announced the driver line-up for the 2011 FIA World Touring Car Championship, which remains unchanged: Rob Huff, Alain Menu and Yvan Muller will be the drivers at the wheel of the new Cruze 1.6 turbo cars.
Chevrolet Motorsport director Eric Nève explained: "Stability has always been one of the key features of our WTCC programme. To confirm our three drivers was the obvious choice, as we really have a terrific trio and Rob, Alain and Yvan have done a great job this year, on and off the track. We are happy to make this announcement today, as it will certainly give our drivers and the entire team a psychological boost ahead of the decisive final stint of the championship as well as extra motivation to carry on the intense program of development of the new Cruze that has already begun".
Muller, Huff and Menu are currently first, fourth and sixth in the Drivers‘ Championship.

Huff, Muller and Menu will be racing for Chevrolet again in the 2011 WTCC

TOP CARS REMAIN ON MAXIMUM WEIGHTS
The fastest cars remain on the maximum compensation weight for the next race meeting in Okayama.
Taking into account the fastest lap times set in Brno, Oschersleben and Valencia, the Chevrolet Cruze, BMW 320si and SEAT León TDI will carry 40 extra kilos on board as in the four previous events. The same ballast will be imposed to the Volvo C30 that makes its WTCC comeback following Brands Hatch.
All the other cars – the BMW 320si either in old specs or equipped with the 6-speed sequential gearbox, the Chevrolet Lacetti and the petrol-powered SEAT León TFSI – will have 20kg deducted from their minimum weight.

Compensation weight Okayama
+ 40 kg BMW 320si, SEAT León TDI, Chevrolet Cruze LT, Volvo C30
– 20 kg BMW 320si (old model and sequential gearbox), Chevrolet Lacetti, SEAT León TFSI

PRIAULX TO RACE IN USA AND AUSTRALIA
Andy Priaulx has an action packed few weeks ahead of the final two WTCC rounds.
This weekend he is taking part in the Petit Le Mans race at Road Atlanta, Georgia, in a BMW M3 GT2 run by the BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team; he will share the car with Dirk Müller and Joey Hand.
After this Priaulx will fly to Surfers Paradise, Australia, for the Gold Coast 600, which is part of the Australian V8 Supercar Championship and takes place on 24^th October. He will be at the wheel of a Holden Commodore entered by Triple Eight Engineering.
Three other WTCC drivers will race at Surfers Paradise: Alain Menu, Yvan Muller and Tiago Monteiro.

MONTEIRO GIVES A RIDE TO HIS CO-DRIVER
Australian V8 Supercars racer Tony D’Alberto attended the WTCC event in Valencia as a guest of Tiago Monteiro, who will be his co-driver in the Gold Coast 600 race for Centaur Racing.
D’Alberto was especially impressed by Monteiro’s victory in the second Spanish race and he also had the opportunity of riding as a passenger in the Portuguese’s race car.
"It was amazing," he said. "Usually I’m in the driver’s seat so to get a ride with Tiago on a track I didn’t know was a real thrill, so I really enjoyed that!"

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ROUNDS 17 & 18 – VALENCIA
RACE REPORT

DOUBLE VICTORY FOR SEAT ON HOME SOIL
The home race meeting resulted in a complete triumph for SEAT. Not only did the Spanish car manufacturer manage to win both races with SR-Sport’s Gabriele Tarquini and Tiago Monteiro, but Tarquini’s hopes to retain the WTCC crown were definitely relaunched.
In Race 1 the current world champion dominated the field claiming his fifth win of the season from the Chevrolet pair of Yvan Muller and Rob Huff.
With a brilliant overtaking on Andy Priaulx at the start of Race 2, Monteiro paved the road to his second victory of the year, leaving Muller, Tarquini and Priaulx battling each other for second place in a duel that eventually could prove crucial for the title fight.
Today Muller added two more podium results to an impressive series and stretched his lead once again. The 2008 champion scored 36 points, 14 more than Priaulx, but four less than Tarquini. The gap between Muller and Priaulx is now 25 points (which equates to one race win), while Tarquini is a further four points adrift. It will be a three-men final shoot out, although Rob Huff still has theoretical chances as he lies 69 points behind with 100 still at stake.
There is the same uncertainty in the Manufacturers‘ Championship that is led by Chevrolet with a 45-point margin ahead of SEAT Customers Technology. BMW lies third with a gap of 78.
With five victories in the six latest races Kristian Poulsen has climbed up to second in the Independents‘ Trophy, moving one and two points ahead of Stefano D’Aste and Darryl O’Young respectively. Sergio Hernández continues to lead, but he saw his advantage cut to 31 points.
Fredy Barth and Michel Nykjær shared wins in the Rookie Challenge, but Norbert Michelisz is still leading the Swiss by 4 points. Nykjær is third, only 18 points behind the young Hungarian.
Indeed anything can still happen in the two final events of the season, Japan and Macau.
The championship will resume after a 40-day break for rounds 19 and 20 at Okayama, Japan on October 31.

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The new Chevrolet Cruze for the 2011 WTCC took to the track yesterday and today for the first time at MIRA proving ground, with Rob Huff at the wheel. This was a key step in the preparation for next season that will see the debut of the new 1.6 turbocharged engine entirely designed, built and developed by Chevrolet and RML.
This first shake-down was completely satisfactory and the testing and development programme will continue in the forthcoming days at MIRA and other tracks.
Rob Huff commented: "It is always a very emotional moment for a driver and a team to take a new car to the track for its first miles, and particularly this time, as the Cruze 2011 and its new engine are an ambitious and challenging project. Now starts the development phase and much work lies ahead, but what I can tell from today’s first test is that it is a very interesting evolution and that WTCC racing is going to be extremely exciting in 2011!"

The Chevrolet Cruze for the 2011 WTCC started testing at MIRA proving ground

LOCAL MEDIA MEET WTCC DRIVERS IN VALENCIA
The WTCC Race of Spain was officially launched yesterday at Valencia’s Circuit Ricardo Tormo in a meeting attended by representatives of the local media.
The press were welcomed by Niurka Montalvo, Secretary for Sports of the Comunidad Valenciana and long jump gold medalist for Spain in the 1999 World Athletics Championships at Seville, Julio García, the circuit’s General Manager, and Jean-Louis Dauger, Director of Operation at Eurosport Events.
Later the journalists met a representative of drivers from the different series: Gabriele Tarquini, Yvan Muller, Augusto Farfus, Jordi Gené and home boy Sergio Hernández for WTCC, Ramon Piñeiro for Formula 2, and Marcos de Diego for the SEAT Eurocup.
After the interviews, Njurka Montalvo and the journalists experienced the thrill of a ride in racing cars on board Muller’s Chevrolet Cruze and de Diego’s SEAT León.

Secretary for Sports Niurka Montalvo met the drivers in Valencia

TWO DRIVERS FROM JAPAN JOIN ENGSTLER
The Liqui Moly Team Engstler will add a third car for Japanese drivers at the two final events of the season in Japan and Macau.
Yoshihiro Ito – 33-years-old from Osaka – will join the team’s regular drivers Franz Engstler and Andrei Romanov at Okayama. Ito is facing his maiden appearance in the WTCC; he spent the 2009 season racing in the Japanese Super GT with a Porsche Boxster.
Masaki Kano – 34-years-old from Hyogo – will take over the car for the Macau finale. A former Asian Touring Car champion (in 2007), Kano has already made three WTCC appearances with the German team, at Okayama in 2008 and 2009, and Macau in 2008.
Both, Ito and Kano, had the possibility to test their BMW 320si car last week in Oschersleben.

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 The 17^th and 18^th rounds of the FIA WTCC will take place in Spain, at Valencia’s Circuit Ricardo Tormo next week. This is the sixth consecutive visit of the FIA World Touring Car Championship to the Spanish stadium-like racetrack and the WTCC Race of Spain returns to its traditional date at the end of the European season after being held in the springtime from 2007 to 2009.
The 4km circuit does not seem to suit any particular car, as Manufacturers shared honours in the previous years. BMW and Alfa Romeo scored three victories apiece, while Chevrolet and SEAT claimed two each.
Yvan Muller (SEAT) and Augusto Farfus (BMW) won last year’s races, but the unforgettable race for the local fans dates back to 2005, when Jordi Gené started from pole position to give the new SEAT León its first win.
Proteam’s Sergio Hernández, who was born in Valencia, has also delivered some very good results here. In 2007 he scored his first championship point by finishing 10^th in Race 2, and the year after he claimed his maiden victory in the Independents‘ Trophy.

The FIA WTCC is set to race at Valencia’s Ricardo Tormo circuit next week

THE FIA APPROVES 2011 WTCC CALENDAR
In Paris this Wednesday the FIA World Motor Sport Council approved the calendar for the 2011 World Touring Car Championship.
The series will visit two new countries: Argentina and China. The Argentine event will take place at Buenos Aires‘ Autodromo Municipal on April 3^rd, two weeks after the traditional season opening at Curitiba, Brazil. The Chinese racetrack will be announced later, while the date has been fixed, on November 5^th, between Japan and the Macau finale.
Other changes compared to the current season are the deferment of the event in Marrakech to the 5^th of June, while the meetings in Brno and Oscherleben will be brought forward to the 19^th June and the 31^st of July respectively.
And finally, the WTCC Race of Portugal will return to the streets of Porto, while WTCC Race of Japan will change venue, from Okayama to Suzuka.

2011 FIA WTCC CALENDAR

20 March – BRAZIL, Curitiba
3 April – ARGENTINA, Buenos Aires
15 May – ITALY, Monza
5 June – MOROCCO, Marrakech
19 June – CZECH REPUBLIC, Brno
3 July – PORTUGAL, Porto
17 July – GREAT BRITAIN, Brands Hatch
31 July – GERMANY, Oschersleben
4 September – SPAIN, Valencia
23 October – JAPAN, Suzuka
5 November – CHINA, TBA
20 November – MACAU, Macau

In 2011 Porto’s Boavista street circuit will host the WTCC once again

COMPENSATION WEIGHTS DON’T CHANGE
The list of the compensation weight for Valencia does not change from the previous event in Oschersleben.
Taking into account the fastest lap times set in Brands Hatch, Brno and Oschersleben, the Chevrolet Cruze is still the reference car, but the BMW 320si and the SEAT León TDI are also on the maximum compensation weight of 40 kilos.
The old BMW cars will carry 10kg of ballast, while the Chevrolet Lacetti and BMW 320si equipped with the 6-speed sequential gearbox will again have 20kg deducted from their minimum weight as well as the petrol-powered SEAT León TFSI.

Compensation weight Valencia
+ 40 kg: BMW 320si, SEAT León TDI, Chevrolet Cruze LT
+ 10 kg: BMW 320si (old model)
– 20 kg: BMW 320si (with sequential gearbox), Chevrolet Lacetti, SEAT León TFSI

A PETROL SEAT LEÓN FOR MARC CAROL
Spanish youngster Marc Carol is set to make another one-off appearance in the FIA WTCC next week in Valencia.
The 25-year old from Sabadell will be at the wheel of a petrol-powered SEAT León TFSI as a reward for having won the 2009 SEAT León Supercópa. Carol was already given the same opportunity in 2005, when he was invited to race in the Valencia WTCC event as the 2004 Supercópa winner. On that occasion – when he was only 20-year old – Carol impressed at the wheel of a SEAT Toledo works car, finishing a brilliant tenth and eighth in the two races.
His León is entered by SEAT Customers Technology, a branch of SEAT Sport.

CHEVROLET READY TO TEST THE 1.6L TURBO
Defending their leadership in the Drivers‘ and the Manufacturers‘ Championships is not the only focus for Chevrolet and RML. The team are already working with an eye on the 2011 season that will see the introduction of the new 1.6 turbocharged engine. Chevrolet is devoting a lot of work to the new engine and since this week the unit designed, developed and built in-house at RML is being tested on a dynamometer. In the forthcoming days it will be track tested in the Cruze.
Arnaud Martin, Chief Engineer at RML Engines explained: "We started the project from a white sheet of paper on the second week of January and the engine was tested for the first time last Monday, so it has been eight months of very intense work. The parameters laid out by the FIA are quite stringent, especially in terms of reliability; the challenge for us has been to reach a higher level of performance than the one provided by the current 2.0 aspirated engine while ensuring superior reliability to match the new rules: only one engine change allowed during the season in 2011 and none in 2012!. At the moment the engine has had 15 hours on the dynamometer, for tests essentially aimed at calibration and mapping, but we have already done some tests at full power output and everything went as we expected. The next step is to put the engine in the car. Generally, it takes a couple of months to go from the dynamo to the track, here we are talking a couple of weeks, so we can say we are off to some record-breaking!"
Motorsport Director Eric Nève added: "While we are extremely focused on the final rounds of the championship and determined to finish the job, we are also preparing the future. These are days of a lot of work around the new engine and the new car for 2011. Designing a new racing engine from scratch and building it from A to Z is an ambitious programme and a tremendous challenge. Chevrolet has been one of the first manufacturers to believe in the new global race engine promoted by the FIA and we are anxious to hit the track with the new car!"

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