NEXT STOP: PUEBLA, MEXICO
The WTCC stays in America for its second race meeting. After the season started one week ago in Curitiba, Brazil, the championship is now heading to Mexico’s Autódromo Miguel E. Abed, where rounds 3 and 4 will take place on March 22^nd.
This is the fourth time the 3.2 km circuit, located some 30km East of Puebla, hosts the championship.
The WTCC visited Puebla for the first time in July 2005. Fabrizio Giovanardi’s Alfa Romeo won the first race, while SEAT’s Peter Terting claimed his first and only WTCC victory in the second.
The following year’s event – on a completely revised track – was dominated by the Alfa Romeo men, Salvatore Tavano, who won the first race, and Augusto Farfus, victorious in Race 2.
After a one-year break, the WTCC returned to Puebla in 2008. The SEAT León TDI cars dominated both races: Jordi Gené and Rickard Rydell finished 1-2 in the first one, while Tiago Monteiro won Race 2 followed by five other SEAT cars, including Tom Coronel, sixth in the SUNRED petrol-powered León.

SEAT turbodiesel cars dominated last year’s races in Mexico

SEAT MEN FILL THE STANDINGS‘ TOP SPOTS
SEAT Sport’s drivers arrive in Mexico on top of the point table.
Yvan Muller and Gabriele Tarquini (first and second in the 2008 Drivers‘ championship) are co-leaders with 15 points, having shared victories and fourth places in Curitiba.
Their team mates Jordi Gené and Rickard Rydell are joint in third position with 14 points, having swapped second and third positions in the Brazilian races.
The SEAT quartet is followed by five BMW men, led by Augusto Farfus on 7 points.
In the Manufacturers‘ Championship, SEAT have scored 36 points against BMW’s 22. Surprisingly LADA lie in third position with 10 points, one more than Chevrolet.

PORTEIRO LEADS THE INDEPENDENTS‘ TROPHY
Félix Porteiro has already built a comfortable lead in the Independents‘ Trophy, having scored 31 points in Curitiba. On his first appearance at the wheel of Proteam Motorsport’s BMW, the young Spaniard dominated the field and fought hard with the works driver. He even managed to lead the second race for four laps and to score three points in the overall classification.
"With the new point system that awards three points for each one scored in the overall championship, my results in Brazil were very important. Counting this bonus and the points awarded for the pole position and the fastest laps, I have collected 11 additional points," a pleased Porteiro commented.
SUNRED’s Tom Coronel is the closest competitor, as he claimed two second places and 19 points: "I also scored one point in the overall championship. Not bad when you consider that my car is 55kg heavier than last year. For now this was the best possible result and I am really looking forward to the next round in Mexico," the Dutchman said.

Porteiro and Coronel chase Farfus in Curitiba’s Race 2

EUROSPORT COVERAGE FROM CURITIBA
Saturday, 21^st: Qualifying – LIVE Eurosport International, 23.00/23.30
Sunday, 22^nd: Warm up – LIVE Eurosport 2, 16.00/16.30
Race 1 – LIVE Eurosport International, 18.45/20.00
Race 2 – LIVE Eurosport International, 22.30/23.30
Wednesday, 25^th: WTCC Magazine  Eurosport International, 01.00/01.30

Times are CET (Central European Time)

www.fiawtcc.com

Farfus erfolgreichster BMW Pilot in Curitiba – Müller gelingt Aufholjagd.

Zum Auftakt der FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) war Augusto Farfus vom BMW Team Germany der erfolgreichste Vertreter der BMW Länderteams. Im ersten Lauf des Jahres erreichte der 25-Jährige vor heimischer Kulisse in Curitiba Platz fünf und ließ im zweiten Rennen auf nasser Strecke den sechsten Platz folgen. Sein Teamkollege Jörg Müller war der Mann des zweiten Laufs, in dem sich der 39-Jährige in seinem BMW 320si WTCC von der 21. auf die fünfte Position verbesserte.

Sergio Hernández vom BMW Team Italy-Spain und BMW Team UK Pilot Andy Priaulx konnten als Sechster und Siebter im ersten Rennen ebenfalls WM-Punkte verbuchen. Mit zwei Vierfach-Erfolgen bestimmte jedoch die Konkurrenz von SEAT das Geschehen auf dem "Autódromo Internacional de Curitiba“: Der Sieg im ersten Rennen ging an Yvan Muller, im zweiten Lauf überquerte Gabriele Tarquini als Erster die Ziellinie.
Im ersten Rennen endeten Müllers Hoffnungen auf ein gutes Ergebnis bereits in der dritten Kurve. Er wurde an fünfter Stelle liegend von Chevrolet-Fahrer Alain Menu getroffen, der nach einem Ausritt auf die Strecke zurückkehrte. Müller kollidierte nach dem Stoß von Menu mit Priaulx und musste mit verstellter Spur die Box vom BMW Team Germany ansteuern. Zwar konnte er später noch einmal ins Geschehen eingreifen, kam jedoch mit fünf Runden Rückstand ins Ziel. Priaulx fiel mit einem beschädigten rechten Vorderrad auf Rang 19 zurück, kämpfte sich aber noch bis auf den neunten Platz nach vorn.

Farfus rückte aufgrund dieses Zwischenfalls vom siebten auf den fünften Platz vor und sah schließlich als Sechster die Zielflagge. Der größte Sprung nach vorn gelang Hernández, der sich vom elften Startrang bis auf die siebte Position verbesserte. Sein Teamkollege Alessandro Zanardi fuhr vom 14. auf den 12. Platz. Alle Piloten der BMW Länderteams profitierten von nachträglichen Zeitstrafen für zwei vor ihnen platzierte Piloten und machten im Klassement je zwei Positionen gut. Damit wurde Priaulx als Siebter gewertet – und stand so gemeinsam mit BMW Privatfahrer Félix Porteiro vom Proteam Motorsport in der ersten Startreihe für Lauf zwei.
30 Minuten vor dem Start fegte ein Unwetter über die 3,685 Kilometer lange Strecke hinweg. Das Rennen begann deshalb mit zehnminütiger Verspätung und wurde hinter dem Safety-Car gestartet. Bei diesen Bedingungen konnten die im Vorderfeld platzierten BMW Fahrer ihre Positionen nicht verteidigen. Lediglich Farfus und Porteiro münzten ihre guten Startplätze zumindest noch in Punkte um.
Müller kam hingegen gut mit den schwierigen Verhältnissen zurecht und startete eine beeindruckende Aufholjagd. Vom 21. Platz arbeitete er sich Runde für Runde vor und sah schließlich als Fünfter die Zielflagge.

BMW Motorsport

ROUNDS 01 & 02 – CURITIBA
RACE 1 & 2 REPORT

SEAT RESUME WHERE THEY HAD FINISHED
SEAT Sport and their León TDI cars annihilated the opposition in Brazil, saying loud and clear that they are determined to retain the Drivers‘ and Manufacturers‘ titles they claimed last year.
Five SEAT drivers on top in the qualifying session, four ahead of the rest in both races: the turbo diesel power is stronger than ever in the WTCC.
The BMW men did their best, but even the weather played against them, providing what are the worst racing conditions for the rear-wheel drive.
The new Chevrolet Cruze has shown flashes of competitiveness, like Menu’s second place in Q1 or Larini’s fourth in Race 1 that was vanished by a penalty.
The LADA cars are not on the pace so far; however they have started reducing their gap from the top and managed to score the first points of a Russian manufacturer in a World Championship.
The championship will resume in Puebla, Mexico, on March 22^nd for rounds 3 and 4.

RACE 1 – MULLER BEGINS ON A HIGH NOTE
Reigning champions Yvan Muller and SEAT Sport began the new season in the best way as they dominated the race. Muller led from lights to flag, followed by a trio of team-mates: Jordi Gené, Rickard Rydell and Gabriele Tarquini who finished in the order.

Nicola Larini crossed the line fifth and scored the first points for the new Chevrolet Cruze, while Augusto Farfus and Sergio Hernández were the best of the BMW men. They were classified sixth and seventh, ahead of Tiago Monteiro who claimed pole position for Race 2.

Félix Porteiro won the Independents‘ class after resisting pressure from Tom Coronel in the early stages.

The race was disrupted by the safety car from lap 6 to 9, after Stefano D’Aste crashed at the Esse de Alta.

RACE 2 – TARQUINI LEADS ANOTHER SEAT QUARTET

SEAT encored in Race 2, placing again four drivers in the top four positions.

The race started behind the safety car on a track flooded by a violent thunderstorm, with Félix Porteiro who had inherited pole position after Tiago Monteiro’s penalty.

In the early stages the BMW drivers – Porteiro, Andy Priaulx, Sergio Hernández and Augusto Farfus – set the pace, but soon the SEAT tide became unstoppable.

Gabriele Tarquini, Rickard Rydell, Jordi Gené and Yvan Muller jumped on top to stay, while Porteiro repeated his success in the Independents‘ class.

www.fiawtcc.com – www.autodromodecuritiba.com.br 

ROUNDS 1 & 2 – CURITIBA
QUALIFYING REPORT

YVAN MULLER FIRST POLEMAN OF THE YEAR
The SEAT León TDI cars will fill the five top spots of the grid for tomorrow’s race 1 after Yvan Muller, Jordi Gené, Gabriele Tarquini, Tiago Monteiro and Rickard Rydell posted the five fastest laps in today’s qualifying session.
For the first time the drivers faced the new qualifying format with the session split in two parts. At the end of the 20-minute Q1 ten drivers were qualified for the 10-minute Q2.

Q1 – The session was red-flagged after only five minutes, when Kristian Poulsen spun at the last turn, crashing his BMW head-on into the inside wall.
After the restart SEAT and BMW drivers posted their first fast times, with Y. Muller leading the field with a lap of 1:24.345.
Gabriele Tarquini, who was 11^th in the final moments, saved himself with a lap of 1:24.537 that promoted him to second position, before he was demoted to third by Alain Menu’s last gasp attempt at 1:24.537 (only 0.003 seconds faster).
The top-ten drivers were covered by 0.6 seconds, with Nicola Larini claiming the last position valid to go ahead to Q2.

Q2 – SEAT Sport’s five men were the first to hit the track and Y. Muller set a new record at 1:24.196, a time good enough to eventually claim pole position.
Jörg Müller, Andy Priaulx, Augusto Farfus and Larini waited until the last minutes to make their only attempt; the German provisionally climbed to second with a lap of 1:24.637, but he was immediately demoted to sixth when the five-car SEAT train crossed the line placing Jordi Gené, Tarquini, Tiago Monteiro and Rickard Rydell in the order behind Y. Muller.

www.fiawtcc.com

SEAT Sport driver Gabriele Tarquini posted the fastest lap during today’s test that opened the 2009 WTCC season.
During the dying minutes of the session, the Italian completed a lap of 1:25.497, ousting the BMW Team Germany duo of Augusto Farfus (1:25.554) and Jörg Müller (1:25.555) who had jumped on the top just a couple of minutes earlier.
Former champion Andy Priaulx (1:25.737) and reigning champion Yvan Muller (1:25.883) were fourth and fifth fastest respectively. Rickard Rydell, who broke first the 1:26. wall at mid-session, settled in sixth with a lap of 1:25.856.
Nicola Larini was the fastest of the Chevrolet men, driving his new Cruze car to the ninth best lap of 1:26.301, while Proteam Motorsport’s Félix Porteiro topped the Independents‘ class with a time of 1:26.785 good enough for the 11^th position overall.
The best of the LADA cars – Jaap van Lagen’s – was classified in 17^th with a gap of 2.2 seconds.
Tom Coronel and Kristian Poulsen did not clock any time; the former had to stop on the track when the engine of his SEAT died, while the latter did not hit the track at all due to a fuel pump failure.

Gabriele Tarquini said: "The team have done good job, because these were the cars‘ first laps after they were shipped from Europe. It is nice to start from the top; however heat will be a major problem during the weekend, as we are already two seconds slower compared to last year."

Gabriele Tarquini was fastest in the test session at Curitiba

DRIVERS MEET FANS AND MAYOR
Official proceedings to the WTCC season of 2009 got underway yesterday in the centre of Curitiba. A promotional day began with the drivers meeting the fans in two crowded autograph sessions in front of the HSBC palace, on the central Ruas das Flores.
Four FIA WTCC racing cars – SEAT, BMW, Chevrolet and LADA – were exhibited in front of the building.
In the afternoon drivers from the WTCC and the IRC joined the Mayor of Curitiba, Mr Beto Richa, Marcello Lotti, general manager of KSO and other local personalities, for a press conference and cocktail reception attended by large representation of media, at the elegant Parque das Pedreiras.

YVAN MULLER "ENJOYS" A RALLY RIDE
The opening event of the FIA World Touring Car Championship in Brazil is twinned with the Rally Internacional de Curitiba, second round of the IRC (Intercontinental Rally Challenge).
While the WTCC event began today with the test session, the rally will come to an end on Saturday afternoon in the service park set up behind the racetrack’s main grandstand.
Yesterday morning, the reigning WTCC champion Yvan Muller was a special guest at the Peugeot Belgium rally team, having a ride alongside his French countryman Nicolas Vouilloz (winner of the 2008 IRC). When asked if he enjoied the ride, Muller replied: "Enjoy is not the right word, because for a driver to be on the passenger seat is not an enjoyable feeling. I admit that after a couple of corners I was really tempted to switch off the ignition! But Nicolas drove very safely and now that I have survived I can say: it was an interesting experience!"

Yvan Muller on board Nicolas Vouilloz’s rally car

www.fiawtcc.com.

Am kommenden Wochenende startet die FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) in die Saison 2009. Zum dritten Mal ist das „Autódromo Internacional de Curitiba“ Schauplatz für die ersten beiden Läufe des Jahres. BMW schickt seine drei Länderteams und fünf Piloten mit dem Ziel ins Rennen, die WM-Krone zurückzuerobern. Bis dato stehen für BMW vier Fahrer- und drei Herstellertitel in der Tourenwagen-Weltmeisterschaft zu Buche.
„Natürlich hoffe ich, dass wir in beiden Klassements am Ende der Saison ganz oben stehen“, sagt BMW Motorsport Direktor Mario Theissen. „Allerdings lassen sich Ergebnisse im Motorsport nicht planen, man kann lediglich an seiner eigenen Performance arbeiten. Das haben wir im Winter getan. Es dürfte wieder ein enges Duell zwischen SEAT und uns werden, und auch Chevrolet ist ein ernstzunehmender Gegner. Wir sind in jedem Fall gut vorbreitet.“
Der dreimalige Weltmeister Andy Priaulx (GB) tritt erneut für das BMW Team UK an, Jörg Müller (DE) und Augusto Farfus (BR) vertreten die Farben vom BMW Team Germany. Alessandro Zanardi (IT) fährt im BMW Team Italy-Spain erstmals an der Seite seines neuen Teamkollegen Sergio Hernández (ES).
Andy Priaulx (BMW Team UK):
„Ich freue mich jedes Jahr sehr, wieder nach Curitiba zu kommen. Die Stadt hat viele Facetten und könnte auch in Europa liegen. Die Strecke ist interessant und anspruchsvoll. BMW hat dort in der Vergangenheit immer gute Ergebnisse erreicht. Jeder wünscht sich, gut in die Saison zu starten. Deshalb werde auch ich alles daran setzen, ein gutes Auftaktwochenende zu haben.“
Jörg Müller (BMW Team Germany):
„In Curitiba endet endlich die rennfreie Zeit. Die beiden Rennen dort sind wichtig und die erste wirkliche Standortbestimmung. Alle Teams haben im Winter viel getestet, und nun wird sich zeigen, wer die größten Fortschritte gemacht hat. Ich habe in Brasilien schon gewonnen, der Kurs liegt mir also.“
Augusto Farfus (BMW Team Germany):
„Curitiba ist meine Heimatstadt. Deshalb macht es natürlich immer wieder große Freude, dorthin zurückzukehren. Gleichzeitig verspürt man natürlich als Lokalmatador einen besonderen Druck. Insgesamt überwiegt aber das positive Gefühl, die vielen tausend Menschen auf der Tribüne wie einen Mann hinter sich zu wissen. Ich hoffe, dass wir 2009 mit dem richtigen Schwung in die Saison starten werden.“
Alessandro Zanardi (BMW Team Italy-Spain):
„Ich mag den Kurs in Curitiba. Allerdings hätte ich nichts dagegen, wenn er doppelt so lang wäre. Trotz der kurzen Strecke geht es darum, dort schneller als die Konkurrenz zu sein – und genau das werde ich versuchen. Jeder fiebert dieser Veranstaltung entgegen, um zu sehen, wo er steht. Wir hatten eine gute Vorbereitung. Deshalb hoffe ich, glücklich nach Europa zurückzukehren.“
Sergio Hernández (BMW Team Italy-Spain):
„Ich mag die Strecke und die Menschen in Curitiba. Von der Mentalität ähneln die Brasilianer uns Spaniern. Die Atmosphäre bei dieser Veranstaltung ist einzigartig. Ich habe dort in den vergangenen zwei Jahren viele Erfahrungen gesammelt. Und nun möchte ich bei meinem ersten Auftritt für das BMW Team Italy-Spain um Punkte und den Sieg kämpfen.“

www.bmw-motorsport.com

The start of the 2009 FIA World Touring Car Championship is just one week away.
The series‘ fifth season will get underway again at the Autódromo Internacional de Curitiba, Brazil.
This is the fourth time the 3.7 km circuit hosts the WTCC. The championship visited Curitiba for the first time in July 2006; a crowd of 34,000 attended the races that were won by Jordi Gené (SEAT León) and Andy Priaulx (BMW 320si).
From 2007 the Brazilian event was moved to March and given the honour to open the season. BMW Team Germany fellow drivers Jörg Müller and Augusto Farfus shared victories and the attendance was even larger, with 45,000 spectators.
Last year SEAT won both races with Yvan Muller and Gabriele Tarquini, again the attendance totalled to 45,000.

For the third consecutive year the WTCC starts in Brazil

WTCC ENTRY LIST RELEASED BY THE FIA
The FIA released the official list of the 2009 full season entries to the 2009 FIA World Touring Car Championship that will start next week with the WTCC Race of Brazil at Curitiba.
Twenty-six cars are listed, with drivers coming from fourteen different countries.
Twenty-four of these competitors will take part in the first two events of the season at Cuririba and Puebla (Mexico) against last year’s twenty-one (see the event’s entry list attached).
A third petrol-powered SEAT León run by SUNRED Engineering is due to join from the third race meeting in Marrakech. Winners of the SEAT Eurocup rounds and local drivers will take the wheel during the season. The entry of the Honda Accord has not to been finalized yet.

WTCC FOR CHARITY IN CURITIBA
For the third consecutive year the WTCC Race of Brazil will give an aid to the starving people of Brazil. Together KSO (championship promoter), HSBC (partner of the event), and the City Hall of Curitiba, repeated the initiative of offering free tickets to the public in exchange for two kilograms of food.
Fans wishing to attend the races on Sunday may collect their tickets by delivering the food to 14 different collection points scattered over the city, or at the racetrack on Sunday morning.
The food collected will be donated to the charity society Instituto Pró-Cidadania de Curitiba, which will distribute it to those in need.
In 2007 this humanitarian initiative resulted in the collection of 24 tonnes of food, that became 52 last year.

ZANARDI SWITCHED TO SEQUENTIAL
Alessandro Zanardi will become BMW’s first works driver to use a sequential gearbox.
The Italian decided to switch from the 5-speed "H" pattern gearbox to a 6-speed Xtrack after testing it during the winter. This will make his own car 30 kilos heavier than the other BMWs because of the handicap provided by the Technical Regulations.
"In spite of the weight, the car is well balanced and lap times are already close compared to the old gearbox that sometimes made my life harder. One good example is the Melco hairpin at Macau, where BMW drivers use the clutch to get around quicker. I cannot use the clutch pedal and have a lot of other things to do with my hand controls, and this cost me three or four tenths in that corner only. With the sequential gearbox this issue will be solved," said Zanardi.

Alessandro Zanardi’s BMW is now fitted with a sequential gearbox

ADDITIONAL POINTS FOR THE INDEPENDENTS
Eight full-season competitors have been admitted to Independents‘ Trophy that will award a 384,000-euro prize money. Among them are former champions Tom Coronel and Stefano D’Aste, as well as double WTCC race winner Félix Porteiro.
The point scale for the Trophy remains unchanged, with double points awarded in the final meeting at Macau. However, one additional point will be allocated for setting the Independents‘ pole position and the races‘ fastest lap at each event.
And furthermore, Independent drivers who will manage to finish races in the top-eight of the overall results, will be rewarded by three extra points per each WTCC point scored (i.e.: an Independent who classifies third overall will score 18 points for the Trophy).

www.fiawtcc.com

N° TEAM DRIVER CAR

1 SEAT Sport Yvan Muller (FRA) SEAT León 2.0 TDI

2 SEAT Sport Gabriele Tarquini (ITA) SEAT León 2.0 TDI

3 SEAT Sport Rickard Rydell (SWE) SEAT León 2.0 TDI

4 SEAT Sport Jordi Gené (ESP) SEAT León 2.0 TDI

5 SEAT Sport Tiago Monteiro (POR) SEAT León 2.0 TDI

6 BMW Team UK Andy Priaulx (GBR) BMW 320si

7 BMW Team Germany Jörg Müller (GER) BMW 320si

8 BMW Team Germany Augusto Farfus (BRA) BMW 320si

9 BMW Team Italy-Spain Alessandro Zanardi (ITA) BMW 320si

10 BMW Team Italy-Spain Sergio Hernández (ESP) BMW 320si

11 Chevrolet Robert Huff (GBR) Chevrolet Cruze **

12 Chevrolet Alain Menu (SUI) Chevrolet Cruze **

14 Chevrolet Nicola Larini (ITA) Chevrolet Cruze **

15* Campos Racing Antonio García (ESP) Honda Accord Euro R

18 LADA Sport Jaap van Lagen (NED) Lada 110 2.0

19 LADA Sport Kirill Ladygin (RUS) Lada 110 2.0

20 LADA Sport Viktor Shapovalov (RUS) Lada 110 2.0

21 SUNRED Engineering Tom Coronel (NED) SEAT León 2.0 TFSI

22 SUNRED Engineering Tom Boardman (GBR) SEAT León 2.0 TFSI

23 Scuderia Proteam Motorsport Félix Porteiro (ESP) BMW 320si

24 Scuderia Proteam Motorsport George Tanev (BUL) BMW 320si

25 Liqui Moly Team Engstler Franz Engstler (GER) BMW 320si

26 Liqui Moly Team Engstler Kristian Poulsen (DEN) BMW 320si

27 Wiechers-Sport Stefano D’Aste (ITA) BMW 320si

28 Čolak Racing Team Ingra Marin Čolak (CRO) SEAT León 2.0 TFSI

29° SUNRED Engineering TBA SEAT León 2.0 TFSI

www.fiawtcc.com

Atari announced today that RACE Pro has reached the retail stores.
Developed by renowned award-winning game developer SimBin, a leading creator of PC racing simulators, RACE Pro brings SimBin’s formidable skill and know-how exclusively to the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft for the very first time.
"Atari is committed to working with the industry’s finest developers, and SimBin is at the top of the game when it comes to racing simulations. RACE Pro is the first time SimBin has brought its incredible expertise to console and we’re proud to be launching it with them," said Phil Harrison, President of Infogrames, the parent company of Atari. "RACE Pro is the most realistic racing game available on console, and is accessible to newcomers while having the depth to satisfy the most demanding petrol-head."
RACE Pro is exclusively bringing all the WTCC cars from manufacturers BMW, Chevrolet and SEAT to Xbox 360 for the very first time. Gamers and racing fans will experience the thrill of racing these powerful cars on 13 real life tracks covering all continents.

Virtual WTCC cars in action at Macau on Race Pro

PROTEAM WITH PORTEIRO AND TANEV
Proteam Motorsport is eager to defend their 2008 title in the WTCC Independent Team’s Trophy. With this goal in mind, the outfit directed by Valmiro Presenzini has signed two young and competitive drivers for the new season: Félix Porteiro and George Tanev.
Porteiro, 25-year old from Spain, faces his third year in the World Touring Car Championship. In the two previous seasons he drove for BMW Team Italy-Spain, collecting two race wins (Brno 2007 and Oschersleben 2008) and being classified 12^th and 10^th respectively in the Drivers‘ Championship.
Tanev, 25-year old Bulgarian, made his first appearances in the series last year, taking part in a few events at the wheel of a BMW car run by the Petrol GT Racing Team, before joining Proteam Motorsport for the final race meeting in Macau.
"We are still in negotiations with a few other drivers, as we aim for running a third car," Team Owner Presenzini said.

TEAM ENGSTLER AIM FOR INDEPENDENTS‘ CROWN
The Liqui Moly Team Engstler have launched their second season in the FIA WTCC.
Team owner Franz Engstler, runner up in last year’s WTCC Independents‘ Trophy, was joined by Kristian Poulsen who took part in some selected events during the 2008 season.
"I am glad that Kristian joined us. We understand each other very well and I’m sure we can mutually support ourselves," said Engstler
After a successful maiden season, the team is now aiming for claiming the Independents‘ crown: "The pressure is growing after the good results we achieved in 2008. However, there are so many factors which make a team successful, and the field of the competitors is so strong that we know we’ll have to fight hard to succeed," team manager Kurt Treml commented.

www.fiawtcc.com. 

MARRAKECH: WORS ARE ON SCHEDULE
The works for building the Marrakech street circuit that will host the third WTCC meeting on May 3^rd go on according to schedule. Everything will be finished by the mid of April, in time for the FIA final inspection.
Aly Horma, president of the event promoter MGP, explained: "We have already built 1,300 4-metre concrete blocks out of the 2,600 needed for the impact walls. We have received 10 km of F1-standard grid fences from South Africa. We are finishing rebuilding the 4.6 km of public road that make the track; we had to dig into the ground for 1.2 metres to rebuild the foundations that were not strong enough for the racing cars."
At the same time the 12-hectar paddock is also taking shape. "The materials for the 3,000sqm pit building are already here: steel frames from South Africa, steel pillars from Germany, glass and wood from Australia. It will be 200m long and will host 30 garages of 60sqm each, the three-floor race control tower, offices and 65 suites. It will be assembled in 45 days between March and April. Twenty temporary structures will be erected, including the media and medical centres, five footbridges and grandstands with 11,500 seats, and everything will be dismantled after the race day," said Horma.

Works progress in Marrakech in view of the WTCC Race of Morocco

LADA SPORT CONFIRM DRIVERS
The LADA Sport team have confirmed their three drivers for the 2009 FIA World Touring Car Championship.
Jaap van Lagen, 32-year old from the Netherlands and the Russians Kirill Ladygin (30) and Viktor Shapovalov (44), who took part in last year’s championship, will start the new season in Curitiba at the wheel of the same LADA 110 cars they drove in 2008.
The team, which is backed by LADA Avtovaz – the first Russian car manufacturer to commit to an FIA world championship – plan to switch to the new Priora car halfway through the season. Two units of LADA’s new model are due to make their first appearance in Brno (June 21^st) or Porto (July 5^th).

SEAT SPORT’S LAST TEST IN BARCELONA
Yvan Muller and SEAT Sport are ready to defend the World Touring Car Championship Drivers‘ and Manufacturers‘ titles they have claimed in 2008. Yesterday the team completed their testing programme in view of the season’s opening meeting at Curitiba.
After having tested at Estoril and Valencia, SEAT Sport spent two days at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya, where the new livery of the León TDI cars was also unveiled.
During this last test the team paid special attention to the suspension setting and adjustments.
Xavi Serra, SEAT Sport’s head engineer commented: "Test sessions give us the chance to try out technical solutions that can’t be tested on a race weekend. The work and information shared by the drivers are vital for the first races, as they help us to decide the basic set-up we will use in Brazil."

Yvan Muller’s SEAT León TDI sports the number 1

COLAK TO DRIVE PETROL SEAT
Croatian youngster Marin Colak will compete in the full season of the FIA World Touring Car Championship at the wheel of a petrol-powered SEAT León car run by the Colak Racing Team.
The 24-year old from Zagreb is not a new face in the WTCC paddock; last year he was a regular competitor in the SEAT León Eurocup and, following his victory in the Brands Hatch round, he was awarded with the participation in the WTCC event at Oschersleben. Driving a SUNRED-run León, Colak put in a consistent performance finishing the first race in 13^th position overall and third in the Independents‘ Trophy. At the end of the season he classified second in the SEAT Eurocup with two race wins.
After Tom Boardman, Colak is the second SEAT Eurocup driver who decided to move to WTCC.

www.fiawtcc.com.

In 2009, the WTCC gives a further contribution to make motor sport more eco-friendly by starting the season in Brazil with the whole field powered by second generation bio-fuel.
During the winter tests, teams began using the new bio-fuel supplied by PANTA that, following an invitation to tender, was appointed by the FIA as the championship’s official fuel supplier for 2009 and 2010. "We are pleased, because they did not encounter technical problems," said Luca Perani of PANTA Racing.
PANTA supply both petrol and diesel fuels; the petrol is composed by 10 per cent of second generation bio-ethanol and 90 per cent of unleaded fuel, while the diesel has a 10 per cent of vegetable bio-diesel produced from rape oil.
"The E10 choice was dictated by the need to find a compromise between the aims of reducing the emissions and preserving the existing cars. Bio-fuels are far more aggressive with tanks, pipes and injectors, that need to be changed when their percentage is increased; with the E10 the current cars don‚t need any changes," Perani explained.
PANTA’s second generation bio-ethanol is made from industrial wastes of sugar processing, while the first generation bio-ethanol is made from food crops: sugar, starch, vegetable oil, or animal fats. The use of second generation bio-ethanol reduces the use of fossil fuels, greenhouse gas emissions and pollution, without interfering with the production of foods.
"Ethanol contains oxygen, which helps regular petrol to burn more cleanly and completely. The use of E10 bio-fuel reduces petroleum use by 6.3 per cent and also reduces harmful emissions of carbon monoxide, particulate matter, oxides of nitrogen, exhaust volatile organic compounds and ozone-forming pollutants," concluded Perani.
Fuel consumption during one WTCC racing season totals to 60/70,000 litres.
Among motor sport’s international series, the FIA WTCC is one of the championships taking the lead in promoting eco-friendly initiatives and technologies, and proposes itself as the ideal platform to raise public awareness of bio-fuel worldwide. The Super 2000 cars that take part in the WTCC are closely derived by the production models on sale to the general public, and furthermore the championship’s technical and sporting regulations have been carefully studied to limit the environmental impact in terms of air and noise pollution.

PANTA supply bio-fuel to the FIA World Touring Car Championship

PRIVATE TESTS IN VALENCIA
SEAT, Chevrolet and BMW were all testing at Valencia’s Ricardo Tormo circuit during this week.

SEAT Sport tested on Monday and Tuesday. Four of the team’s five drivers – Yvan Muller, Gabriele Tarquini, Jordi Gené and Rickard Rydell – took stints at the wheel of two SEAT León TDI cars; 2008 machines updated to 2009 specifications.
Jaime Puig, SEAT Sport director, explained: "We have worked on the general set up, with the aim of adapting our cars to the new regulations adopted for the 2009 season. Currently one of our main objectives is to ensure the car’s maximum reliability."
SEAT Sport will test again on February 11^th and 12^th at Barcelona’s Catalunya Circuit.

Chevrolet tested from Wednesday to Thursday. In changeable weather conditions Alain Menu and Nicola Larini drove two Cruze cars that sported the new racing livery.
"We are progressing in knowing better the Cruze, however with a new car, testing time is never enough, even more so if weather conditions do not help!" Menu commented.
Eric Nève, Chevrolet Motorsport director said: "We hope that everything is under control, although we know we are only at the beginning of the development. This last test was also useful to check a number of non-technical things, like how the new design and color scheme work on a racing track. This too is important."

BMW remained three days, from Wednesday to Friday, with all drivers – Augusto Farfus, Jörg Müller, Andy Priaulx, Alessandro Zanardi and Sergio Hernández – and five 320si cars in 2009 specifications.
Hernández was impressively quick and consistent. "I’m pleased with his approach. He is very professional in spite of his young age and the fact that he was not used to such long test sessions. He has a great potential and I’m sure he will be able to show it from the start," BMW Team Italy-Spain’s principal Roberto Ravaglia said.

Chevrolet tested in Valencia together with BMW and SEAT

TOM BOARDMAN JOINS SUNRED
Tom Boardman will compete in the 2009 FIA WTCC in a petrol-engined SEAT León run by the SUNRED team.
During the past season Boardman competed in both the Spanish SEAT León Supercópa and the SEAT León Eurocup, claiming eight race wins altogether and clinching the Supercópa title.
His Eurocup victory in Pau gave him the opportunity to make his maiden WTCC appearance at Estoril, where he finished 3^rd in the Independents‘ class at the wheel of a SUNRED car.
"It all feels like a bit of a dream at the moment – I feel like the luckiest man alive. I’ve watched the WTCC on television for several years and always dreamt of competing in it. Now I have this great opportunity, I’m going to give it one hundred percent," said Boardman.
His team-mate at SUNRED will be Tom Coronel. "He did really well in the last year. I think together we’ll make a very strong team and be able to challenge for the Independents‘ titles."

COMPENSATION WEIGHT – HOW IT WORKS
In 2009 a new system of Compensation Weight (art. 79 of the Sporting Regulations) determines the running weight of the WTCC cars on the basis of lap time calculation.
The best lap times of the two fastest cars of each model in qualifying and the two best lap times of the two fastest cars of each model in both races are averaged. The calculation is based on a three event rolling average, except it is applied for the first time after the first two events.
For example, the results of Events 2, 3 and 4 determines the compensation weight for Event 5.
All the cars run in the first two events of the season on the minimum weight fixed by the Technical Regulations.
The maximum compensation weight is 60 kg and is applied between a maximum of +40 kg to a minimum of -20 kg.
When a model’s average is within the 0.3-second threshold in relation to the fastest model, no action is taken.
If a model is slower than the fastest model by more than 0.3s, 10 kg are deducted from the maximum compensation weight for every complete 0.1s more than the +0.3s threshold, up to a maximum of 60 kg.
When a model with less than 60 kg of compensation weight is within 0.3s of the fastest (reference) model, 10 kg are added to the current compensation weight per complete 0.1s within the 0.3s threshold.
The fastest (reference) model always has the maximum compensation weight on board.

www.fiawtcc.com

CORONEL STAYS WITH SUNRED

Tom Coronel will stay in the FIA World Touring Car Championship in 2009. The Dutch driver who won last year’s second race in Okayama, will be racing again a SEAT León car run by the Spanish team SUNRED and supported by SEAT’s Dutch importer Pon Car.

“Being able to race at world championship level is great and I am very happy that it all came together in the end once more. I feel like a SEAT guy and I will remain a SEAT guy!” commented Coronel.

SEAT importer Pon Car, SUNRED and SEAT Sport have worked hard to prepare the best possible package for the 2009 season and the opportunity to have Coronel driviing a diesel-powered SEAT León TDI car, like those used by the factory team was also considered.

“However, after consultations with everyone involved, we decided to continue with the petrol-powered León,” explained Marco de Bos, managing director of Pon Car. “It is quite unique for a Dutch driver to compete in a world championship for the fifth year running and we are happy that we can continue our partnership with Tom.”

Coronel is looking forward to racing in the WTCC again this year. “I am happy that the partnership with SUNRED goes on. My first year with them was very positive and I really feel at home with them. Last year, our results were very good already, so that gives me a positive feeling.”

SEAT CONFIRM WINNING TEAM

SEAT president Erich Schmitt officially confirmed that the SEAT Sport team will compete in the 2009 World Touring Car Championship

SEAT president Erich Schmitt officially confirmed that the SEAT Sport team will compete in the 2009 World Touring Car Championship with the same five drivers they had in 2008: the new world champion Yvan Muller, Jordi Gené, Tiago Monteiro, Rickard Rydell and Gabriele Tarquini.

The announcement was delivered yesterday in Barcelona, during a gala in which SEAT Sport celebrated their victory in the 2008 FIA WTCC Drivers‘ and Manufacturers‘ championships.

"Competition is very important to our brand and I am very proud of the successes achieved by our team. I would like to thank Jaime Puig and all of the drivers because the magnificent teamwork they performd last year was the key to our success. I am pleased to announce that SEAT will defend the world championship titles with the same team and the same drivers," Erich Schmitt said.

During their winning season the five SEAT Sport’s drivers and SEAT Netherlands‘ Tom Coronel collected twelve victories out of the championship’s twenty-four rounds and five pole positions.

www.fiawtcc.com