MICHELISZ CLAIMS POLE AS OTHERS FAIL

“I know that at Suzuka overdriving is punishing!” said Norbert Michelisz after claiming his second pole position in WTCC after Slovakia Ring last year. And his words clearly explained why a few top guns failed today during their last attempt in Q2.
It doesn’t happen very often to see Yvan Muller, Gabriele Tarquini and Tiago Monteiro committing mistakes all in the space of a few seconds. But they overdrove and paid it dearly.
Michelisz gave Honda pole position on its home circuit, beating a quartet of Chevrolet cars that was led by Alex MacDowall – the fastest in the Yokohama Trophy – and Tom Chilton.
They formed one of the youngest trio ever seen on top of WTCC qualifying, at an average of 26
years.
BMW men Mehdi Bennani and Tom Coronel happily settled in tenth and ninth positions, meaning that they will start from the front row on the reverse grid for tomorrow’s Race 2. And this gives them a serious chance to fight for victory.

Qualifying 1
Yvan Muller completed a lap of 53.228 late in the session beating Norbert Michelisz’s provisional fastest lap of 53.341.
The dying moments were plenty of drama once again. Gabriele Tarquini and Tom Coronel improved to third and fourth respectively, while James Nash got away from an uncomfortable 12^th position and climbed to fifth.
Local drivers Hiroki Yoshimoto in the Nika Racing Chevrolet and Takuya Izawa in the third works Honda spoiled their chances to make the cut with mistakes on their last attempt.
James Thompson was the last one to join the top twelve and denied Charles Ng his first trip to Q2.
The following drivers went through to Q2: Muller, Michelisz, Tarquini, Coronel, Nash, Chilton, Monteiro, Oriola, Bennani, Thompson, MacDowall and Huff.

Qualifying 2
The first stint nearly established the whole ranking. Norbert Michelisz completed a perfect lap and broke the 53-second wall for the first time in this weekend. His 52.886 was good enough for pole position and was only a thousandth of a second slower that Alain Menu’s WTCC lap record from last year.
Most of the drivers committed mistakes while trying to improve during their second attempt – including Yvan Muller, Gabriele Tarquini and Tiago Monteiro.
Only Alex MacDowall was able to better and climbed to second with a lap of 53.011, relegating Tom Chilton (53.101) to third.

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The 2013 World Touring Car Championship will resume next week after a five-week break that followed the Portuguese event.
Rounds 15 and 16 will take place on Sunday, 4 August at Termas de Río Hondo, Argentina. The 4.8-km racetrack is located nearby a thermal and tourist area, inside the province of Santiago del Estero, some 1300 kilometres North West of Buenos Aires. It was inaugurated in 2008 and hosted rounds of car and motorcycling national championships since.
The WTCC Race of Argentina marks the world championship’s first visit to the Country and also the first international event in Termas de Río Hondo that will welcome MotoGP in 2014.
“We are very proud to host the first WTCC event in Argentina. The circuit of Termas de Río Hondo is up to the task of receiving top-level international meetings and we are keen to represent in the best way our Country that boasts such a long standing tradition in motor sports,” commented Gérardo Zamora, Governor of Santiago del Estero.
The WTCC drivers will discover the track for the first time during a 30-minute test session at 1.30pm local time on Friday, 2 August. The weekend will continue with three 30-minute sessions on Saturday (two Free Practices at 9.30am and 12.00 pm, Qualifying at 3.45pm).
The two 11-lap races will take place on Sunday at 2.20pm and 4.20pm.

CITROËN NAMES C-ELYSÉE FOR WTCC CAMPAIGN

Citroën Racing announced today that the C-Elysée is the car chosen for the brand’s first WTCC campaign in 2014.
After making its first track outing a few days ago, the Citroën C-Elysée WTCC has now begun a programme of development tests. The car will make its first public appearance at the Frankfurt International Motor Show in September.
“Choosing the C-Elysée as the basis for our WTCC car reflects very clearly our determination to use racing as an active means of supporting our commercial development,” emphasized Frédéric Banzet, CEO of the Citroën Brand. “With rounds in Latin America, Morocco, China and Russia, the WTCC race calendar is genuinely global, and it will be a real advantage to run a C-Elysée, a key driver of our growth, in front of large crowds of enthusiastic motorsport fans.”
“From a strictly technical perspective, the choice of a three-volume saloon body was ideal in terms of aerodynamics. C-Elysée was therefore the perfect choice,” added Xavier Mestelan-Pinon, Citroën Racing’s Technical Director. “Apart from this aspect, we were able to install the various components fairly easily. Insofar as this is our first track racing car, we constantly had to ask ourselves questions about the relevance of our choices, but that’s what makes this a particularly exciting challenge.”

LADA SPORT TEST 2014 TECHNICAL SPECS

The LADA Sport LUKOIL team completed a one-day test at Magny-Cours. James Thompson hit the French track at the wheel of a Granta test car fitted with new features complying with 2014 WTCC technical requirements.
Team principal Victor Shapovalov explained: “We are already working on the evolution of the LADA Granta in view of the 2014 season. This car will have a more racing look, more power, more stability and drivability. After the first half of the season, we have a clear understanding how to improve the car. During the races we tested the car on various types of circuits, now we know all the strengths and weak points of the Granta and are able to worked out the programme of its technical development.”

“PECHITO” LÓPEZ IN HOME RACE

José María “Pechito” López, one of Argentina’s most competitive drivers, will make his first WTCC appearance on his home race meeting.
Though he just turned thirty, López has already built himself a solid reputation in different national and international categories. Having moved to Europe after his first steps in karting, “Pechito” impressed in formula cars clinching the 2003 Formula Renault V6 Euro Cup title and claiming race wins and podiums in GP2 and Formula 3000. This resulted in him being selected as tester by the Renault F1 team in 2006. Three years later López was announced as a driver of the ill-fated US F1 Team programme that aborted even before the start.
Meanwhile López had returned to Argentina, emerging as one of the best racers in national Touring Car series such as the TC2000, Super TC2000, Turismo Carretera and Top Race. Driving for factory teams such as Honda, Ford and Fiat, he clinched a number of victories and four national titles.
López will be the second Argentine driver to race in WTCC after Leonel Pernía’s one-off appearance at Monza in 2010, when he finished tenth in the second race at the wheel of a factory Chevrolet Cruze.
At Termas de Río Hondo López will drive a Wiechers-Sport BMW 320 TC; team manager Dominik Greiner commented: “I’m really happy we signed with him. Everybody involved in the event put a lot of effort into this and now we are looking forward to a great weekend in Argentina. ‘Pechito’ is very popular and I’m sure he will learn quickly how to handle the WTCC car. I hope we will score many points in the races.”

LÓPEZ: “PROUD TO REPRESENT ARGENTINA”

Argentina’s local hero José María López speaks about his participation in the next WTCC event at Termas de Río Hondo.

You will be only the second Argentine driver to race in WTCC, after Leonel Pernía back in 2010. Are you excited?
“Of course I am excited! I was offered the opportunity to race myself in 2010, but I was forced to decline because I was fighting for the TC2000 title. Now that opportunity comes up again and at the right time. I feel very proud to represent my own Country in a World Championship and I wish to thank the Automóvil Club Argentino and the event promoter for offering me this second chance.”

You are one of the most experienced and competitive Argentine drivers. You regularly race in Turismo Carretera, Super TC2000 and Top Race. How do you figure the WTCC cars?
“I’m a lucky guy. I had the opportunity to race many cars in Argentina and also in Europe, so It will be a good experience for me to test this WTCC cars. Because of the technical specifications, I figure that the WTCC cars are similar to our TC2000 machines.”

In the past you had the occasion to measure yourself with some of the WTCC drivers, when they took part in the Buenos Aires 200 Miles. Were you impressed by them?
“They always impressed me when they came to Argentina. I even had the privilege to share my car with Gabriele Tarquini. And now it will be very nice to see him again and race against him and the others.”

You will be the only driver in the event at Termas de Río Hondo with knowledge of the track. How much do you think this will help you, considering the limited track time allowed by WTCC?
“I think that I will have an advantage only in Friday’s testing. In WTCC there are some of the best touring car drivers in the world, therefore I expect them to be very quick in learning everything about the track…”
You will be racing in a Wiechers-Sport BMW. Both the team and car proved competitive and won races last year and in the current season. What are your expectations in terms of performance and results?
“I will definitely give my best to the team. I will always drive at hundred per cent, with the aim of achieving a good result for the team and the Argentine fans that will come to the track to see me racing.”

This is the first visit of WTCC to Argentina. How do you think the Argentine fans will react? Do you expect a big crowd?
“Argentines are really great fans of motor sports. Yes, I do expect a lot of people to come to the races.”

EUROSPORT TV PROGRAMMES *

Saturday, 3 August : 20.45/21.30 – Qualifying LIVE on Eurosport 2
Sunday, 4 August : 14.00/14.30 – Warm Up LIVE on Eurosport 1
Sunday, 4 August : 19.00/20.00 – Race 1 LIVE on Eurosport 2
Sunday, 4 August : 20.30/21.00 – Race 1 on Eurosport 1
Sunday, 4 August : 21.00/22.00 – Race 2  LIVE on Eurosport 1
Wednesday, 7 August : 00.30 – Inside WTCC on Eurosport 1

* all times CET

HUFF DRIVES A MINI AT SILVERSTONE

Rob Huff will race a historic Austin Mini Cooper S at the Silverstone Classic – the ‘World’s Biggest Motor Racing Festival’ – this weekend.
Huff will get back behind the wheel of the historic 1965 Austin Mini Cooper S he took to a surprise victory at this year’s Brands Hatch Historic Masters Festival. He will compete in the new Trans-Atlantic Touring Car races with team-mate Desmond Smail.
“The Silverstone Classic is a great way to socialise with some true motorsport enthusiasts and it will be a thrill to race a British icon such as the Mini Cooper S. The weekend might be a decent shakedown for the Goodwood Revival in September, but having taken the Mini to an unexpected victory at Brands Hatch, the pressure is on to repeat that result at Silverstone!” Huff said.

Picture: Giles Cooper Photography

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The city of Porto and its motorsport fans yesterday enjoyed a tasty appetizer ahead of this weekend’s WTCC event, when five WTCC cars paraded through the streets of the old city.
The spectacular event was organized by the Camara Municipal do Porto and the promoter Porto Lazer.
Local hero Tiago Monteiro’s Honda, Tom Boardman’s SEAT, the BMW cars of Stefano D’Aste and Mehdi Bennani and Mikhail Kozlovsky’s LADA drove along the banks of the River Douro from the historical Praça da Ribeira back to the circuit’s paddock under police escort.
Before the parade, a dozen drivers had attended a crowded autograph session at the Ribeira.
The whole event was given massive coverage by the national TV broadcaster RTP through its free-on-air and cable channels.

DRIVERS WARM UP IN… BUMPER CARS

WTCC drivers warmed up for this weekend’s races at Porto’s Boavista street circuit by fighting each other in… bumper cars!
Yesterday, a group of racers was given the opportunity to tour the beautiful city of Porto on board a double-decker bus.
The party made a few stops at some of the town’s landmarks, from the ancient Clerigos Tower to the modern Casa da Musica, where they posed for pictures and were interviewed by the local press.
During the tour they stopped at a funfair where they had the opportunity to drive bumper cars. Much fun was had by all and some of them – including Stefano D’Aste, Tiago Monteiro and Mikhail Kozlovskiy – proved forceful in T-boning their fellow competitors…

… AND DRINK A TOAST WITH PORTO WINE

Tourism and touring cars mingled in Porto, when a group of drivers was shown around in the old town.
Amongst the different spots they visited there was the Museum Casa da Infante, the House of Prince Henry, Duke of Viseu, better known as Henry the Navigator.
The third child of King John I, Henry was an important figure in the early days of the Portuguese Empire and the Age of Discoveries.
Inside the museum the drivers were invited to drink a toast, sipping glasses of vintage Porto wine.

FOR HAVEN’S SAKE

Eurosport commentator and touring car expert Martin Haven’s column.

Porto preview – Europe’s final fling

Where has the year gone? It seems mere weeks since we were excitedly arriving in Monza, wondering what the new FIA WTCC season would bring. Now, we’re at the end of the European campaign and soon, teams will wave goodbye to their cars, seeing them only occasionally until they arrive back at base some time after Christmas.
Fittingly, Portugal – and more fittingly still Porto – provide the venue for the leaving party. Porto grew in stature in parallel with Portugal’s sea-faring prowess, the fortified wine from the Douro region being a favourite aboard ship, as it would survive the conditions better than normal wines.
The sea-faring commences next week for the WTCC cars and their attendant packages of spare parts, as they head to the Americas and then on to the Far East, much as the great explorers did over 300 years ago. But before that, we have a street-race, by the seaside, to contemplate.
Porto established itself immediately as a firm favourite in the WTCC. There’s something just so right about racing touring cars on the same streets that their road-going cousins use every other weekend of the year. They seem perfectly at home on the streets, their size and scale seems in proportion to the houses and street furniture they tear past.
With the guaranteed warm welcome from organisers, fans and the city as a whole, it’s no surprise that the Circuito da Boavista brings out the best in people. It brings out the best in the racing too, the tight confines and unforgiving concrete walls ensuring that everyone has to be at their very best if they want to survive, never mind make progress.
In its first career, as a Grand Prix circuit – yes, they held the Portuguese F1 GP here twice – it looked only a little different. The layout looped around the park (as it does now), ran along the sea-front Esplanada do Rio de Janeiro (as it does now) and then the drivers tore up the Avenida da Boavista (as they do now).
Admittedly, nowadays they don’t have to contend with tram-lines in the road (although the old turning circle on the front is still there) and the surface was somewhat less smooth than nowadays, thanks to the cobblestones but star of the 1958 race Stirling Moss and 1960 winner Jack Brabham would immediately recognise the place.
They’d recognise the challenge faced by the drivers too. In their day, it was trees protected (if that’s the word) by straw bales, now it’s concrete walls and wire fences to contain the accidents but the essentials remain. Street racing is the ultimate distillation of the driver’s art. No mistakes, no excuses. Get it wrong and there’s no tarmac run-off, no grassy areas – just a hefty impact with an unyielding wall. It focuses the mind incredibly!
So, let’s raise a glass (although maybe not one of those €100 glasses of Port) to our intrepid drivers and enjoy the final hurrah in Europe. Next time we see the cars in action, we’ll be in very different surroundings, in Argentina.

PORTO: A CHALLENGE FOR TV PRODUCTION

Eurosport Events put in strong efforts to broadcast WTCC races worldwide, and this weekend’s event at Porto is one of those that require further exertion from the TV production team.
“Things are more difficult at all street circuits,” explains Deputy Chief Editor Alessandro Dragosei. “At a permanent track, everything is set up for the activities, including TV production. But at a street circuit we have to start from scratch. Placing the cameras in positions to get good shots is more difficult, as is laying cables across streets or through private properties: a cable can always break, but here it can break because someone comes home and drives across it. And on top of this the circuit opens every night to normal traffic. It’s an absolute nightmare for TV production!”

You work with a contractor company to achieve this?
“We work very closely with Visual for the entire European season and they are the very best. They make the task easier because they are very professional and they are used to challenges. Between them and us we have a total of ninety people involved in producing the TV programmes in Porto.”

What facilities do you have for the TV production from Porto?
“We have 29 track cameras, including a Jimmy-jib – a special camera on a crane that can shoot spectacular pictures. We have one helicopter, which is extremely good at this kind of track because the view from above is particularly rewarding and it allows us the opportunity to show the wider pictures of the race in what are very beautiful surroundings. As usual, we have our two RF cameras for use in the pit lane and 24 onboard cameras in the cars themselves. The big effort here, I have to say, is in terms of the track cameras and the helicopter.”

What are the advantages of a street circuit from a TV point of view?
“The two main problems in motorsport TV production are that all tracks look the same, so only the experts can tell if you are at one track or another, and that virtually every corner looks very similar to the others. As a result, there is a risk of producing a very monotonous series of pictures. That isn’t an issue with city tracks; you can recognize Monaco, Macau or Porto because the corners look different. You can diversify the way the pictures look, plus the races tend to be quite animated and also you have the opportunity to place cameras quite close to the cars to give a real sense of speed so we always get a good audience when we are at a street circuit. For us, city tracks are the most challenging technically, but the most rewarding in terms of the quality of the programmes we make.”

WORLD COUNCIL APPROVES NEW RULES

Evolution of technical regulations for the 2014 WTCC was approved today by the FIA World Motorsport Council during the meeting at the Goodwood House.
The new generation of Super 2000 touring cars will look more spectacular, with bigger aerodynamic devices and will have greater performance through the power to weight ratio.
In order to ease the introduction of the new cars, the homologation procedure will be similar to the 2014 FIA World Rally Championship, but with an additional two jokers.
2013 cars will also be accepted in 2014. 
The Council also stamped the amendment of the 2013 calendar, with Argentina replacing Brazil (subject to the confirmation of the Termas de Río Hondo circuit homologation).

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ROUNDS 11 & 12 – MOSCOW RACEWAY, RUSSIA
RACE REPORT

Chevrolet’s tally in WTCC doesn’t stop to increase, and same applies to Yvan Muller’s leading gap in the 2013 Drivers’ Championship.
At the wheel of their Cruze cars, Muller and Michel Nykjær shared honours on the first appearance of the FIA touring cars in Russia, and the Frenchman made the most out of the weekend collecting a pocketful of points for pole position, victory and second place. Now his booty totals to nearly twice the points of the closer competitor: 246 against Gabriele Tarquini’s 133. And this only halfway through the season…
Nykjær, who claimed his third win after Marrakech and Salzburgring, has become able to turn his potential in solid results. Not only he now finds himself fighting with Tarquini for second in the Drivers’ Championship, but has also taken the lead in the Yokohama Trophy, one point ahead of James Nash.
However, today’s event at the Moscow Raceway could have delivered completely different results.
In Race 1 Tom Coronel was able to threaten Muller for the whole distance, and possibly without the red flag he could have exploited the rear-wheel drive’s advantage in terms of tyre wear. The final result saw five different brands covered by ten seconds in the top five positions: Chevrolet, BMW, Honda, SEAT and LADA.
A great achievement for the Russian manufacturer in their home race. And in the second one James Thompson was even in a position to improve it, as he was fighting for third when he got caught in the collision between Coronel and Tarquini.
Also in the second race, Mehdi Bennani was close once again to claim his and Proteam Racing’s first WTCC victory. For the third time after Sonoma last year and Hungaroring one month ago, the Moroccan was leading the race. He failed again to turn the lead into a victory despite his efforts. But if he keeps on racing like this, it will be only a matter of time.
The championship will resume at Porto’s Boavista street circuit on June 29^th and 30^th for rounds 13 and 14.

RACE 1 – MULLER BEATS CORONEL
Yvan Muller claimed his fourth victory of the season, resisting the strong pressure from Tom Coronel who couldn’t find a gap for an overtaking manoeuvre.
Muller was may be helped by the red flag that suspended the race on lap 4, following the incident that involved Charles Ng and Fredy Barth after the start. This cut the race in two legs – of 4 and 11 laps – which allowed Muller to save and cool down the front tyres.
Norbert Michelisz obtained another podium results for Honda, while Rob Huff and James Thompson were classified in fourth and fifth respectively. This meant five different manufacturers – Chevrolet, BMW, Honda, SEAT and LADA – in the top five and the best result ever for LADA in WTCC so far.
Michel Nykjaer finished seventh and won the Yokohama Trophy race. As a consequence of the incident at the start, Fredy Barth did not take part in Race 2 because of an injured wrist, while Charles Ng lost his front row position on the reversed grid having asked for neutralization of the parc fermé for repairs.

RACE 2 – NYKJÆR STEALS WIN FROM BENNANI
Michel Nykjaer won an action-packed second race at the Moscow Raceway, chasing early leader Mehdi Bennani and eventually overtaking him to claim his third victory of the season.
Bennani then spun while trying to defend second position under strong pressure from Rob Huff and Yvan Muller. The latter benefited from the contact between Bennani and Huff to collect a second place that means another step towards a possible fourth World Champion crown.
The result of the race was affected by a pile up on lap 3 that eliminated Tom Coronel, Gabriele Tarquini and James Thompson while they were fighting for the third position. This incident was investigated by the Stewards who thoroughly studied video evidences and decided that it did not require further action.

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ROUNDS 11 & 12 – MOSCOW RACEWAY, RUSSIA
QUALIFYING REPORT

Current championship leader Yvan Muller claimed his third consecutive pole position (and the fourth for him in the season) at the end of an exciting qualifying session at the Moscow Raceway.
Once again the Frenchman was a master in choosing the perfect timing for his attempt. As it was made clear by the first drops of rain that a second try would not be possible, he pushed his Chevrolet Cruze to the limits on the first lap and posted the fastest time, beating Tom Coronel’s BMW and Rob Huff’s SEAT by narrow margins.
The Honda cars of Norbert Michelisz and Gabriele Tarquini qualified in fourth and fifth, while James Thompson’s LADA was sixth fastest, making five different car manufacturers in the top six.
Thanks to the reversed grid, Menhdi Bennani’s BMW will start Race 2 from pole position with the similar car of Charles Ng alongside him.

Qualifying Q1
Tom Coronel emerged as the fastest in Q1, clocking the time of 1:42.966 on his first lap out of the pits. Two other drivers also secured their place for Q2 at the beginning of the session: Yvan Muller (1:43.296) and Michel Nykjær (1:43.699). For the rest of the field it was a matter of improving before it was too late.
Tom Chilton managed to make the cut with five minutes left on the clock, posting the second fastest lap (1:43.262) and kicking Darryl O’Young off the top twelve. Pepe Oriola was next, climbing to fourth with the time of 1:43.450 and eliminating Fredy Barth.
While James Thompson had placed his LADA in fifth, all Honda drivers were struggling. Gabriele Tarquini and Norbert Michelisz eventually won the last two spots for Q2, while Tiago Monteiro remained off due to a problem to the hydraulic circuit.
The following drivers went through to Q2: Coronel, Chilton, Muller, Oriola, Thompson, Nykjær, Bennani, Nash, Huff, Ng, Tarquini and Michelisz. Barth was the first out of the top twelve with a gap of only 21 thousandths of a second.

Qualifying Q2
Rain began to fall as soon as the drivers completed the warm up lap and everything was decided by the time they crossed the line at the end of their first timed lap.
Muller was fastest in 1:43.335, beating Coronel’s 1:43.405 and Huff’s 1:43.466; Michelisz placed his Honda in fourth (1:43.772) ahead of Tarquini (1:43.840), while Thompson’s LADA ranked in sixth (1:43.982) only one hundredth of a second faster than Oriola. Nykjær was classified eighth overall and topped the Yokohama Trophy.

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Termas de Río Hondo will host Rounds 15 and 16

The eighth race meeting of the 2013 FIA World Touring Car Championship will take place in Argentina on August 4, at Termas de Río Hondo.

The first WTCC Race of Argentina replaces the Brazilian event that was originally scheduled to take place at Curitiba on 28 July.

“We have decided to swap from Brazil to Argentina because of logistics reasons,” explained WTCC General Manager Marcello Lotti. “However, we maintain close relationship with the Brazilian authorities and we plan to include both South American events in the 2014 calendar. We are proud to bring WTCC to Argentina for the first time. This is something we have worked on in the last three years and we wish to thank the Ministry of Tourism, the Instituto Nacional de Promoción Turística and the Government of the Province of Santiago del Estero for supporting us in achieving this goal.”

The circuit was inaugurated in 2008 and is located nearby the city of Termas de Río Hondo, a tourist destination renowned for its hot springs. In 2012 the track’s layout was extended to 4.4 kilometres and new facilities were built.

The 2013 WTCC Race of Argentina and the three-year deal between Argentine’s Ministry of Tourism and Eurosport Events were officially presented today at the Automóvil Club Argentino in Buenos Aires, during a press conference that was attended by more than one hundred representatives of local media.

Enrique Meyer, Minister of Tourism, stated: “We are very proud to receive the WTCC in our Country. Just like other important sporting events supported by our management, the WTCC is an effective tool to promote our wide range of touristic offers and the warmth of our people.”

The FIA is now accomplishing the procedure for the homologation of the racetrack, while the parties are now working together to formalize the commercial agreement.

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NYKJÆR AND NASH SHARES VICTORIES
You could say that Chevrolet victories at the Salzburgring were expected, considering how quick the Cruze cars were on the uphill part of the Austrian racetrack.
Actually, those predictions came true, although the names of the drivers who won the two races were not the top-rated ones.
Michel Nykjær and James Nash obviously benefited from the grid penalties imposed after Saturday’s much-debated qualifying session. Especially so, because among the drivers punished by the Stewards were RML team-mates Yvan Muller and Tom Chilton who had shown a far superior pace.
However, both today’s winners deserved their successes. Nykjær completed a spotless Race 1, leading from lights to flag and keeping Nash at bay on the way to his second victory of the season.
Nash reproduced the Dane’s performance in Race 2, resisting the pressure from Norbert Michelisz and creating a gap that was large enough to keep Muller at a safe distance on the last lap. This was the first WTCC win for both the young Englishman and the bamboo-engineering team.
It was also the first time in WTCC history that competitors of the Yokohama Trophy won both races in the same weekend.
In the overall championship Muller has extended his lead up to 80 points. The Frenchman put in two dogged performances, claiming two podium results and taking maximum benefit from the problems that plagued Gabriele Tarquini.
The championship will resume at the Moscow Raceway on June 8^th and 9^th for rounds 11 and 12, marking the series’ first visit to Russia.

RACE 1 – NYKJÆR KEEPS NASH AT BAY
Michel Nykjaer drove a stunning lights-to-flag victory in Race 1, despite a strong challenge from the similar Chevrolet Cruze of James Nash. Yvan Muller, starting from thirteenth on the grid, steadily carved his way through the field to complete an all-Chevrolet podium. For much of the race it looked as though the top three would be comprised entirely of Yokohama Trophy entrants until Muller passed Mehdi Bennani’s BMW on the penultimate lap.
Following the penalties imposed by the Stewards after yesterday’s Qualifying, the starting grid looked very different. Nykjaer was on pole with Nash alongside him and the pair battled throughout the twelve-lap race. Muller produced the drive of the race – unsurprisingly, considering his pace throughout the weekend – while James Thompson finishing ninth meant that LADA out-scored Honda for the first time in the Manufacturers’ Championship.

RACE 2 – FIRST VICTORY FOR NASH
Following his second place in Race 1 James Nash, driving a Chevrolet Cruze, went one better in Race 2 and took his first ever WTCC race win. His victory was also the first for the bamboo-engineering team. Once again, Yvan Muller picked off the drivers ahead of him; starting from tenth on the grid, Muller finished in second place to record his second podium result of the afternoon. Norbert Michelisz finished third in the Zengö Motorsport Honda Civic.
Nash and Michelisz started the race alongside each other on the front row of the grid and for much of the race ran unchallenged at the head of the field. Behind them, Muller was doing exactly what he did in Race 1 and duly passed Michelisz on lap 11 to finish in second behind Nash. Tiago Monteiro’s fourth place gave the Castrol Honda team its best result of the weekend while Michel Nykjær followed up his win in the first race with fifth place in Race 2.
Darryl O’Young and Stefano D’Aste failed to start because of damage incurred during the first race. The Stewards gave Charles Ng a drive-through penalty for false start.

ETCC – ROUNDS 5 & 6 – SALZBURGRING
RACE REPORT

VICTORIES FOR BORKOVIĆ AND DABLANDER
Despite the fact that it was the BMW of Petr Fulín that dominated Testing, Free Practice and Qualifying at the Salzburgring, the two races resulted in all-SEAT podiums and a frustrated Fulín left Austria having failed to score in either race. It was the Super 2000 SEAT of Dušan Borković that took the victory in race 1, with Austria’s Mario Dablander winning Race 2 in a Single-Make Trophy León.
An incident on lap 4 of the opening race saw the SEAT of Jordi Oriola make contact with the rear of Fulín’s car, sending the BMW spinning across the track and taking Andreas Pfister’s SMT SEAT León with it into the barriers. Both cars were too badly damaged to take any further part in the meeting and so Fulín could only watch helplessly as a grateful Mat’o Homola took a haul of nineteen points away from Austria.
The other innocent victim of that incident, Andreas Pfister, also left Salzburg empty-handed. With Oriola being handed a drive-through penalty for the incident in Race 1 and then retiring in Race 2, it was Aurélien Comte who took most SMT points away from Austria. In Super 1600, it was another maximum points haul for Kevin Krammes, who has only failed to score the maximum possible 23 points once so far this season (in Monza, where he dropped a solitary point by qualifying second).
As the ETCC season moves into its second half, Fulín’s lead over Homola in Super 2000 has been reduced to just four points, while scoring a total of 16 points from his home races means that Dablander has taken over from Oriola as leader in the Single-Make Trophy.
Krammes, the reigning Super 1600 title-holder, could secure the 2013 crown at the next pair of races at Pergusa on the island of Sicily in July.

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MASS PENALTIES PUT NYKJÆR ON POLE
The Panel of the Stewards has hit out with force at the drivers who turned today’s WTCC qualifying session at the Salzburgring into a slow procession.
Fourteen of them were investigated and twelve deemed guilty for “Unsporting behaviour on the track which damages the image of motorsport in general and in particular the FIA WTCC” either in Q1 or Q2 or in both. The relevant offences relate to breaches of Appendix L, Chapter 4, Article 2e (that states: It is not permitted to drive any car unnecessarily slowly…) and Article 151 of the International Sporting Code.
The Stewards imposed the following grid penalties for tomorrow’s Race 1: Tarquini (6^th) twenty-four; Oriola (8^th) sixteen; Coronel (12^th) fiftteen; Muller (1^st), Chilton (2^nd), Monteiro (7^th) and Michelisz (9^th) twelve; Huff (3^rd) ten; MacDowall (4^th) eight; D’Aste (11^th), Valente (18^th) and O’Young (19^th) five positions.
These competitors also received fines ranging from € 1,000 to 6,000.
This places Michel Nykjær – the only Q2 qualifier not under investigation – on pole position for the first race.

MULLER FASTEST AFTER STRANGEST QUALIFYING
The least it can be said is that this was the strangest qualifying session ever in WTCC. Possibly one of the strangest ever in motorsport history.
It is true that slipstream at the Salzburgring makes a big difference – up to seven tenths a lap for WTCC cars. And this pushed drivers to act like sprint cyclists in a
velodrome.
Provisional results spoke of Muller’s third pole position of the season, the second in a row after Budapest. However, the Stewards had something to say and punished fourteen drivers.

ETCC ROUNDS 5 & 6
FULÍN, ORIOLA AND KRAMMES CLAIM POLE POSITION
Following today’s thirty-minute Qualifying session at the Salzburgring, it will be the BMW 320si of Petr Fulín that will be on pole position for the first of tomorrow’s two ETCC races. Fulín set his best time (1:30.537) on only his third lap, with Igor Skuz (1:30.570) second fastest in a SEAT León, a fraction over three-hundredths of a second behind Fulín.
Behind the two Super 2000 cars, in the Single-Make Trophy for SEAT León Supercópa cars, it was Jordi Oriola who was quickest with a best lap of 1:30.599. Sixth overall and second of the SMT competitors was Andreas Pfister (1:30.855) while less than a second covered the top thirteen cars.
The Super 1600 category saw the Ford Fiesta of Kevin Krammes set the fastest lap time (1:40.781), but Gilles Bruckner (1:40.839) qualified just under six-hundredths of a second adrift of Krammes and so the scene is set for a good battle in S1600 tomorrow.
The Ladies’ Cup saw Andrina Gugger (1:32.155) qualify in 20^th place overall and 10^th in S2000, while Ulrike Krafft (1:42.608) was 27^th overall and 5^th in Super 1600. Ksenya Niks (1:50.193) could only manage 30^th overall and 8^th in S1600 after going off into the gravel at Turn 1 late in the session.

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Teams are getting ready to hit the track for the fifth race meeting of the season that takes place this weekend at the Salzburgring in Austria.
Garages are a hive of activity while mechanics give the finishing touches to the twenty-three racing cars.
Track activity will kick off tomorrow with two 30-minute free practice sessions at 09.00 and 11.00.
The 30-minute qualifying session will follow at 15.00, with live streaming coverage on www.fiawtcc.com.

SEAT’S NEW RACER EXHIBITED AT SALZBURG

SEAT Sport continues in its commitment to motorsport and its customer racing teams. The Spanish brand exhibited its new racing car in the WTCC paddock this weekend at the Salzburgring.
The new León Cup Racer has been designed with one eye on the proposed technical evolution that the World Touring Car Championship will embrace from 2014 and gives a very clear indication of what a future SEAT touring car racer might look like.
The car is prepared for a wide range of racing series worldwide, beginning with the new SEAT Cup for which the León will feature a 330hp 2.0L turbo engine.
“We expect to be able to offer the León Cup Racer to our customer teams as early as the 2014 season. We can also envisage further development to create a WTCC version with a 1.6-litre engine. After all, we have a great tradition to defend in the world championship,” said Jaime Puig, Head of SEAT Sport and responsible for the brand’s motorsport activities.
WTCC General Manager Marcello Lotti commented: “I am very pleased to see that the new León Cup Racer embodies the look of the next generation of WTCC cars. Now we wish for the full WTCC version coming soon…”

HUFF TO COMMENT LIVE FROM THE COCKPIT

The reigning WTCC Champion, Rob Huff, will comment live on TV from his car this weekend, during the FIA World Touring Car Championship meeting at the Salzburgring in Austria. It’s planned that the live feed from Rob’s camera will be featured during the formation lap and in any safety car period during the races themselves.
In a first for the series, live audio from the driver will be available as well as the traditional live video feeds that make the WTCC so exciting for television viewers. Rob, driving one of the ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport SEAT León cars, will be able to describe the circuit to viewers as he completes the formation lap, while he will be able to give his reaction to any incidents that bring out the safety car.
Both races will be broadcast live on Eurosport on Sunday afternoon, with Race 1 starting at 12.50 CET and Race 2 at 13.50.

BOARDMAN TO SKIP AUSTRIA AND RUSSIA

Special Tuning Racing’s Tom Boardman will not be taking part in the Austrian and Russian rounds of the WTCC, this weekend at the Salzburgring and on June 9 at Moscow Raceway. The team have taken the decision to return the car to the UK so that they can work to fully fix and test following the crash in Marrakech in April.

The car was re-shelled after the accident back at the workshop in Forton, but the engine was fitted at the Slovakia Ring just prior to the races there. The new engine had issues that took the weekend to resolve. The car was still struggling for pace at the following round in Hungary, so after much thought it was deemed better to work to solve the issues in the workshop rather than on the race track.

John Boardman, Team Principal commented: “This is not a decision we have taken lightly, but after a couple of difficult and frustrating weekends trying to fix the car in racing conditions, I think the best course of action is to make sure the car is properly sorted and back to where we had it at the start of the season. We have the necessary tools to get the job done, and the best place to do this is back at base.”
The team will work now concentrate on preparing the car for the Porto round of the WTCC before completing the series in the overseas events.

FOR HAVEN’S SAKE

Eurosport commentator and touring car expert Martin Haven’s column.

Salzburgring preview – Under Pressure

Just as in Formula 1, tyres will be on everyone’s mind this weekend, as the FIA WTCC heads to Austria and a second visit to the Salzburgring.
Last year, the weekend looked as if it was shaping up to be a Chevrolet benefit. The factory Cruze cars were ultra-fast on the high-speed track, which nestles in a beautiful, verdant, river valley. Rob Huff led a qualifying 1-2-3 for the blue machines, with nearest rival Gabriele Tarquini 7 tenths of a second adrift, in his SEAT León.
There was little anyone could do about the speed of the Chevrolet trio in the hot, sunny conditions. They steamed to a 1-2-3 result in Race 1, Huff leading his team-mates home in grid order, covered by barely two car-lengths, after a race spent soaking up the pressure from Yvan Muller. Tarquini finished where he’d started, in 4^th, but almost three seconds behind, while the best of the BMW cars – Tom Coronel’s and Norbert Michelisz’s – were over 7 seconds adrift in 8^th and 9^th.
So far, so normal; and Race 2 looked as though it would follow a broadly similar pattern, although Tom Coronel (2^nd) and Stefano D’Aste (4^th) fancied their chances of leading for a while from the reversed top-ten grid. And so it proved, the Dutchman heading the Italian away from the start, their BMW cars running 1-2.
It took a lap and a half for Yvan Muller (from 9^th on the grid) to catch the leading duo. He breezed past them both, Rob Huff following him to make it a Chevy 1-2. On the long back straight, there was simply no way of holding off the Cruzes, who pulled out and passed with ease.
By lap 7, an all-blue 1-2-3 had been established and it looked as if another podium sweep was on the cards. But then all hell broke loose…
As he swept into the ultra-fast right-hander after the back straight, Alain Menu suddenly speared off the outside of the track, slamming into the barriers at almost unabated speed. Before the dust had even settled, he was joined by bamboo-engineering hevy driver Alex MacDowall, who also careered off into the gravel trap at high speed.
Was there oil on the track? Had one of the lead duo dropped fluids?
The answer came almost immediately, TV replays showing Menu’s tyre had simply exploded. The tyre just couldn’t withstand the punishing combination of high track temperatures (50+ degrees) and sustained, high lateral loads. Suddenly, it was clear that – like in Monza – the camber angles required at the front of the cars to make them handle precisely were working far too much heat into their Yokohama tyres.
Muller was next to go, the Frenchman’s car slowing dramatically, as his tyre blew. Huff swept by, Coronel and D’Aste all over him but somehow, Rob managed to hang onto the lead for the remaining laps, fending off the BMW cars.
Until the last corner of the race.
Then Huff, too, punctured. Coronel was jammed right under the Chevy’s tail, unable to dive to the inside, as D’Aste swept around the outside of them both to snatch a surprise win.
Cooler weather in practice, lack of familiarity with the track and a Safety Car in Race 1 that allowed the tyres to recover, all helped to paint a false picture of wear issues. Race 2 starkly highlighted the problems.
It’s safe to say that, this year, whatever the weather, teams will be more conservative with their set-up. The front-wheel-drive cars, especially, will need to carefully monitor tyre temperatures, ensuring pressures and cambers don’t over-work the rubber.
As ever, the BMW teams will be hoping for scorchingly hot weather. And Stefano D’Aste will be trying to make sure an outside line is always available – just in case…

PERGUSA TO HOST ETCC ROUNDS 7 AND 8

It will be the Autodromo di Pergusa, in Sicily, that will host rounds 7 and 8 of the 2013 FIA European Touring Car Cup on July 14.
The 4.9 km circuit that runs around a volcanic lake near the historical city of Enna has a long standing tradition as a venue for international racing; a tradition that dates back to the Sixties.
Pergusa’s most important event was the Gran Premio del Mediterraneo, that began as a Formula One non-championship race between 1962 and 1965, before switching to Formula 2 (1966 to 1984) and then to Formula 3000 (1985 to 1998). Some of the world’s best racing drivers ever have entered their name in the event’s roll of honour, such as Bandini, Surtees, Siffert, Stewart, Rindt, Regazzoni, Lafitte, Boutsen, Moreno, Coulthard and Montoya.
In recent years Pergusa hosted the FIA Sportscar and GT championships, but also the FIA European Touring Car Championship in 2002 and 2003 (in the picture).
“We are very pleased to return to Pergusa,” said ETCC General Manager Marcello Lotti. “We have good memories of our previous visits. This is an old-fashioned circuit that requires drivers to be brave, especially in jumping at full speed over the kerbs in the chicanes. I am confident they will provide some close racing there.”
Autodromo di Pergusa President Tullio Lauria echoed: “This is another step forward in our effort to re-launch the circuit. For a couple of years we have been treating Sicily’s enthusiastic fans to important international events such as the ETCC."

PETR FULÍN TOPS ETCC TEST SESSIONS

Petr Fulín, the current leader of the Super 2000 category in the ETCC, set the fastest time in both of today’s one-hour testing sessions at the Salzburgring, emphasizing that, once again, the he should be the man to beat in Sunday’s two races.
Fulín was also the only driver to beat the 1:31.000 barrier in both sessions, setting a best lap time of 1:30.887 in the first and 1:30.845 in the second. European hillclimbing champion Dušan Borković set the second fastest lap (1 :31.204), with Fulín’s team-mate Michal Matějovský third fastest (1 :31.691).
In the Single-Make Trophy, the honours were shared between Mario Dablander (1:32.137) and Aurélien Comte (1:31.712) in the two sessions, while it was a similar story in Super 1600. The reigning S1600 title-holder Kevin Krammes was fastest in Testing 1 (1:42.219), with the Citroën C2 VTS of Erwin Lukas (1:42.948) posting the best lap time in Testing 2.
The first session was red-flagged after the BMW of Christian Fischer impacted the barrier at Turn 10. Following examination at the circuit’s medical centre and then X-rays at Salzburg hospital, Fischer has been ruled to be unfit to compete on Sunday and his entry has therefore been withdrawn.

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Yvan Muller and Rob Huff won one race apiece in the fourth event of the WTCC that took place today at the Hungaroring.
This has been a very common happening in recent years, when they were both racing for the Chevrolet factory team and fighting for the world title. However, things has changed and if Muller with the RML Cruze is still the man to beat, Huff jumping back on the highest podium brings a new excitement to the current season.
The Briton fully deserved this success. The first for him in WTCC not at the wheel of a Chevrolet; and also the first for the German ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport, on their first touring car season.
Looking at the Drivers’ Championship’s standings it is quite clear that Muller’s ability to deliver consistent results on top is helping him to open a gap. Despite this, race after race the 2013 WTCC is proving to be as balanced as ever.
Huff was the sixth different winner over eight races and four different manufacturers have already scored at least one victory.
For sure the many fans who came to the track in support of Norbert Michelisz were a bit disappointed that all their cheering did not help the local hero to repeat his 2012 win. However the young Hungarian did not upset them, delivering two brilliant performances and finishing runner up to Muller in Race 1.
More action was provided by the Yokohama Trophy competitors, who fought on equal level with more experienced drivers. Mehdi Bennani emerged as the trophy’s winner in both races and finished a close second overall in Race 2. His best result ever in WTCC. The bamboo-engineering duo of Alex MacDowall and James Nash scored a pocketful of points and even managed to keep the RML Chevrolet cars behind in Race 2. They have the potential to aim soon for overall victories.
The championship will resume in Austria, at the Salzburgring, on May 18 and 19 for rounds 9 and 10.

RACE 1 – MULLER BEATS MICHELISZ
Yvan Muller took the most out of his pole position and managed to keep Norbert Michelisz behind at the first braking, which gave him the opportunity to control his rival for all the 12 laps.
The Frenchman increased his pace between laps 3 and 6 to create a gap and then was able to resist in the final part of the race, when Michelisz’s pace was a bit faster.
Behind them Gabriele Tarquini claimed third place, benefiting from the battle over fourth place that involved Rob Huff, Mehdi Bennani, Tom Coronel and Tom Chilton.
Eventually Huff was classified fourth ahead of Bennani who scored his first victory in the Yokohama Trophy.
A pile up after the start eliminated some potential top players such as Tiago Monteiro, Pepe Oriola, Fredy Barth and James Thompson.

RACE 2 – HUFF IS BACK ON TOP
Reigning World Champion Rob Huff returned to the winner’s circle claiming his first WTCC victory in a SEAT car and also giving the first win to the ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport.
Huff performed a masterful manoeuvre at the end of the safety car period, overtaking Mehdi Bennani on the outside at Turn 1. It was a ‘now or never’ move, as the Briton knew that the BMW car would have been more consistent in the final laps. However, Bennani never gave up and shadowed Huff for the whole race trying to force him into a mistake. Although this did not happen, the Moroccan driver scored a brilliant second place and another victory in the Yokohama Trophy.
Alex MacDowall completed the podium, with his team-mate James Nash in fourth position; it was a great result for the bamboo-engineering that placed both their drivers in front of Yvan Muller.
Local hero Norbert Michelisz excited the crowd with some spectacular overtaking manoeuvres in his attempt to recover. However he eventually had to settle for eighth.

TARQUINI TO SPEND THE NIGHT IN HOSPITAL
Gabriele Tarquini and Franz Engstler were both sent to Budapest’s Military Hospital following the dramatic crash in which they were involved on the first lap of the second race.
The first checks at the circuit’s medical centre reported both drivers suffering from bruises and pains to chest and neck, so they underwent more thorough examinations at the hospital that ruled out cracked ribs and other consequences.
Engstler was soon discharged, while the doctors decided to keep Tarquini under observation for the night because he is still suffering from pains at the neck.

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Yvan Muller claimed pole position at the Hungaroring, his second this year (after Monza) and his second consecutive on Budapest’s racetrack.
The RML driver and his Chevrolet Cruze car annihilated their competitors with monster split times in the first sector. The final gap between Muller and his closest rival was nearly four tenths of a second that were all won before the first intermediate.
Pushed by the enthusiasm of his fans, Norbert Michelisz tried his best to steal the pole and was capable to improve his Q2 lap time from 1:54.184 to 1:53.806 just as the session expired. However he had to settle for second, though with the great satisfaction to place his Zengö Motorsport Honda Civic ahead of the factory cars of Gabriele Tarquini and Tiago Monteiro. Tom Coronel and Tom Chilton qualified in fifth and sixth, while James Nash was seventh and on pole for the Yokohama Trophy. Rob Huff set the eighth fastest lap in the only SEAT car qualified for Q2.
Thanks to the reversed grid, MacDowall will start Race 2 from pole position with Mehdi Bennani alongside him.
Tom Boardman who had posted the 20^th fastest lap in Q1, had all his times disallowed by the Stewards due to a ride height infringement. He will be demoted to the last spot of the grid for both races.

Qualifying Q1
Gabriele Tarquini secured his place in Q2 by setting the fastest lap of 1:54.076 that demoted Yvan Muller’s 1:54.173 and Norbert Michelisz’s 1:54.397 to second and third respectively.
A few more drivers had no problems in making the cut: Huff, Chilton, Monteiro, MacDowall, Nykjær, Coronel. Other have to fight as usual not to be kicked off in the dying moments.
Fredy Barth was a late qualifier, posting the seventh fastest lap that pushed Pepe Oriola out of the top twelve. In a last gasp attempt the Young Spaniard improved his lap time, but not enough to move up from the 13^th position. While James Nash and Mehdi Bennani took the two final spots.
For some times James Thompson kept a place in the top twelve for half of the Q1 and after he was kicked off he desperately tried to recover, but despite promising split times in the first sector he was not able to improve.

Qualifying Q2
Michelisz set a provisional fastest time of 1:54.184 on his first lap, but Muller improved a few seconds later to 1:53.426 that was not to be beaten.
While Monteiro and Chilton provisionally managed to climb to second and third, Tarquini aborted his first lap and Coronel’s BMW was still sitting in pit lane.
Eventually Tarquini took the track with three minutes to go, shadowed by Coronel. The Italian was clocked at 1:53.953 and kept second place for a while, until Michelisz improved to 1:53.806
securing a place on the front row.

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The second visit by the WTCC to the Slovakia Ring again attracted a huge crowd, as 38,000 spectators flocked to track over the two days. They were treated to two close races, and if the first one was a fast procession led by the Honda trio, the second one provided plenty of action and overtaking.
Gabriele Tarquini became the first driver to win a WTCC race for three different manufacturers when his Honda Civic won the first of today’s two races at the Slovakia Ring. His win – also the first for the Castrol Honda WTCC team, and the second for the Japanese manufacturer since James Thompson won with an Accord at Imola in 2008 – follows his victories for Alfa Romeo and SEAT and formed part of an all-Honda podium; his teammate Tiago Monteiro finished second and Norbert Michelisz was third in a Zengö Motorsport Civic.
Race 2 then saw victory go to the BMW 320 TC of Tom Coronel, who became the fifth driver to win a round of this year’s WTCC. Six of the seven BMW cars competing at the Slovakia Ring were fitted with new carbon fibre doors to reduce weight and it seemed Coronel took full advantage of the change. For a while, it looked as though there would be four different manufacturers represented on today’s two race podiums, but a slight error by the reigning WTCC Champion, Rob Huff, saw his SEAT León run wide on the penultimate lap, allowing the Chevrolet Cruze of Yvan Muller to finish second with Tarquini’s Honda third.
In the Yokohama Trophy for Independent drivers, there was a win apiece for the two bamboo-engineering drivers. James Nash took maximum points in Race 1 by finishing sixth overall while Alex MacDowall claimed the category win in Race 2 when he finished eighth.
The championship will resume next weekend at Budapest’s Hungaroring for rounds 7 and 8.

RACE 1 – FIRST VICTORY FOR HONDA CIVIC
Gabriele Tarquini gave the Castrol Honda team its first WTCC win when he converted pole position into victory in Race 1 at the Slovakia Ring. In second place was Tarquini’s team-mate Tiago Monteiro, with Hungary’s Norbert Michelisz completing a Honda 1-2-3 by bringing his Zengö Motorsport Civic home in third place. James Nash finished as the leading Yokohama Trophy competitor, in sixth place overall in a bamboo-engineering Chevrolet Cruze.
The rolling start saw Tarquini, Monteiro and Michelisz head into Turn 1 in the positions in which they had qualified and that’s the way it stayed, despite challenges from Michelisz on Monteiro and fourth-placed Yvan Muller on Michelisz. Tom Coronel spent much of the race pressuring Nash and the pressure paid off on Lap 8 when the BMW finally passed the Chevrolet. A thrilling four-way scrap for tenth position saw Mehdi Bennani pass Stefano D’Aste on Lap 9, with Fredy Barth then grabbing eleventh place from D’Aste as the cars crossed the finish line side by side.
Tom Chilton’s race lasted a little over a lap, with the Chevrolet Cruze taking to the gravel trap at Turn 6. Tom Boardman also failed to finish; the STR team was anxious to understand the cause of the engine problems that had dogged the SEAT all weekend and so told Boardman to come into the pits on Lap 7.

RACE 2 – CORONEL SCORES ONE FOR BMW
After Gabriele Tarquini’s lights-to-flag victory in Race 1, this time it was the turn of Tom Coronel to accomplish the same feat. From the standing start, Coronel was first into Turn 1 and then never looked back, pulling away from the battle for second place that was being waged behind him and eventually crossing the finish line nearly three seconds clear. The Race 1 podium had been an all-Honda affair, but Race 2 saw three different manufacturers occupying the top three places; Yvan Muller finished second in a Chevrolet Cruze while Tarquini’s Honda was third. The
maximum points in the Yokohama Trophy went to Alex MacDowall, who finished eighth in the bamboo-engineering Chevrolet.
When the lights went out, Michel Nykjær stalled his Chevrolet on the startline and was narrowly avoided by Fredy Barth’s BMW. With Coronel then driving an unchallenged race at the head of the field, the battle for the remainder of the podium places took centre stage; the SEAT cars of Pepe Oriola and Rob Huff both took turns at occupying second place, with mistakes by both drivers eventually allowing Muller to finish as runner-up to a clearly delighted Coronel. Tarquini followed up his Race 1 win with third place in Race 2 – results that move the Italian driver up into second place behind Muller in the Drivers’ Championship.
As if Coronel’s win wasn’t enough reason for his team to celebrate, his colleague Darryl O’Young eventually finished in tenth place, after the ROAL Motorsport team had worked long into the night repairing the extensive damage caused by his accident in Qualifying yesterday.

ETCC – FULÍN AND KRAMMES CREATE A GAP

Peter Fulín in S2000 and Kevin Krammes in S1600 made use of the second ETCC event by creating a gap in their respective categories. With pole position one race win and one second place, Fulín has built a 20 point-margin ahead of the young Slovak driver Mat’o Homola who claimed his maiden ETCC race victory on his home soil.
Krammes made a clean sweep in S1600 – pole and two race wins – and now has a leading margin of 21 points over Ulrike Krafft.
Andreas Pfister was the third winner of the event. The German driver managed to survived the havoc that eliminated many of his competitors in the Single-Make Trophy at the start of Race 1 and scored two victories. The fight in this class is extremely close with four drivers: Jordi Oriola (the leader), Pfister, Nikolay Karamyshev and Mario Dablander all covered by only five points.
Ladies have been impressive with their consistency: Andrina Gugger managed to climb to third in the S2000 standings, while Krafft is currently second in S1600.

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Gabriele Tarquini will start from pole position in the first of tomorrow’s two FIA WTCC races at the Slovakia Ring. Alongside him on the grid will be his Castrol Honda team-mate Tiago Monteiro after the pair dominated both parts of the two-stage Qualifying session. Making it an all-Honda top three will be Norbert Michelisz, who qualified just twelve-hundredths of a second slower than Monteiro.
This was Tarquini’s and Honda’s second consecutive pole position after Marrakech.
The leading Yokohama Trophy competitor will be Alex MacDowall, whose bamboo-engineering Chevrolet Cruze qualified sixth. Thanks to the reversed grid, it will be the BMW 320 TC of Tom Coronel that will start Race 2 from pole position.

Qualifying 1
The session got off to a dramatic start when the BMW of Darryl O’Young made heavy contact with the barrier on the outside of Turn 9 after only around five minutes. The incident brought out the red flags and, after a pause of around half an hour, the session resumed with O’Young having been taken to the circuit medical centre for a precautionary check-up.
Tarquini and Monteiro were soon lying first and second, with the two RML Chevrolet Cruze cars of Yvan Muller and Tom Chilton third and fifth and the driver who was on pole position for the first WTCC race here last year, Norbert Michelisz, sandwiched between the pair in fourth.
The following drivers went through to Q2: Tarquini, Monteiro, Muller, Michelisz, Chilton, MacDowall, Huff, Nykjær, Oriola, Nash, Coronel and Bennani.

Qualifying 2
Tarquini’s pole-winning time (2:10.773) occurred on his first flying lap, with Monteiro (2:10.877) also setting his best time on the same lap. Michelisz (2:10.889) was third quickest in the Zengö Motorsport Honda Civic with Muller’s Chevrolet (2:10.941) the best non-Honda. Chilton (2:11.162) rounded off the top five, with Alex MacDowall (2:11.422), Rob Huff (2:11.624), James Nash (2:11.714), Pepe Oriola (2:11.882) and Tom Coronel (2:12.048) completing the top ten. Mehdi Bennani (2:12.857) was eleventh fastest and Michel Nykjaer (2:17.614) twelfth.

GRID PENALTIES FOR HUFF AND MONJE
Rob Huff and Fernando Monje will be all dropped on the grid for tomorrow’s first race. Huff will lose ten places because his car failed the ride height check during today’s qualifying. Monje will be demoted five places following the penalty he was given for colliding with James Thompson’s LADA during the second race at Marrakech.

ETCC – FULÍN TAKES ANOTHER POLE AT SLOVAKIA RING

Just as on the opening race weekend in Monza, pole position for the first of tomorrow’s two ETCC races at the Slovakia Ring will be occupied by Petr Fulín, whose Super 2000 BMW 320si set the fastest lap time in Qualifying (2:16.260). There was, however, mixed news for the Krenek Motorsport team as Fulín’s teammate Michal Matějovský went off at Turn 7 on only his first quick lap and took no further part in the session.
Fulín had previous been fastest in both the first Testing session and in Free Practice, so will clearly be the driver to beat tomorrow. He set the pole-winning time on only his second lap and then sat out much of the half-hour session to see if his rivals could better his time. The only other driver to beat the 2:17.000 barrier was Mat’o Homola (2:16.754) and so, just as in Monza,
the Slovak driver will line up alongside Fulín on the grid.
The Single-Make Trophy for SEAT León Supercópa cars saw the top three covered by less than a second. Aurélien Comte (2:17.153) was the fastest SMT driver and third overall, ahead of Andreas Pfister (2:17.906) and Jordi Oriola (2:18.142).
In the Super 1600 category, Kevin Krammes claimed his second consecutive pole. The reigning champion was in a league of his own, as he improved the fastest lap three times until clocking a 2:31.968 that was enough to beat ‘Romeo Luciano’ and Ulrike Krafft.

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Just like in 2012, WTCC competitors won’t have a break after this weekend’s race meeting at the Slovakia Ring, as the next event takes place at the Hungaroring on May 5.
This spectacular racetrack that is located 20 km North-East of Budapest, Hungary’s capital city, is home to the Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix since 1986.
The FIA World Touring Car Championship returns to the Hungaroring for the third consecutive time after two successful appearances that turned into great successes, also thanks to local hero Norbert Michelisz, whose popularity attracted an impressive crowds of Hungarian fans.
And Michelisz has always done his best to entertain them. In 2011 he claimed a brilliant second place in the first race, but then spoiled his chances with a crash at the start of the second race. And in 2012 he took a dominant victory in the second race, for the joy of the 52,000 spectators who hailed him with stadium-like roars every time his BMW was passing on the main straight.

WATCH WTCC QUALIFYING LIVE ON THE WEB!

The WTCC qualifying sessions from Slovakia Ring, Hungaroring and Salzburgring will benefit from a complete live streaming coverage on the championship’s official website www.fiawtcc.com.
A delayed broadcast of the qualifying sessions will also be aired by Eurosport on Sunday morning immediately before the live coverage of the warm up.
A flashing banner on the home page will inform users when live streaming is available.

QUALIFYING LIVE STREAMING SCHEDULE

Saturday, 27 April : 15.30/16.05, Slovakia Ring
Saturday, 4 May : 14.30/15.05, Hungaroring
Saturday, 18 May : 15.00/15.35, Salzburgring

ROTEK RACING TO RUN FORD FOCUS CARS

Rotek Racing announced today that they have acquired the two Ford Focus cars that were run under the Team Aon banner by Arena Motorsport in the 2012 WTCC.
The team plan to test and develop the cars before entering the WTCC full-time later this year, possibly in time for the late European rounds but certainly for the overseas events in the Americas and Far East. Rotek Racing will initially be based in Germany at their Nürburgring facility, but will move in early summer to new premises at Sonoma Raceway.
USA driver Robb Holland, who had his first taste of WTCC last year at Sonoma in a bamboo-engineering Chevrolet Cruze, will race one of the cars while negotiations are well advanced with another driver.
The cars have been updated to 2013 specification and will be powered once more by the Mountune Performance developed 1.6 turbo ecoboost engine.
Robb Holland commented: “Last season I became the first and to date the only American to race in the WTCC and so to be moving full-time into the series with an American team and an American manufacturer is very exciting. The guys at Rotek Racing have acquired two well-built cars from Arena and I can’t wait to get started on the extensive test program they have planned between now and our WTCC race debut together.”

WTCC AND ETCC DRIVERS AT SLOVAK AUTO SHOW

A delegation of drivers representing the WTCC and ETCC has visited yesterday the Bratislava Auto Salon, the most important motor show in the Slovak Republic.
James Thompson, Norbert Michelisz, James Nash and Mat’o Homola were welcomed at the stand of the Slovakia Ring, located in the central pavilion of the exhibition. There they met a representative of the local media and were available for TV interviews.
Before leaving the Auto Salon the four drivers had the opportunity to challenge each other on the racing simulator, driving a lap of the Slovakia Ring at the wheel of a WTCC virtual car.
Needless to say, Michelisz who began ‘racing’ on the simulators outpaced his colleagues…

FOR HAVEN’S SAKE

Eurosport commentator and touring car expert Martin Haven’s column.

Slovakia Ring preview – Go East, young man!

In the next two weeks, the World Touring Car Championship will visit two eastern European tracks, the Slovakia Ring and then the Hungaroring – one a new facility, just three seasons old, the other now open for over 25 years and firmly established as Eastern Europe’s only current Grand Prix venue.
Last year’s first-ever WTCC trip to Slovakia was a scorcher, with soaring temperatures and some highly entertaining racing. Gabriele Tarquini’s SEAT claimed victory in Race 1, while Chevrolet’s Rob Huff took the honours in Race 2. The forecast for this year’s race weekend suggests that teams will worry about tyre-and-brake-wear once more, as it’s going to be a hot one. The tight nature of the track produced some fairly robust moves from a number of drivers in 2012 and if they want to avoid penalties, everyone will have to mind their manners this time round.
So, who can we expect to see at the sharp end of the grid? Well, Monza proved to be an RML Chevrolet benefit, with Yvan Muller winning both races. Most expected Marrakech to follow form, as Chevrolet has always fared well on street circuits and last year, romped to 1-2-3 finishes in both races. But that was not the case. As RML struggled to convert their pace into dominance, we had not one but two feel-good stories, with Michel Nykjaer and Pepe Oriola claiming overdue maiden wins.
Both had to hold off hugely-experienced rivals; in the case of Nykjaer, the charging Gabriele Tarquini (17 WTCC wins), in his Honda, while Oriola had Yvan Muller (32 wins) breathing down his neck in the RML Chevrolet. Emotions ran high in both camps, the Nika Racing team winning in just their third WTCC race, while Pepe Oriola Sr’s tears of joy were indication of just how much the win meant…
Last year’s races in Slovakia showed that almost anyone can be competitive. Norbert Michelisz took pole with his BMW, while the Lukoil SEAT cars of Gabriele Tarquini and Aleksei Dudukalo claimed a 1-2 result in Race 1 and Chevrolet’s Rob Huff and Yvan Muller did likewise in Race 2.
The Castrol Honda team looks poised to make the move to the top step of the podium, although their cousins in orange and black at Zengö Motorsport could do with a little change in fortune – they only luck they’ve had this season has been bad; when was the last time you saw a car taken out of a race by someone else’s broken brake disc? The ‘Norbi’ Barmy Army would certainly relish their man producing the form of last year, as a warm-up to Hungary…
And what about LADA? Captain Jack Sparrow (James Thompson) has proved that the new Granta Sport has plenty of potential. Once their fortunes change, the Lukoil cars should be consistent front-runners. What more fitting place for it all to finally come together than at the scene of their sponsor’s best day in the WTCC?

HUGO VALENTE TO JOIN IN HUNGARY

French driver Hugo Valente will join the WTCC in the fourth event at Budapest’s Hungaroring, at the wheel of a SEAT León car run by the Spanish outfit Campos Racing.
Valente who was born 21 years ago, began his racing career in karting and then moved quickly to single seaters (Formula Academy EuroSeries and Formula Renault Eurocup). In 2012, on his first touring car season he claimed the French SEAT León Supercópa title and at the end of the season made a one-off appearance in the WTCC at Shanghai.
“I’m excited to race in WTCC again after last year. I’m very much looking forward to get to know the series more in Budapest, as well as in five other events this year. My goal is to gain as much experience as I can, with the car, tyres and circuits, in order to prepare the 2014 season in the best possible way. I only had two testing days before Budapest, so I am expecting tough races over there. But my goal is to improve compared to my team-mates Pepe Oriola and Fernando Monje,” said Valente.

EUROSPORT TV PROGRAMMES – BUDAPEST *

Sunday, 5 May – 08.30/08.45, WTCC Qualifying on Eurosport 1
Sunday, 5 May – 08.45/09.15, WTCC Warm Up LIVE on Eurosport 1
Sunday, 5 May – 12.15/13.15, WTCC Race 1 LIVE on Eurosport 1
Sunday, 5 May – 14.15/15.30, WTCC Race 2 LIVE on Eurosport 1
Tuesday, 7 May – 23.30, Inside WTCC on Eurosport 1

* all times CET

ETCC: 28 DRIVERS ENTERED IN SLOVAKIA RING

Once again a strong field will hit the track for the third and fourth rounds of the The FIA European Touring Car Cup that take place this weekend at the Slovakia Ring.
Twenty-eight drivers have entered in the event: eleven in the Super 2000 class, seven in the Super 1600 and ten in the Single-Make Trophy. Five different car Manufacturers are represented: Alfa Romeo, BMW, Ford, Honda, SEAT.
There are three new entries in the Super 2000 category.
Facing his first ETCC appearance is Slovak racer Filip Sládecka at the wheel of an Alfa Romeo 156 run by the Incar Revco Team. Two other drivers are making their season debut in the series, both in BMW 320si cars: Turkey’s Aytaç Biter for Borusan Otomotiv Motorsport and Italy’s Diego Romanini for Proteam Racing.

DOWNLOAD THE SLOVAKIA RING ENTRY LIST

FULÍN SETS FASTEST TIME IN ETCC TESTING

The two one-hour Testing sessions ahead of the FIA European Touring Car Cup races at the Slovakia Ring saw the Krenek Motorsport BMW 320si cars setting the pace. Petr Fulín from the Czech Republic was fastest in the first session with a lap time of 2:15.334, while his compatriot Michal Matĕjovský set the quickest lap time (2:16.547) in the second session. The two drivers were the only ones to beat the 2:17.000 barrier and so the team must be confident of its chances on Sunday.
Other front-runners in Super 2000 were Slovakia’s Mat’o Homola, whose BMW set a time of 2:18.080 in Testing 2, and the SEAT León TFSI of Dušan Borković from Serbia (2:18.602).
Just as on the first ETCC race weekend in Monza, the SEAT León Supercópa cars contesting the Single-Make Trophy proved themselves to be a match for the majority of the S2000 entrants; Aurélien Comte (2:17.087), Ferenc Ficza (2:18.868) and Andreas Pfister (2:18.983) will be the front-runners for SMT honours in the two races. Igor Skuz called in the services of ex-SEAT Sport WTCC driver Jordi Gené to assist with the car’s set-up and so, while it looked as though Skuz had set the second-quickest time in
Testing 2 (2:17.717) it was actually the Spanish driver behind the wheel at the time.
The Super 1600 category saw the fastest time set by the reigning title-holder, Kevin Krammes, who set a time of 2:33.708 in the first session ahead of Ulrike Krafft (2:33.830). With the pair electing not to take part in Testing 2, Klaus Bingler headed the S1600 competitors with a time of 2:36.520.
Testing 2 was suspended briefly after oil on the track from the Alfa Romeo 156 of Slovakia’s Filip Sládecka brought out the red flags; Sládecka subsequently withdrew from the meeting as a result of the incident.

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