5.3.2012 von Wolfgang.

The 2012 FIA WTCC kicks off this weekend at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Italy’s temple of speed and one of the most glorious racetracks in the world.
This superfast circuit that is home to the Italian F1 Grand Prix, hosted the first ever WTCC event back in 2005. The championship paid a stop in Monza nearly every year since, with the exception of 2009, when the WTCC Race of Italy was temporarily moved to Imola.
WTCC is one of the favourite events for the enthusiastic Italian fans who always come to fill the grandstands in overtaking places such as the first chicane and the Ascari.
All the most competitive manufacturers have managed to win at Monza. SEAT’s turbo diesel cars claimed an impressive streak of six consecutive victories between 2007 and 2009, BMW won three times and Alfa Romeo twice, while Chevrolet triumphed in the last three races, with Rob Huff scoring a double last year.
The race weekend will be opened on Thursday, March 8, by a full test day made of five one-hour sessions.

Rob Huff heads the field at the braking of the first chicane last year

A STRONG FIELD OF 25 DRIVERS
The new WTCC season will start in style, with a strong field of 25 drivers coming from 14 different countries and at the wheel of four models: Chevrolet Cruze, BMW 320, SEAT León and Ford Focus.
The latest additions were Tiago Monteiro, who joined Pepe Oriola at Tuenti Racing Team, Isaac Tutumlu, teaming with Mehdi Bennani at Proteam Racing and he duo Andrea Barlesi-Fernando Monje signed by SUNRED Engineering.
Although he entered for the season, Monje will race at Monza not in WCC, but in the FIA European Touring Car Cup.

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THE CHAMPIONS
For the second consecutive year Yvan Muller and Chevrolet are the defending champions.
In 2011 the Cruze cars dominated the field re-writing all WTCC records and statistics, while Muller and his team-mates Rob Huff and Alain Menu filled the championship podium.
The question is: will they be able to repeat such a triumphant season?
"It is impossible to say now," Muller commented. "You may work a lot during the wintter, but until you face your competitors at the first event you don’t know where you are. I know that we have done a good job and advanced a little bit compared to last year. But starting the season 40 kilos heavier than the rest of the field will complicate our life. As for the others, I cannot say how competitive they will be, although I’m sure that SEAT cars will be faster now that SEAT Sport is looking after them."

THE CHALLENGERS
The challenge for the rest of the field is dethroning double champions Muller and Chevrolet and competition on track is due to be even more exciting this year.
The arrival of Team Aon brings the Ford brand back to the championship for the first time after 2005; the team’s Focus cars in the hands of young and talented British drivers Tom Chilton and James Nash appear to have a great potential.
2009 champion Gabriele Tarquini’s and Tiago Monteiro’s expectations to fight back for the world title have been strongly enhanced since he signed to race for the Lukoil Racing Team at the wheel of a SEAT León car fitted out with SEAT Sport’s new 1.6-litre turbo engine that will also power the cars of Special Tuning Racing and SUNRED Engineering.
The list of is completed by a bunch of competitive drivers in BMW 320 TC cars, led by race winners Tom Coronel and Franz Engstler and the experienced Stefano D’Aste.

THE GREEN TIDE
One of the most interesting aspects of the new season is the significant rejuvenation of the competitors. Although touring car racing has always been considered as a category dominated by drivers in their forties, and even older, the 2012 WTCC is drastically reversing the trend.
For the first time half of the field is made up of drivers under-30, including a few promising teen-agers such as Pepe Oriola (17-years old) the youngest ever in WTCC, Alberto Cerqui (19) reigning champion of the Italian Superstars.
It is the proof that WTCC is now regarded as a serious alternative to formula cars in building a professional career and the championship may now welcome young racers coming from single-seaters such as Mehdi Bennani (World Series), Fernando Monje (F3 Open) and Pasquale di Sabatino (Auto GP).

THE CALENDAR
A truly global championship, the WTCC will visit twelve countries over four continents.
The new venues compared to the previous years are the modern Slovakia Ring, located nearby Bratislava, the superfast Salzburgring with its beautiful setting amid the Austrian mountains, Sonoma’s spectacular Infineon Raceway that will host WTCC first ever visit to the USA, the Shanghai International Circuit, home to the F1 Chinese Grand Prix, and Marrakech’s street circuit that reappears in the WTCC calendar after a one-year break, bringing the championship to North Africa for the third time.

THE KEY FACTORS
A few technical and sporting features might prove crucial in the fight for the titles.
ENGINE RELIABILITY - 2012 is the second season for the 1.6 turbo engines that were introduced last year, increasing performance significantly. The period of adjustment is over and now the new engines must last for the complete season, allowing a huge saving in terms of running budgets.
COMPENSATION WEIGHT - the system that allocates extra weight according to the cars’ performance on the track will come into force from the third race meeting. However - following an agreement among the represented manufacturers - the Chevrolet Cruze cars (2011 champion model) will be laden in Monza and Valencia by the maximum ballast of 40 kilos.
QUALIFYING SYSTEM - not only the qualifying will award championship points to the top five drivers in Q2, but the whole system has been revised for adding thrill to Saturday’s action. Twelve drivers instead of ten are now allowed to advance from Q1 to Q2 and fight for the top positions on the grid for Race 1. From this year the final results of Q2 are also deciding the grid of Race 2 that is drawn up by reversing the top-ten drivers classified.

EUROPEAN TOURING CAR CUP READY TO GO
The 2012 FIA European Touring Car Cup will kick off next weekend at Monza as well. The series will be also part of the WTCC events at Slovakia Ring (29 April) and Salzburgring (20 May) before being concluded by a stand-alone event at Imola (24 June).
Eligible cars are FIA Super 2000 (as per 2010 regulations, with 2.0L normally aspirated or turbodiesel engines), Super 1600, Super Production and Single Make Trophy.
A field of twenty-six cars will race at Monza in two back-to-back 50 km races on Sunday.
In the S2000 class Aytaç Biter, Petr Fulín and Igor Skuz are among the BMW drivers who will face Honda (Christian Fischer and Peter Rikli), Peugeot (Tim Gabór), SEAT (Ferran Monje) cars. An former WTCC Alfa Romeo 156 will be in the hands of Ferenc Ficza, 15-year old Hungarian, the youngest driver ever in ETCC.
A trio of Chevrolet Aveo cars run by Maurer Motorsport will fight against a platoon of Ford Fiesta in the S1600, while reigning champion Aleksandar Tosic (Honda) and Fabio Fabiani (BMW) will resume their fight in the Super Production. The field is completed by few SEAT León Cup cars in the new Single Make Trophy.
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2.3.2012 von Wolfgang.

Hungary-based Zengö Motorsport step up from one to two cars. After having confirmed WTCC race winner Norbert Michelisz the team have entered a second BMW 320 TC for the 39-year-old Gábor Wéber who succeeded Michelisz in winning the SEAT León Eurocup in 2010.
Michelisz said: "I can’t wait the 2012 season to start. Monza is going to be quite interesting, but I hope we can be at least as competitive as we were there last year. I know that this season will be a huge challenge and with Gábor Wéber as my team-mate, I think it’s possible to fight more frequently for top positions as he is a very competitive driver, and we know each other very well."
And Wéber added: "We’ve been working on the project for months and finally we are there. I’m very happy to be back with Zengö Motorsport, and to team with Norbert. He was my teammate in the SEAT Cup and we share the same fighting spirit. Together we can be even stronger to challenge for the Yokohama Trophy."

Gábor Wéber joins fellow countryman Norbert Michelisz at Zengö Mosorport

TIAGO MONTEIRO TEAMS WITH PEPE ORIOLA
Tiago Monteiro remains in the WTCC and with SEAT for a sixth consecutive year. The Portuguese racer will team with Pepe Oriola at SUNRED Engineering; they will be at the wheel of SEAT León cars run under the name of Tuenti Racing Team.
Since 2007 Monteiro claimed 15 podium results, including four race victories in the world championship.
"I am very pleased to be renewing my contract with SEAT Tuenti Racing Team. It’s an extension that is pretty obvious from a competitive and commercial standpoint. The brand is increasingly committed to the championship and the best proof of that is that the improvements made to the car this year are significant: a new engine and several major technical developments," declared Monteiro who will take part in a test session at Imola before the season opening at Monza.
"I can’t wait to get back to competition in the strictest sense. Next week, the Imola tests will be very important for preparing for the start of the season. These tests will be brief but no stone will be left unturned."

BAMBOO SIGN MACDOWALL AND DI SABATINO
Alex MacDowall and Pasquale Di Sabatino are the drivers signed by bamboo-engineering for their 2012 campaign.
The 21-year-old MacDowall joins the team after two years with the Chevrolet RML squad in the British Touring Car Championship, while Di Sabatino (24 years old) competed in the Auto GP Series in 2011.
Team Principal Richard Coleman said: "We’re delighted to have Alex and Pasquale with us. Alex has proved himself in the BTCC over the last two seasons and I’m sure he’ll shine at world level as well. Pasquale has no previous Touring Car experience but he’s a very quick racing driver and I’m sure he’ll adapt quickly to the car."

O’YOUNG JOINS BOARDMAN AT STR
Special Tuning Racing announced their driver line-up for the 2012 season. WTCC regular Darryl O’Young will join Tom Boardman who returns to the world championship after two years that he successfully spent in the British Touring Car Championship.
The team will run two SEAT León cars powered by SEAT Sport’s new 1.6 litre turbo engine.
"I’m really looking forward to the new season. I have a lot of confidence in the car, as SEAT worked hard to develop the engine and STR have years of experience with them," O’Young said. Team principal John Boardman commented: "Darryl is an exceptional talent. He has raced all over the world and his experience speaks for itself. He will be a great asset for the team."

ENGSTLER AND NG TO TEAM TOGETHER
Germany-based Liqui Moly Team Engstler announced Franz Engstler and Charles Kaki Ng as their drivers for the 2012 WTCC, at the wheel of two BMW 320 TC cars.
On their attempt to defend the Yokohama Drivers’ and Teams’ Trophies won in 2011, the German outfit mix Engstler’s experience with Ng’s youthful enthusiasm.
The 50-year-old Engstler claimed his and the team’s first WTCC victory last year at Oschersleben, while Ng (27 year old) joined the squad for the last three events of the season and managed to score his first championship point at Shanghai.
"It was a very promising start for him," said team manager Kurt Treml, adding: "Charles has moved to live in our town, works together with the mechanics and trains on the simulator. He is quickly integrating himself with the team."

RICKARD RYDELL TO RACE AT MONZA
Chevrolet Motorsport Sweden and reigning Scandinavian Touring Car champion Rickard Rydell will take part in the WTCC opening at Monza, marking the drivers’ comeback to the world championship in which he claimed five race victories between 2005 and 2009.
Chevrolet Motorsport Sweden’s main target for the season is to retain the Scandinavian title, but the team also assess the opportunity of an extended WTCC programme, with further outings possible later this year.
"It will be great to return to WTCC, and particularly to do it together with an all-Swedish team. Our aim for the year ahead is to retain our STCC title, and the WTCC outing will provide us with a valuable opportunity to get back into the racing groove," said Rydell.
LAUNCH OF THE MARRAKECH EVENT
The WTCC Race of Morocco that will take place at Marrakech on April 15, was launched during a press conference at Casablanca’s Hyatt Regency Hotel.
In front of a large representative of local media, event promoter Aly Horma announced that the Marrakech street circuit has been renamed after His Highness Moulay El Hassan, heir to Morocco’s throne.
"We are deeply grateful to His Majesty the King for this great honour. It is an important recognition and a reward for the huge efforts we have done to establish this event. We are also very happy for the deal we have signed with Eurosport Events that grants the future of the WTCC race meeting for the next three years," Horma commented.
WTCC promoter Marcello Lotti said: "We are very pleased to come back to Marrakech that must be proud to be the only African venue to host an FIA world championship."

The Casablanca press conference launched the WTCC event at Marrakech

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21.1.2012 von Wolfgang.

Gabriele Tarquini and Alexey Dudukalo will team once again in the 2012 WTCC.
The 2009 World Champion and the young Russian will race under the banner of the new Lukoil Racing Team at the wheel of two SEAT León cars powered by a new 1.6-litre turbo engine that is going to be homologated by SEAT.
"I’m very happy because Lukoil confirmed me as one of their drivers, and I’m also proud because they appointed me to raise the next generation of Russia’s racers. Now I’m eagerly looking forward to the new season. We will race again with the old León, but I expect a lot from the new SEAT engine. I believe we will be a much stronger package than last year, and in the position to fight with Chevrolet," Tarquini said.
Dudukalo added: "Last year our main problem was the engine, not enough powerful and reliable compared to our competitors. This time we will not have this problem, and furthermore we can rely on better experience and technical support."
Team director Evgeniy Malinovskiy concluded: "I am glad that Tarquini remained in our team. He is a professional and victory-focused driver, whose experience will help us to grow stronger. This year will be very important for Dudukalo; he won many Russian titles, but lacked experience in competition at such a high level. Now we expect more consistent results from him. WTCC is one of the most effective marketing and sporting tools for Lukoil; it is an excellent platform to create guest programmes for partners."
Lukoil Racing Team will hit the track for testing in the first days of February.

Lukoil Racing Team’s Tarquini and Dudukalo will use SEAT’s new 1.6L turbo engine

LIST OF CAR WEIGHTS PUBLISHED BY THE FIA
The FIA has published the list of the starting weights for the cars eligible to compete in the 2012 FIA World Touring Car Championship.
The domination wielded by the Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T during the previous season resulted in its minimum weight being increased by 30 kilos, from 1150 to 1180.
The BMW 320 TC cars was given a weight of 1160 kg, 10 less compared to last year’s 1170.
Any other model which took part in the 2011 championship will start on 1150 kg; this includes the 2.0L normally aspirated BMW 320si (-5 kg compared to 2011), Chevrolet Cruze LT and Chevrolet Lacetti, the 2.0L turbo diesel SEAT León TDi and the 1.6L turbo SUNRED León 1.6T and Volvo C30 that had been accepted by national homologations.
These weights take into account the balance of performance set by the Touring Car Committee.
New models such as Ford Focus and SEAT León 1.6 TSi will be added later by the Touring Car Committee.
All the cars will start the season on the maximum compensation weight: 40 kilos added to their minimum weights.

The Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T cars will be 30 kilos heavier than in 2011

ENTRIES OPEN FOR 2012 FIA WTCC
Full season entries to the 2012 FIA World Touring Car Championship opened on January 16^th, and will close on February 29^th.
Competitors must submit their applications using the online entry form, downloadable at www.entryforms.fia.com , accompanied by the entry fee of euro 37,700. Conditions for the entry are described in Art. 36 of the Sporting Regulations.
Race-by-race entries must be submitted to the FIA at least fourteen days prior to the relevant event; the entry fee is euro 5,170.

CHEVY ENGINE’S DESIGNER RECEIVES AWARD
Arnaud Martin, head of engine design at RML and creator of the 1.6-litre turbo that powered the Chevrolet Cruze cars to dominate last year’s WTCC, was the recipient of the Race Engine Designer award in a night of celebration during the RACE TECH World Motorsport Symposium.
Martin was awarded the trophy for having produced an entirely new engine from a clean sheet of paper; what was particularly impressive was that him and his small team of engineers produced the winning power plant in just eight months on a very limited budget.
On receiving the award from Soheila Kimberley, RACE TECH’s Publishing Director, Arnaud Martin said: "I am very grateful that my team’s work had been so recognised and honoured, and it makes me especially proud to join such a prestigious list of previous winners."
Previous recipients of the award were Rob White (Renault F1), Ulrich Baretzky (Head of Engine Technology, Audi Sport) and Francois Coudrain (Peugeot Sport).

COUNTDOWN: - 51 DAYS
WTCC RACE OF ITALY - MONZA, 11 MARCH 2012

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13.1.2012 von Wolfgang.

 Italy-based ROAL Motorsport will step up to a two-car team for the 2012 FIA World Touring Car Championship. After making their comeback to the series in 2011, with only one BMW 320 TC car, the outfit directed by former world champion Roberto Ravaglia are ready to double their effort adding Alberto Cerqui to Tom Coronel.
Coronel is facing his second season with the team; the 39-year old Dutchman emerged as the best of the rest in 2011, claiming one victory at Suzuka and being classified fourth in the Drivers’ Championship behind the Chevrolet trio.
The team’s second car will be entrusted to Italian racer Cerqui; although he is only 19 years old, he has already established himself as a rising star in touring car competitions, clinching the 2011 Italian Superstars title on his first year in a professional championship.
Team principal Ravaglia commented: "I am extremely satisfied for lining up two cars in 2012. It won’t be easy to repeat the good results we achieved in 2011, but I am confident. Tom provides experience and reliability, while Alberto has already shown his talent in adapting to new circuits."
"2011 was a positive year. Race after race I improved the feeling with the team and we ended up fighting for the podium in the last four rounds. Starting from last year’s fourth place, our goal is to improve and win some more races; I feel I can fight for third in the championship," Coronel stated.
Cerqui added: "After winning the Italian Superstars, WTCC was the obvious choice to continue my career in touring car racing. Having the opportunity to continue racing for ROAL Motorsport is a further reason to rejoice, though I am aware that is not going to be a walk in the park as most of the tracks are new to me and the level of competition is very high."

After winning last year in Suzuka, ROAL Motorsport aim for more with two cars

CHEVROLET BEGIN TESTING PROGRAMME IN SPAIN
The Chevrolet team set off for the 2012 season, when they will defend their second consecutive WTCC Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ title.
The Cruze racing car hit the track for the first time in a two-day testing session, on Tuesday and Wednesday, at Valencia’s Circuit Ricardo Tormo.
Alain Menu was at the wheel of the test-car: "I haven’t been driving a race car since Macau and is definitely very nice to be behind the wheel again! We were lucky to enjoy very good weather in Valencia and this allowed to take the maximum out of these two days. We achieved quite some mileage and performed the entire program foreseen. Basically, we tested a number of small evolutions, related to both the chassis and the engine, and everything went well."
RML Project Manager Ron Hartvelt added: "The data collected in Spain will be very helpful in our work towards signing off the 2012 specs of the Cruze."
The Chevrolet team will be again at Valencia early February, with two cars for Yvan Muller and Rob Huff.

Alan Menu tested the Chevrolet Cruze at Valencia on Tuesday and Wednesday

A BUSY START TO THE SEASON FOR ROB HUFF
The 2012 season has already kicked off in a busy way for 2011 WTCC vice-champion Rob Huff.
The Chevrolet racer attended last week the launch of the Cruze turbo road car for Israel’s press, that took place at Donington Park. Huff attended the press conference and then took the car through a gymkhana course to demonstrate and challenge the journalists.
This weekend Huff will also appear at the Autosport International at Birmingham’s National Exhibition Centre, being available for interviews and autograph signings.

COUNTDOWN: - 58 DAYS
WTCC RACE OF ITALY - MONZA, 11 MARCH 2012

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6.1.2012 von Wolfgang.

The new WTCC Ford Focus successfully enjoyed its first shakedown at Ford’s technical centre at Dunton, Essex in the UK, just before the Christmas break.
The racing car, based on the Global Ford Focus which took two victories in the 2011 British Touring Car Championship, was built by Team Aon that after clinching the BTCC Independent Teams’ and Drivers’ titles are now facing exciting new challenges in 2012.
With the first shakedown completed in full WTCC specs, with the 1.6L turbo engine and Yokohama tyres, the Ford Focus is now ready to go through additional tests in the wind tunnel, while work will also be completed on revised suspension components, ahead of an FIA technical inspection later this month.
Negotiations with drivers for the 2012 season are also well underway with the team hoping to make announcements in the near future.
The Team Aon car will next hit the track at the end of January with further tests in the UK, before an extensive test programme in Spain in early February.
"It has been very exciting to see the development of this new car," said driver Tom Chilton. "Of course we’re already very familiar with the Focus, having won races with it in 2011, but there are certain elements which make the WTCC version a different challenge from a driver’s perspective. We had our first proper shakedown with the car just before Christmas and hearing the new engine fire up was pretty exciting in itself! The engine was incredibly impressive even on its first run and I can’t wait to see what else it can do when we get our full test programme underway. We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us, but it’s great to have such a new challenge."
Team Principal Mike Earle added: "The team have been working very hard to get the new WTCC car together in time for testing. There are more restrictions on the WTCC car than there are on the BTCC version so we’ve had to change a few elements, and of course the tyres and engine are completely different. The shakedown went well and we’re going to be using the majority of January to work on the car in the factory before getting our test programme fully underway on track."

Team Aon successfully completed the shakedown of the WTCC Ford Focus

FIRST TEAMS COMMITT TO THE 2012 ETC CUP
The first teams announced their commitment to the 2012 FIA European Touring Car Cup that will be held on four race meetings, three of them coinciding with the World Touring Car Championship events at Monza (11 March), Valencia (1^st April) and Salzburgring (20 May).
The series will be concluded by a standalone event at Imola (24 June).
Switzerland-based Maurer Motorsport announced they will run a couple of Chevrolet Aveo cars in the Super 1600 class for young Russian drivers Alexander Frolov (21 years old) and Vadim Meshcheryakov (19 years old) who were both crowned champions of the 2011 Russian Touring Car Championship in the Touring and the National class respectively.
The 34-year old Czech driver Petr Fulín (a race winner in the German SEAT Supercópa and the Abarth 500 European Trophy) also announced his plans to take part in the European Cup at the wheel of a Super 2000 BMW 320si car run by the Autonagy team.

The Super 1600 Chevrolet Aveo built by Maurer Motorsport for the 2012 ETCC

COUNTDOWN: - 65 DAYS
WTCC RACE OF ITALY - MONZA, 11 MARCH 2012

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27.11.2011 von Wolfgang.

The FIA Action for Road Safety campaign received a substantial boost last weekend as the drivers and manufacturers of the World Touring Car Championship voiced their support. Assembled in Macao for the final rounds of the 2011 Championship, they posed for a group picture with the Action for Road Safety banner.
"Road cars have made huge steps forward in terms of safety equipment but both human driving behaviour and the road themselves need to be improved," said Championship promoter Marcello Lotti. "The FIA provides powerful motivation to improve safety standards in motor sport so it is a logical extension to take that further and contribute to awakening public opinion and making roads safer worldwide."
Three times WTCC Champion Yvan Muller commented: "Nobody is in a better position than racing drivers to know the risks and dangers of the road. Our experience can be very useful to reduce the number of deadly accidents, but this is often not exploited. When road users think of racing drivers they always think of speed and madness but that is completely wrong. On the contrary, our experience may be used to pass on very important messages about the necessity of evaluating potentially dangerous situations; road safety, braking distances, sobriety at the wheel and so on."
SUNRED racer Tiago Monteiro added: "Professional drivers in top level motorsport must provide an example. It is important to make road users aware that road safety is important and driving becomes very dangerous if you don’t take sufficient care. There are many simple ways to make the roads safer, and I think the FIA is correct to use us as a vehicle for this message, because, via motorsport, it will reach a lot of people."
Volvo driver Robert Dahlgren added: "Every campaign like this one deserves to receive a strong support. As a Volvo driver for the past eight years I am well aware of how important it is to emphasise safety on the roads. I think is a very good idea that our World Championship and its drivers support this campaign. If we can make a difference, that will be fantastic."
Action for Road Safety is the FIAs response and leading contribution to the challenges raised by the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety, the aim of which is to prevent five million road deaths and countless serious injuries over the next ten years.

WTCC drivers show support to the FIA Action for Road Safety campaign

STR PLAN WTCC COMEBACK IN 2012
UK based Touring Car team Special Tuning Racing announced that they are working towards competing in the 2012 FIA World Touring Car Championship with SEAT Sport works customer support.
Team principal John Boardman and Technical Director Gary Robertshaw, visited the WTCC finale at Macau, where they met with SEAT Sport Director Jaime Puig and agreed the deal in principle for 2012.
STR will use a new SEAT Sport developed 1.6 T engine and gearbox package in their two WTCC latest specification León cars, receiving technical backup and engineering support from the Spanish manufacturer.
John Boardman commented: "We are very excited by the prospect of working closely with SEAT Sport as a customer ‘works’ team. This will take our involvement with running SEAT touring cars to the next level. We have over eight years experience racing the León in the WTCC, BTCC and SEAT single make series. This support from SEAT will make us even more competitive in next season. We look forward to making our experience produce front running pace in the WTCC."
Special Tuning Racing will now be focusing on finalising the driver line up for 2012. The plan is to run two cars in the WTCC where they last raced in 2009, and two in the British Touring Car Championship.

Tom Boardman in the STR-run SEAT León during the 2009 WTCC season

POULSEN AND TEAM ENGSTLER WON YOKOHAMA TROPHIES
The fight for the Yokohama Drivers’ Trophy culminated in a duel between two Danish drivers on the streets of Macau. And although Michel Nykjær drove his SUNRED León to clinch two great victories, it was his fellow countryman Kristian Poulsen who was sacred champion by two points.
"I won four out of the last six races and looking back at whole season, I can only be satisfied. We had some problems at the start of the year, which meant that we had to catch up. We managed to close the gap, but even though we lacked a few points at the end. Congratulations to Kristian for the title," Nykjær said.
Poulsen who had finished runner up to Sergio Hernández in 2010, won six races at the wheel of his BMW 320 TC and emerged as the best of the Yokohama Trophy competitors in the Drivers’ Championship ranking seventh.
"The team did a great job for the whole season. I never had technical problems in the twenty-four races. I had to fight with some very good drivers and it was funny that in the end it was a Danish affair, between me and Michel. My last race was also the slowest of my career. The guys on the radio were telling me that I just needed to finish to become champion. I had to fight against my own instinct, but all I wanted was the title!" Poulsen commented.
With Poulsen’s team-mate Franz Engstler finishing in third position, Liqui Moly Team Engstler won the Yokohama Team’s Trophy.
"We are very proud. It’s a great honour for us! Since we joined the championship we tried to improve and this title is the result of the hard work we have done! We need to thank Liqui Moly as they made all this possible," team manager Kurt Treml commented.
The Jay-Ten Trophy, reserved for driver at the wheel of 2010 cars was won by Fabio Fabiani in BMW 320si cars run by Proteam Racing and Liqui Moly Team Engstler.

ROB HUFF IS THE MONROE PERFORMER
Rob Huff finished runner up in the WTCC Drivers’ Championship behind Yvan Muller. However, the young Briton got himself the satisfaction to beat his Chevrolet team-mate in setting the most fastest laps during the season, being crowned as the 2012 Monroe Performer.
With nine fastest laps - against Muller’s eight - Huff not only erased the previous record of six, set by Jörg Müller in 2005 and matched by Gabriele Tarquini in 2010, but also won the Ducati motorcycle offered by Monroe.
Muller was awarded with a Elmoto electric bicycle and Alain Menu (two fastest laps) with a Marzocchi bicycle.
With eight fastest laps, Norbert Michelisz emerged as the Monroe Performer among the competitors of the Yokohama Trophy; the Hungarian races pocketed prize money for a total of 24,500 euros.

COUNTDOWN: - 107 DAYS
WTCC RACE OF ITALY - MONZA, MARCH 11, 2012

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20.11.2011 von Wolfgang.

Yvan Muller grabbed his third World Touring Car Championship title, beating his Chevrolet team-mate Rob Huff by only three points after 24 rounds.
Until the last race Huff left no stone unturned in the attempt to revert a situation that saw him twenty points behind before the season finale at Macau. However, not even the two victories he obtained today - that made him the most winning WTCC driver on the Guia circuit, with five successes - were enough.
After putting a lot of pressure on Huff during the first race, when he was lying second, Muller was able to maintain concentration, avoiding the risks and pocketing two podium results that were worth the title.
This was the icing on the Chevrolet’s cake at the end of a season that was largely dominated by the brand of the GM Group and the Cruze cars admirably prepared and run by RML. Figures say it all: 21 victories out of 24 races, 12 pole positions out of 12, 19 fastest laps out of 24, 256 laps led out of 347.
No wonder then that Muller, Huff and Alain Menu (who had no luck today, being involved in a first race accident that sidelined him for good) filled the championship podium.
A few other drivers showed off today. Gabriele Tarquini and Tom Coronel were able to escort Huff and Muller on the podiums, confirming that they were the best of the rest. Coronel ranked fourth in the final standings and Tarquini fifth.
Like Huff, Michel Nikyær had the difficult task to recover a lot of points in the Yokohama Trophy. Like Huff he won both races. And like Huff he lost the title by a few points (only two) to Kristian Poulsen.
Now the championship faces a 110-day break before the 2012 season kicks off at Monza on March 11.

RACE 1 - HUFF REDUCES GAP TO 13 POINTS
Rob Huff won the first race at Macau, keeping his team-mate and championship leader Yvan Muller at bay during a race that was neutralized twice by the safety car. This result meant that the Briton reduced his gap from Muller to 13 points, keeping alive his chances to be sacred world champion in the second race.
For the whole distance Muller put strong pressure on Huff, changing line at every braking point in the attempt to push him to make a mistake. In spite of this, Huff remained cool and focused, avoiding to open the least of a gap.
Gabriele Tarquini collected another podium result ahead of Tom Coronel, while Michel Nikyær finished in fifth winning the Yokohama Trophy, while Kristian Poulsen clinched the title even before the final race. Joe Rosa-Merszei claimed victory in the Jay-Ten Trophy.

RACE 2 - HUFF WINS, MULLER IS CHAMPION
Rob Huff encored, claiming a second dominant victory, but he lost the world title to Yvan Muller by three points only.
The Briton tried his best to recover the 13-point gap and managed to overtake Michel Nikyær and Tom Coronel (who had taken a fantastic start from the second row) on his way to another race win. However, Muller was in a position to control without taking too many risks.
For six laps, two of them behind the safety car, Huff and Muller were equal for points and the number of victories (eight each); and yet the Frenchman would have been champion because of the second places (eight against six). Eventually Muller settled the situation by moving up to third, ahead of Nikyær.
The latter won again the Yokohama Trophy race, beating Mehdi Bennani who obtained his best result ever - sixth - in WTCC, while Joe Rosa-Merszei claimed his second victory in the Jay-Ten Trophy.

WTCC Guia Race of Macau - Circuito da Guia - 18 / 20 November 2011
www.fiawtcc.com - www.macau.grandprix.gov.mo

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13.11.2011 von Wolfgang.

 A delegation from Team Aon visited the WTCC event at Shanghai Tianma last weekend. Arena Motorsport principal Mike Earle, his commercial partner Grahame Chilton and BTCC race winner Tom Chilton had meetings with WTCC promoter Marcello Lotti and Jost Capito, director of Ford Global Motorsport Business Development.
"We are going ahead with our WTCC preparations," commented Earle. "We have built a Ford Focus to S2000 specifications and we will start testing with Tom Chilton before the end of this month. As an Independent Constructor, our team preparation for the 2012 WTCC season is enabled through the S2000 development support from Ford."
Grahame Chilton added: "Our aim is to build a three-car team and besides Tom we are in touch with a number of prospective leading touring car drivers with international experience, with the aim being to launch a team that is competitive from the outset."
Lotti commented: "I am obviously excited by the fact that a new and glamorous brand with worldwide commercial interests may become involved in the championship. I’m also pleased that the programme will be run by such a professional team and will involve a young and promising driver like Tom who emerged from a competitive national championship like the BTCC. This addition will provide WTCC with further competition and appeal."

From left: Mike Earle, Marcello Lotti, Tom and Grahame Chilton

ROUTE TO MACAU FOR THE LAST STOP
The clock is ticking for the 2011 FIA World Touring Car Championship as next week the strong field of 27 competitors will hit the track for the last two races of the season.
For the seventh consecutive year the final and deciding act will be staged on Macau’s infamous 6.1-km Guia street circuit. On Sunday 20^th November two nine-lap races will consecrate the 2011 World Champion.
In the previous six appearances of the World Touring cars at Macau, BMW and Chevrolet have won five races apiece out of twelve, against one each for Alfa Romeo and SEAT.
In last year’s event Rob Huff won Race 1, claiming his third victories on the Guia track, while in the second race Norbert Michelisz scored his first ever (and only so far) WTCC win.
Local hero André Couto, in a SUNRED León 1.6T, will try once again to match Jörg Müller’s record of being the only driver to have won both the Macau F3 GP and Guia Race.

The 2011 WTCC will come to an end next week on Macau’s Guia Circuit

MULLER AND HUFF FACE LAST SHOOTOUT
It is a tradition, WTCC title fight always goes to the wire for Macau’s grand finale.
This year it’s up to Chevrolet team-mates Yvan Muller and Rob Huff to clash in the deciding shootout oh the streets of the Chinese city.
They both face the final battle with reasons of being optimistic. Muller has built a 20-point lead with 50 still to be awarded, but Huff has claimed three race victories on the Guia circuit, while his archrival still has to break his duck here.
"The title fight will be settled in Macau and it doesn’t matter by how many points I am currently leading." said Muller who might be crowned WTCC champion for the third time, matching Andy Priaulx’s record.
Huff, who is aiming for his first WTCC title, echoed: "Obviously I’m not very happy for how things went in Shanghai, but let’s see what happens in Macau."

POULSEN DEFENDS YOKOHAMA TROPHY LEAD
Colin Turkington dominated the Yokohama Trophy at Shanghai, but Kristian Poulsen stretched his lead in the standings.
Turkington set pole position, won both races, posted the fastest lap twice and gave to the Wiechers-Sport team their best WTCC result ever with a second place overall in Race 1.
"It was a fantastic weekend for me. Wiechers-Sport and WSR have done a great job working together, which not an easy thing to do when you have only two racing events for learning to get along," said the Irishman who pocketed the maximum of 23 points against Poulsen’s 16.
The Dane collected two second places that enabled him to stretch his lead to 23 points ahead of Norbert Michelisz. Double points will be awarded in the season’s finale at Macau and with 43 still at stake, three other drivers still have theoretical chances of clinching the title: Michel Nykjær, Franz Engstler and Javier Villa who lie 29, 30 and 35 points behind respectively.

BMW AND CHEVROLET ON SAME WEIGHT
The BMW 320 TC cars will be as heavy as the Chevrolet Cruze for the championship’s final at Macau.
According to the calculation of the compensation weight based on the lap times set in the three previous events (Valencia, Suzuka Shanghai) the 0.3-second gap between the Chevrolet and the BMW means that they both will be carrying 40 kilos in addition to the minimum weight of 1150 and 1170 kg respectively. At Shanghai the BMW ran with 20 kilos less.
The SUNRED León will be laden again with a 10-kg compensation weight, while the Volvo C30 will lose 20 kilos compared to the Chinese event and will run on the minimum weight of 1150 kg. The only model allowed to a weight reduction will be again the BMW 320si (-20kg).

Compensation weight Macau
+ 40 kg BMW 320 TC, Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T
+ 10 kg SUNRED SR León 1.6T
± 0 kg Volvo C30 Drive
- 20 kg BMW 320si

LO KA CHUN ENTERS IN MACAU GUIA RACE
The 778 Auto Sport team entered a Peugeot 308 car in the WTCC Guia Race of Macau. The French car, that was previously raced by Johan Stureson in the 2008 and 2009 Swedish Touring Car Championship, will be driven at Macau by Lo Ka Chun.
The 34-year-old from Hong Kong is one of the most successful saloon car drivers in the Asia Pacific region, having claimed four titles in the Asia Touring Car Series (1999, 2000, 2002 and 2004), one in the China and Hong Kong Touring Car championships (2006 and 2009 respectively) and three consecutive victories in the Macau Cup Race (2002/2004).
In the latest seasons Lo Ka Chun has driven KIA cars in the CTCC, winning a number of races - including last weekend’s in the WTCC event at Shanghai Tianma - and always finishing on the championship podium (third in 2009 and 2010, second this year).
"I’m very excited to make my first appearance in WTCC at Macau. The original plan was to race at Shanghai too, but we had to give up because of logistics issues," he said.

LOCAL DRIVERS LOOK FORWARD TO HOME RACE
Nine out of the 27 WTCC drivers entered in the WTCC finale are locals, either from Macau, Hong Kong or Mainland China: Darryl O’Young, Charles Ng, Philip Ma, André Couto, Filipe de Souza, Mak Ka Lok, Jo Rosa-Merszei, Kuok Io Keong and Lo Ka Chun.
Bamboo-engineering’s O’Young, the only one who competed in the whole season, said: "Macau is my favourite race and I’m really looking forward to it. It’s a shame I’m out contention for the Yokohama Trophy title, but I will do everything I can to win in front of my home crowd. Chevrolet has a history of WTCC success at the Macau and I hope to use all the experience I have gained from this season to be successful at home."
Charles Ng has only joined at Suzuka with DeTeam Engstler Motorsport. However, on his second appearance he was able to score his first point last week at Shanghai. "I did not expect this on my first outing in the BMW 320 TC that I had never tested. Especially after I went off in qualifying and had to start from the back of the grid. Carrying forward the momentum, the team and I have come up with a plan for Macau and we expect to finish in the top ten again. I grew up watching racing in Macau and it has been my dream to be able to race against the world’s best drivers. Now the dream of my life comes true!"

GARY KWOK TO RACE FOR WIECHERS-SPORT
Canadian racer Gary Kwok was the last addition to the WTCC entry list for the Macau event.
Kwok, 45-years old, started racing in 1987 in Hong Kong and since then raced in Thailand, Hong Kong, Macau, Canada and the USA.
In the three latest years he competed in the Canadian Touring Car Championship at the wheel of Honda Cars. During the current season he won three races to be classified fifth in the standing with a Civic Si.
"I’m absolutely delighted to join the WTCC in Macau. This is a prestigious, world class motorsports event and Wiechers-Sport are a very capable team. Macau is my favourite circuit and my first appearance in the world championship with a new car makes everything more challenging. But I love challenges!" Kwok said.

COUNTDOWN: - 9 DAYS
WTCC GUIA RACE OF MACAU - MACAU, NOVEMBER 20

www.fiawtcc.com

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6.11.2011 von Wolfgang.

By winning the second race in China today, Yvan Muller made a significant step closer to his third World Touring Car Championship title.
After finishing the first race in fourth, the Chevrolet driver took advantage from the situation and showcased the real killing instinct that marks out all the greatest motor sport aces.
Now the gap between Muller and Rob Huff has been stretched to twenty points, which makes things difficult for the young Briton. However, with 50 points still at stake in Macau, where anything can happen, Huff’s hopes are still well and alive.
If Muller made the most out of the weekend in terms of championship fight, three other drivers excited the crowd: Alain Menu, Gabriele Tarquini and Colin Turkington.
Menu and Tarquini offered another proof of their immense talent and experience, clinching victory in Race 1 and second place in Race 2 respectively as they managed to resist the huge pressure from their chasers.
As for Turkington, he got used to make random visits to WTCC that often result in brilliant performances. Once again the Irishman was able to deliver two fantastic races with an independent BMW run by the joint efforts of the Wiechers-Sport and WSR teams. He claimed one second and one fourth, but he deserved more.
Although Turkington won both races in the Yokohama Trophy, Kristian Poulsen collected two second places that might prove crucial for the title fight, as the Dane is now leading Norbert Michelisz by 23 points. Fabio Fabiani beat Philip Ma twice in the Jay-Ten Trophy and took the lead in the points.
The championship will resume in Macau, on November 20^th for the final rounds 23 and 24.

WTCC Race of China - Shanghai Tianma Circuit - 5 / 6 November 2011
www.fiawtcc.com - www.stc2002.com

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5.11.2011 von Wolfgang.

Alain Menu put his Chevrolet Cruze car on pole position for the first WTCC race in China. On the Shanghai Tianma Circuit the Swiss survived a tricky Q1 and advanced to claim his fourth pole of the season - the second in a row - and the eleventh for Chevrolet out of eleven meetings.
Rob Huff had also reasons to rejoice having qualified second in today’s Q2 but also winning pole position for Race 2 on the top-ten reverse grid. This placed him in both races ahead of Yvan Muller, his rival in the title fight.
Colin Turkington achieved a brilliant result for Wiechers-Sport, ranking third overall and first of the Yokohama Trophy drivers. An outstanding performance considering that the drying tarmac in Q1 made life difficult for the rear-wheel driven cars.
Once again Robert Dahlgren and the Polestar Volvo team did not collect what they could, missing the right moment to go for a final attempt in Q1.

Q1 - The track was damp after a light rain when the session kicked off. In less than five minutes the red flag was waved after Charles Ng stranded his car in the gravel bed of Turn 1; the Hong Kong man was not allowed to rejoin having been towed off the gravel.
Lap times improved at a frantic pace when the session resumed, as the racing lines were quickly drying up.
Tom Coronel marked the beginning and the end of the shootout to make the top-ten. The ROAL Motorsport driver set a provisional fastest lap of 1:11.913 immediately after the red flag and improved by six seconds, posting the session’s best time of 1:06.690 when the chequered flag dropped.
Seven different drivers took turns in the lead between Coronel’s exploits: Poulsen, Michelisz, Dudukalo, Tarquini, Villa, Engstler and Nykjær.
Place-swapping dominated the final seconds, with drivers being kicked off and bouncing back. The latest victims were Kristian Poulsen, Javier Villa and Robert Dahlgren, while the three Chevrolet men Alain Menu, Yvan Muller and Rob Huff managed to make the cut in third, seventh and tenth positions respectively.
The following drivers advanced to Q2: Coronel, Michelisz, Menu, Turkington, Oriola, Monteiro, Muller, Barth, Tarquini and Huff who will start on pole for tomorrow’s second race.

Q2 - The track was nearly dry and Menu was the first one to post a quick lap of 1:05.766, while Huff aborted his first attempt and went back to the pits.
Turkington claimed a provisional pole position with the time of 1:05.712, but he was soon ousted by Huff’s 1:05.700.
However Menu’s final attempt was worth a 1:05.555 that gave him another pole. At the same time Muller spoiled his last chance when he lost the back of his car and nearly spun at Turn 5, which left him in seventh position behind Michelisz, Tarquini and Coronel.

WTCC Race of China - Shanghai Tianma Circuit - 5 / 6 November 2011
www.fiawtcc.com - www.ctcc.com.cn

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4.11.2011 von Wolfgang.

Just like at Suzuka two weeks ago, Chevrolet driver Alain Menu set the fastest lap in today’s test at the Shanghai Tianma Circuit.
The Swiss racer posted a fastest lap of 1:05.978 in the dying seconds of the 30-minute session, climbing on top ahead of Robert Dahlgren and Colin Turkington.
Under an overcast sky, WTCC competitors had their first taste of the Chinese racetrack, using the first part of the test session for getting to know the twisty circuit. Despite their cautious approach some drivers had moments, especially at Turn 12, were Franz Engstler, Kristian Poulsen, Michelisz, and Mehdi Bennani spun and rejoined.
Lap times improved consistently with Tom Coronel, Norbert Michelisz and Rob Huff setting the early pace.
Dahlgren and Menu signed the first significant improvements; the Swede completed a lap in 1:06.912 that was immediately beaten by Menu’s 1:06.890. However Dahlgren responded with a 1:06.815 with ten minutes left.
Moments after, Javier Villa spun off at Turn 4 beaching his BMW onto the gravel trap, which forced the race director to wave the red flag.
When the session resumed, Turkington posted a new provisional fastest lap of 1:06.317 and then improved further to 1:06.103. But Dahlgren reclaimed the first position once again clocking a 1:06.017 with only five minutes to go. A time that was eventually beaten by Menu’s last spell of 1:05.978.
Huff (1:06.11), Yvan Muller (1:06.131) and Coronel (1:06.757) rounded up the top six.

Alain Menu topped the test session at Shanghai Tianma Circuit

KUOK IO KEONG JOINS CORSA MOTORSPORT
Hong Kong-based team Corsa Motorsport have entered a second Chevrolet Lacetti car in the WTCC Macau Guia Race.
Kuok Io Keong will join his fellow Macau countryman Filipe Clemente de Souza who had been entered earlier.
The 35-year old Kuok Io Keong has built his racing experience in the Asian and Macau touring car series, claiming class victories in the 2010 Macau AAMC Challenge and the 2011 Macau Road Sport Series.
Last year he tried to qualify in the WTCC event at Macau at the wheel of a Honda Accord car, to no avail.

MAK KA LOK ENTERS IN MACAU GUIA RACE
Macau-based team RPM Motorsport have entered a BMW 320si race in their home WTCC event.
Mak Ka Lok will be at the wheel of the 2.0-litre normally aspirated German car.
The 46-year old Mak Ka Lok has mostly raced in the Far East region, taking part in the Asia, China, Hong Kong and Macau touring car series. His best results were victory in the 1999 Macau Cup Race and third place in the 2010 Asian Touring Car Series.

JO MERSZEI TO JOIN ENGSTLER MOTORSPORT
Once again the Engstler Motorsport will run four cars in Macau.
Jo Rosa Merszei will take the wheel of the team’s 2.0-litre normally aspirated BMW 320si car that was raced by Charles Ng in Suzuka and is driven by Fabio Fabiani this weekend in Shanghai.
Rosa Merszei - 37 years old - was born in Hong Kong, but is a Macau citizen and is obviously a familiar face for the Guia circuit, as he took part in many races there, from the Macau Formula 3 Grand Prix to the WTCC events in 2009 and 2010.

COUNTDOWN: - 2 DAYS
WTCC RACE OF CHINA - SHANGHAI, NOVEMBER 6

www.fiawtcc.com

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23.10.2011 von Wolfgang.

Alain Menu and Tom Coronel claimed one victory apiece in WTCC’s first visit to Suzuka that was blessed by a couple of close races and a good crowd.
In the first one, after four of his potential competitors were eliminated in a couple of crashes and thanks to his fair play agreement with Yvan Muller, Menu was able to pull out and created a gap that nobody was able to fill.
In the second race Coronel managed to resist the pressure from Muller and finally clinched his first victory in the ROAL Motorsport BMW. The second one for him in WTCC after that he scored in 2008 at Okayama, which proved that racing in Japan provides him with some extra motivations.
In terms of the championship fight Huff cut his gap from Muller by three points; the latter has still a 13-point lead with 100 points to be awarded.
Michel Nykjær won both races in the Yokohama Trophy and, most important, claimed his first, and well deserved WTCC podium.
The championship will resume in Shanghai, China, on November 6^th for rounds 21 and 22.

MICHELISZ DEMOTED AFTER RACE 2
Norbert Michelisz lost his ten place in the first race after the Stewards of the meeting imposed him a 30-second time penalty for overspeeding during the rolling start.
The same penalty was awarded to Tarquini, Barth, Villa and Oriola, even if they have all finished out of the points.

WTCC Race of Japan - Suzuka East Circuit - 22 / 23 October 2011
www.fiawtcc.com - www.mobilityland.co.jp

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23.10.2011 von Wolfgang.

Alain Menu claimed his third pole position of the season and extended Chevrolet’s invincibility in this year’s qualifying sessions. The Swiss and his team-mates have won all the ten pole positions so far.
Reigning champion and current point leader Yvan Muller set the second fastest lap, while his arch-rival in the title fight, Rob Huff could not achieve more than a fourth position on the grid for tomorrow’s Race 1. Huff lost third to Robert Dahlgren in the final seconds of Q2 by only eight thousandths of a second.
This was the second time Dahlgren managed to squeeze among the top three after he qualified second at Oschersleben.

Q1 - The session kicked off under a threat of rain and yet most of the top drivers sat in their pits during the early stages.
Tom Coronel posted a provisional fastest lap of 53.943 after three minutes, but immediately afterwards the red flag was waved for the first time when Mehdi Bennani’s BMW got stranded at the outside of the East Shortcut.
As action resumed Yvan Muller jumped on top with a lap of 53.893, leading a bunch of drivers who elbowed their way into the top ten: Rob Huff, Robert Dahlgren and Alain Menu.
Gabriele Tarquini was among them, but failed to make the cut because of a small clash with Menu.
Michel Nykjær improved the fastest lap to 53.725 and again the red flag was waved after Pepe Oriola’s SUNRED crashed heavily at the exit of the last turn. Which also spoiled Tarquini’s attempt once again.
The session resumed for a four-minute spell in which Colin Turkington set the fastest lap (53.672) while Tarquini eventually managed to make the top ten. The last spot for Q2 - and pole position for Race 2 - was won by Darryl O’Young who kicked Javier Villa off.
The following drivers advanced to Q2: Turkington, Nykjær, Tarquini, Menu, Dahlgren, Monteiro, Muller, Huff, Coronel and O’Young.

Q2 - The second part of the session was not especially eventful. Most of the ten drivers managed to set their best time on the first lap out of the pits, with Menu (53.443) leading Muller (53.492) and Huff (53.520).
Only Coronel and Dahlgren were able to improve on their last attempt. The Dutchman climbed to a provisional fourth position with a lap of 53.601 that eventually became the fifth when Dahlgren stopped the watches on the time of 53.512. This was good enough for him to qualify in hird, splitting the Chevrolet trio.
Nykjær qualified in seventh position, best of the Yokohama Trophy.

WTCC Race of Japan - Suzuka East Circuit - 22 / 23 October 2011
www.fiawtcc.com - www.mobilityland.co.jp

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21.10.2011 von Wolfgang.

Chevrolet driver Alain Menu set the fastest lap in today’s test session at Suzuka. The Swiss was clocked at 53.605 with only a couple of minutes left in the half-an-hour session and ousted Volvo’s Robert Dahlgren from the top of the standings.
Only a few minutes earlier and at the end of an impressive learning curve, Dahlgren had posted a lap of 53.722 that was the provisional fastest one until Menu’s exploit.
This sudden change of leadership was only the peak point of the first session for the WTCC racers on Suzuka’s East Circuit, and promised extremely close competition in tomorrow’s qualifying.
Rob Huff posted the third fastest lap of 53.861, followed by Tiago Monteiro (54.177), Yvan Muller (54.200), Tom Coronel (54.409) and Gabriele Tarquini (54.448).
Rallyman Toshihiro Arai set a promising eighth best lap of 54.479 on his first outing in a WTCC car and emerged as the best of the Japanese contingent.
Competition was equally tight in the Yokohama Trophy, with Darryl O’Young setting the pace (54.615) from Colin Turkington (54.643) and Michel Nykjær (54.721), the three of them covered by only one tenth of a second.
The session was disrupted once by the red flag, after only five minutes, when Norbert Michelisz’s spun off at the Anti-banked curve ripping his front bumper apart in the process.

Alain Menu was the fastest in today’s test session at Suzuka East Circuit

STRONG LIVE TV COVERAGE FROM SUZUKA
The WTCC Race of Japan will receive an extensive TV coverage all around the world, including live broadcasting in Japan, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.
In Japan, Gaora Sports - the Japanese Sports channel - will broadcast both races live, with special focus on the Japanese drivers; they will also broadcast a dedicated magazine on Saturday 29 October.
The TXN network, comprising of six Japanese regional broadcasters (TV Osaka, TV Tokyo, TV Aichi, TV Setouchi, TV Hokkaido, TVQ Kyushu Housou), air daily news in their Neo Sport evening news. They will also broadcast a 75-minute highlights on Saturday 29 October.
European WTCC fans will be able to follow Saturday’s qualifying (8:15 CET) and Sunday’s races (7:00 and 8:30 CET) live on Eurosport. In the Americas, Speed Channel 2 will broadcast both races on a delayed basis, while Televisa Deportes will broadcast both races live in Central America.
LAUNCH OF THE WTCC-CTCC JOINT EVENT
The joint race meeting of the FIA World Touring Car Championship and China Touring Car Championship that will take place at the Shanghai Tianma Circuit on November 6^th, was launched yesterday at the racetrack.
During a crowded press conference, the vice chairman of China Motorsport Federation (FASC) Wan Heping, the deputy director of Shanghai Sports Bureau Cheng Yiping, the president of the Shanghai Automobile Sports Federation Zhao Yinghua and CTCC promoter Xia Qing presented the event to a large representative of local media.
"Shanghai has a strong motor sport tradition and hosting the WTCC event will result in a huge impact on local media and fans. This international race meeting will also have positive effects in enhancing the image of Shanghai as a modern and international metropolis," said Cheng Yiping.

CORSA MOTORSPORT ENTER IN MACAU GUIA RACE
Hong Kong-based Corsa Motorsport will take part in the WTCC event at Macau, running a Chevrolet Lacetti car driven by local racer Filipe Clemente de Souza.
"We are proud to represent our country in our home race meeting," said team principal Reuter Wong. "Our team is very young, the first Hong Kong-based race outfit, but we are well prepared. It was not easy to get ready for our first appearance in WTCC, but we were able to go through. We are confident that Filipe’s experience on the Guia circuit will help to achieve decent results."
De Souza, 35 years old, has competed several times in the Macau Grand Prix supporting series, claiming a brilliant second position in the 2008 Macau Interport Race.

www.fiawtcc.com

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15.10.2011 von Wolfgang.

The 19^th and 20^th rounds of the FIA WTCC will take place in Japan, at Suzuka’s East Circuit next week. This is the fourth consecutive visit of the FIA World Touring Car Championship to the Country of the Rising Sun, however it is the first time that the WTCC Race of Japan will take place at Suzuka.
From 2008 to 2010, the championship’s Japanese event was hosted by the Okayama International Circuit, where BMW scored three victories (Andy Priaulx and Augusto Farfus in 2009, Colin Turkington in 2010), SEAT two (Rickard Rydell and Tom Coronel in 2008) and Chevrolet one (Rob Huff in 2010).
The switch to Suzuka was mainly due to logistics needs, however the WTCC will not run on the full 5.8-km Grand Prix track, but on the 2.2-km East Circuit, for two 23-lap races.
The last time Suzuka hosted another FIA World Championship event besides the Formula One Grand Prix of Japan was twenty-two years ago: the Suzuka 480 Kms counting towards the 1989 World Sportscar Championship.

Two weeks after the F1 Grand Prix, Suzuka will host WTCC for the first time

ONCE UPON A TIME. IN JAPAN
What Yvan Muller and Rob Huff have in common with Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna?
The fact that they are racing for the same team, fighting for an FIA world championship title and facing a crucial confrontation on the Suzuka circuit in Japan.
In 1989 Prost and Senna were pretty much in the same situation; when the McLaren drivers arrived at the Japanese Grand Prix, the Frenchman was leading the championship by 16 points ahead of his team-mate who needed two victories at Suzuka and Adelaide to keep his hopes alive. On the 47^th lap, while Senna was chasing Prost for the lead, the two McLaren cars made contact at the chicane.
Prost retired, while Senna rejoined and took the chequered flag first, but was later disqualified for cutting the chicane, which crowned Prost champion.
Taking into account that Muller and Huff exchanged a few attentions in some of the previous races (Porto and Donington), should we expect a similar ending at Suzuka?
Chevrolet Europe Motorsport Manager Eric Nève commented: "It is an exceptional situation to have drivers of the same team as the only title contenders. We will try and manage this in the fairest way possible by providing them the best cars and conditions to defend their chances. There won’t be any team orders. They will race each other hard, but it has to remain fair. I am sure we are going to see some exciting racing and I’m confident that Yvan and Rob will be able to avoid a close like that of the 1989 Japanese GP !"

Muller and Huff like Senna and Prost? Only Suzuka will tell.

MORE WEIGHT FOR BMW AND SUNRED
For the next WTCC event at Suzuka the BMW 320 TC and SUNRED SR León 1.6T cars will be running on heavier weights compared to the Valencia meeting.
According to the calculation of the compensation weight based on the lap times set in the three previous events (Donington, Oschersleben and Valencia), the Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T remains the reference car and will be carrying again 40 kilos in addition to the minimum weight of 1150 kg.
The gaps between the Cruze and the BMW and SUNRED cars are of 0.5 and 0.6 seconds respectively, meaning that the German machines will be laden with 20 kilos of extra weight, and the Spanish ones with 10 kg.
The Volvo C30 will run again on its minimum weight (1150 kg) just like in Valencia, while the only model allowed to a weight reduction in Japan will be the BMW 320si (-20kg).

Compensation weight Suzuka
+ 40 kg Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T
+ 20 kg BMW 320 TC
+ 10 kg SUNRED SR León 1.6T
± 0 kg Volvo C30 Drive
- 20 kg BMW 320si

www.fiawtcc.com

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