Yvan Muller proved to be in a league of his own today on Valencia’s Circuit Ricardo Tormo. After topping the two practice sessions, the reigning world champion claimed his third consecutive pole position, the fourth of the season for him, and the ninth for Chevrolet in nine events.
His team-mate and point leader Rob Huff will line up alongside him on the grid for tomorrow’s Race 1, with the SUNRED cars of Gabriele Tarquini and Tiago Monteiro filling the second row.
The third Chevrolet man, Alain Menu could not achieve any better than a sixth place, behind Tom Coronel’s BMW.
It was not a lucky session for the Spanish drivers. Pepe Oriola was the first out of the top ten and missed the opportunity to start from the pole on the reverse grid for Race 2; Javier Villa lost the Yokohama Trophy pole position to Norbert Michelisz by 0.028 seconds.

Q1 – Javier Villa opened hostilities, posting a provisional fastest lap of 1:44.395 in the early stages. With eight minutes left on the clock, Gabriele Tarquini improved to 1:43.907, a time that eventually proved to be the fastest for good.
Norbert Michelisz and Tiago Monteiro were able to close the gap from Tarquini. They were timed at 1:44.047 (Michelisz) and 1:44.086 (Monteiro) provisionally moving up to second and third.
However, the Chevrolet drivers broke in to make sure they made the top ten: Alain Menu’s 1:43.992 gave him the second place behind Tarquini, and Rob Huff’s 1:44.060 enabled him to squeeze into fourth between Michelisz and Monteiro.
The usual drama to win a place for Q2 hit local hero Pepe Oriola, who was deprived of the 10^th position (and pole for Race 2) by Michel Nykjær who climbed to eighth just when the chequered flag dropped.
This handed another Race 2 pole position to Franz Engstler, who may now hope to repeat his Oschersleben victory.
The following drivers advanced to Q2: Tarquini, Menu, Michelisz, Huff, Monteiro, Muller, Villa, Nykjær, Coronel and Engstler.

Q2 – On his first lap Muller stopped the watches on the time of 1:42.985, staking a serious claim on the pole position. None of the other nine drivers gave the impression to be fast enough to beat the reigning world champion’s time.
Then in the late moments Gabriele Tarquini completed a lap of 1:43.182 that propelled him to second, and immediately afterwards Rob Huff improved to 1:43.105 demoting the Italian to third.
However, Muller settled the matter for good posting an even faster lap of 1:42.649.
Just before the end of the session Norbert Michelisz qualified in seventh position, stealing the Yokohama Trophy pole from Javier Villa.

WTCC Race of Spain – Circuit Ricardo Tormo, Valencia – 3 / 4 September 2011
www.fiawtcc.com – www.circuitvalencia.com

The WTCC Race of Spain was officially launched yesterday at Valencia’s Circuit Ricardo Tormo in a meeting for the local media.
The press was welcomed Luis Lobón Secretary for Tourism and Strategic Projects of the Comunidad Valenciana, Julio García the circuit’s General Manager, WTCC promoter Marcello Lotti and Eurosport Events‘ Director of Operations Jean-Louis Dauger.
Later the journalists met a representative of WTCC drivers – Alain Menu, Robert Dahlgren and home boys Javier Villa and Pepe Oriola – and experienced the thrill of a ride in a racing car on board of Menu’s Chevrolet Cruze and Oriola’s SUNRED León.

Launch of the WTCC Race of Spain at Valencia’s Circuit Ricardo Tormo

ORIOLA GIVES A RIDE TO VALENCIA’S POLITICIAN
Among the guests who enjoyed hot laps on board of WTCC racing cars during yesterday’s media day at Valencia, there was the Secretary for Tourism and Strategic Projects of the Comunidad Valenciana, Luis Lobón.
After completing a hot lap in Pepe Oriola’s SUNRED León, Mr Lobón said: "It was a great experience! You watch these cars racing on TV, but you don’t have an idea of the performance they can deliver until you have the occasion to ride in one of them on a real race track. I was very impressed and I am also very proud that the Comunidad Valenciana is home to the WTCC Race of Spain."
Did you know that your driver was only 17-years old? "Actually I did not before getting into his car. In any case he struck me with his confidence and control of the car. Therefore I was not surprised when he explained afterwards that in spite of his young age he has always built five years of racing experience."

Luis Lobón ready for having a ride in Pepe Oriola’s SUNRED León

WTCC TO HIT THE TRACK ON SATURDAY
Track action for the WTCC drivers will start tomorrow, Saturday.
The two 30-minute free practice session will take place at 9.00 and 11.30.
The 30-minute qualifying session will follow in the afternoon: all drivers will take part in Q1 from 14.30 to 14.50 and then the fastest ten will be allowed to take part in Q2 for from 14.55 to 15.05.
The qualifying session will be aired live on Eurosport 2.

www.fiawtcc.com

The 17^th and 18^th rounds of the FIA WTCC will take place in Spain, at Valencia’s Circuit Ricardo Tormo next week. This is the seventh consecutive visit of the FIA World Touring Car Championship to the Spanish stadium-like racetrack and once again the WTCC Race of Spain will mark the end of the European season.
The 4km circuit does not seem to suit any particular car, as Manufacturers shared honours in the previous years. SEAT scored four victories on its home soil, BMW and Alfa Romeo won three times apiece, while Chevrolet claimed two race wins (with the Lacetti car).
Gabriele Tarquini and Tiago Monteiro had won last year’s races with the glorious SEAT León TDi that has now been replaced by the SUNRED León 1.6T. The Spanish car has definitely showed significant progress in the latest events and could benefit from support of the local fans to win its first race.
The same applies to the two young Spaniards who are fighting for the Yokohama Trophy. Both Javier Villa in the Proteam Racing BMW 320 TC and SUNRED’s Pepe Oriola are set to put in strong performance in Valencia.

WTCC races always attract good crowds at Valencia’s Circuit Ricardo Tormo

MULLER BREATHES DOWN HUFF’S NECK
The championship resumes in Valencia after a one month Summer break following the previous race meeting at Oschersleben, where Yvan Muller (Chevrolet) and Franz Engstler (BMW) claimed one victory apiece.
Although restricted to the Chevrolet men, the fight for the Drivers‘ Championship is set to be exciting. Rob Huff leads the standings since the season kicked off in Brazil, however Muller consistently eroded his team-mate’s margin to a slim six-point gap, while Alain Menu still has theoretical chances, lying 69 points behind Huff.
Taking into account the trend of the latest five events that saw Muller cutting Huff’s advantage by 30 points, a change of leadership is not out of the frame.

NO WEIGHT BONUS FOR VOLVO
For the next WTCC event at Valencia, Robert Dahlgren’s Volvo C30 will not benefit from a weight reduction, just like the BMW 320 TC and SUNRED SR León 1.6T cars.
According to the calculation of the compensation weight based on the lap times set in the three previous events (Porto, Donington and Oschersleben), the Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T remains the reference car and will be carrying again 40 kilos in addition to the minimum weight of 1150 kg.
The 0.7-second gap between the Cruze and the other cars equates to a difference of 40 kilos, meaning that BMW 320 TC, SUNRED and Volvo will run on their minimum weight: 1170 kg for the rear-wheel-drive, 1150 for the front-wheel-drive. On the occasion of the previous event at Oschersleben, Volvo benefited from a reduction of 10 kilos, while the only model allowed to a weight reduction in Valencia will be the BMW 320si (- 20kg).

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

The Volvo C30 will not benefit from weight reduction in Valencia

MULLER COMPLETES 24 HOURS OF CYCLING
Last weekend Yvan Muller and a bunch of his friends took part in the Le Mans 24-hour cycling race.
The Team Yvan Muller completed 186 laps of the Bugatti circuit during the 24 hours, that equated to 778 km and they were classified in 232^nd position out of 382 teams.
"We were obviously extremely proud for having finished such a tough trial. It was a great experience and I was happy to share it with some friends of mine who are real amateurs, just like me," said Muller.

PLAY IT AGAIN… GABRIELE
Tomorrow Gabriele Tarquini will be racing again for the Polestar Volvo team in the Scandinavian Touring Car Championship.
After a disappointing maiden appearance at Karskoga, Sweden, where the Italian driver finished the races in 11^th and 13^th position, Tarquini is keen to do much better on the Danish track of Jyllandsringen.
"I have gained a lot of experience of the C30 that is going to be useful. The Volvo is a strong car and the pace in the race was really competitive," said Tarquini.
Among his competitors, Tarquini will find Fabrizio Giovanardi, his former team-mate in the Alfa Romeo WTCC team. Giovanardi will be racing in a Hartmann Racing Honda Accord, the same car the drove to win the FIA European Tourig Car Cup two months ago at Salzburg.

www.fiawtcc.com

David Sigacev will make his WTCC maiden appearance on the occasion of the next race meeting at Valencia.
The young Russian will be at the wheel of Engstler Motorsport’s third BMW 320 TC car, run under the banner of DeTeam KK Motorsport, the same that was driven by Marchy Lee earlier this season.
Sigacev, who was born 22 years ago in Moscow, lives in Germany where he is developing a promising racing career. He won the DMV Karting Championship at the age of 15 and then moved to Formula Renault and the Porsche Carrera Cup.
During the current season he is competing in the ADAC GT Master at the wheel of a Mercedes SLS AMG.

David Sigacev will make his first WTCC apperance at Valencia in a BMW 320 TC

GERMANY’S RESULTS TO BE DECLARED FINAL
The results of the two latest WTCC races that took place at Oschersleben on July 31^st, will be soon declared final by the FIA, following the technical checks of two Chevrolet engines.
After the second German race, the FIA Technical Delegate Manuel Leal had sealed the 1.6-litre turbo engines of Rob Huff’s and Darryl O’Young’s cars, which meant that race results remained provisional pending technical cheks.
Days ago Leal completed all technical checks at the RML factory in the UK and found both engines in compliance with the technical regulations.
Now the results just need to be confirmed by the Stewards.

HUFF AND MENU IN THE BUENOS AIRES 200
Current WTCC point leader Rob Huff and his team-mate Alain Menu take part this weekend in the Buenos Aires 200 Km, counting towards the Argentine TC2000 championship.
Huff and Menu have joined the Equipo Oficial Chevrolet at the wheel of Cruze cars they will share with regular drivers Agustín Canapino and Christian Ledesma respectively.
Menu who won the Argentine race for Chevrolet in 2006 said: "Since 2004 I only missed this race once. I like it very much and I thank Chevrolet Argentina for inviting me to compete once again. The WTCC and TC2000 Cruze are very similar in terms of concept performance, though the Argentine car has a more racing look. I am confident because we have a good package and we can fight to win this race."

MULLER INVITED LOEB TO TEST WTCC CRUZE
Seven-time World Rally Champion Sébastian Loeb drove the Chevrolet Cruze WTCC at Rockingham last week. It was a private event that Loeb attended following an invitation from his friend and fellow World Champion Yvan Muller.
The idea stemmed last year when Yvan competed in the WRC Rally of Alsace and both friends shared and compared impressions about their respective race disciplines and cars.
A holding statement from Chevrolet explained: "Chevrolet and RML were glad to cooperate in materializing the invitation made by Yvan to Sébastian to try his Cruze. However what happened cannot, in any way, be interpreted as a short term expression of a professional interest by any of the parties involved."
Yvan Muller attended the drive and set reference laps to give Loeb the best out of this day at the wheel of the Cruze WTCC.

www.fiawtcc.com

Das hat es bis jetzt noch nicht gegeben: Franz Engstler gewinnt als erster Privatfahrer die Gesamtwertung beim zweiten WM-Lauf in Oschersleben.

Schon beim Qualifying am Samstag konnte der Allgäuer überzeugen und die Poleposition für den zweiten Lauf und Platz 10 für den ersten Lauf heraus fahren. „Ein Startplatz in der ersten Reihe ist einfach nur toll“, strahlt Engstler nach dem Qualy. „Gerade nach dem dritten Platz in der Gesamtwertung in England war die Erwartung bei allen sehr hoch, vor allem bei Franz selber. Aber da merkt man einfach seine jahrelange Erfahrung“, so Teammanager Kurt Treml.

Daumen drücken mal 500
Mittlerweile ist es Tradition, dass LIQUI MOLY zum WTCC Heimrennen in Deutschland seine Partner einlädt- heuer waren es über 450, dazu kamen Familie und Freunde von Engstler, die aus ganz Deutschland angereist waren, um ihm Glück zu wünschen.

Im ersten Lauf allerdings wurde Engstler in der vorletzten Kurve in der letzten Runde vom Glück verlassen. Bei einem Überhohlmanöver kam es zu einer Kollision mit einem Mitstreiter. Engstler kam von der Strecke ab und streifte die Mauer. Er konnte seinen LIQUI MOLY BMW an Position 16 über die Ziellinie retten.

In der 10- minütigen Reparaturpause vollbrachte die Techniker Crew wahre Wunder. Sie schaffte es das Auto, für Lauf 2, wieder fit zu machen. Engstler startete damit aus der ersten Reihe, verlor allerdings zunächst einen Platz. „Ich behielt die Ruhe und setzte mich im Nacken des führenden Fahrzeugs fest. Ich dachte mir, dass er irgendwann einen Fehler machen wird“, lächelt Engstler nach dem Rennen. Und damit lag er richtig: durch einen Dreher an der Spitze übernahm Engstler die Führung und konnte diese tatsächlich bis zum Zieleinlauf verteidigen.
Euphorisch wurde der frischgebackene 50-jährige vom gesamten LIQUI MOLY Team Engstler empfangen und stolz beide Pokale, sowohl für den Gesamtsieg als auch dem Sieg in der Privatfahrerwertung, in Empfang nehmen.

Mit 68 WM Punkten liegt Franz Engstler nun in der Meisterschaftswertung auf Platz 7.

Chevrolet’s winning streak came to an end after eleven consecutive victories. On their home soil BMW and Franz Engstler claimed their first success. The first for the new 1.6 litre turbo engine built in Munich and the first ever in WTCC for the German driver.
If Oschersleben’s Race 1 gave Chevrolet another 1-2 finish, with Yvan Muller victorious from Rob Huff, the second race saw a more variegated podium with BMW, Chevrolet and SUNRED/SEAT classified in the order. Another evidence that the gap between the Cruze cars and the rest of the field becomes closer and closer.
The Volvo too moved a further step forward, with Robert Dahlgren finishing fourth in Race 1, the best result for the Swedish car and yet, it could have been better without a clash with Menu that dropped Dahlgren to eighth during the opening lap.
Speaking of the championship, Muller appears to be well determined to defend his crown. Between Donington and Oschersleben the Frenchman has eaten away 23 of the 29 points that formed Huff’s leading margin after Porto. Only six points are left behind them.
Even closer is the fight for the Yokohama Trophy, with five drivers – Norbert Michelisz, Kristian Poulsen, Darryl O’Young, Engstler and Javier Villa – covered by only six points.
The championship will resume after the summer break at Valencia, Spain, on September 3^rd for rounds 17 and 18.
FIA TECHNICIANS TO CHECK CHEVROLET ENGINES
The results of the two races at Oschersleben remains provisional, pending the technical checks of two Chevrolet engines.
The 1.6-litre turbo units of Rob Huff’s and Darryl O’Young’s Cruze cars have been sealed by the FIA Technical Delegate, who will proceed to a complete check at RML factory during the Summer break before the next event at Valencia.

WTCC Race of Germany – Motorsport Arena Oschersleben – 30 / 31 July 2011
www.fiawtcc.com – www.motorsportarena.com

German racer Franz Engstler is looking forward to his home WTCC event this weekend at Oschersleben.
Two weeks ago at Donington Park, at the wheel of his BMW 320 TC run by the Liqui Moly team, Engstler claimed his best result ever in WTCC, finishing third in the second race behind the Chevrolet Cruze cars of Yvan Muller and Rob Huff.
This also enabled him to close the gap in the Yokohama Trophy where he currently lies fourth, only ten points behind Norbert Michelisz.
Engstler, who turned 50 last Monday, hopes to have another positive weekend at the Motorsport Arena.
"My podium in the second race at Donington showed that our BMW 320 TC is really working well. I am obviously very much up for the races in Oschersleben. Another top result would be the perfect belated birthday present!"

Franz Engstler and his team aim for another great result at Oschersleben

PEPE ORIOLA SHINES IN FIA THE EUROPEAN CUP
WTCC youngest racer, Pepe Oriola finished runner up to touring car star Fabrizio Giovanardi in the FIA European Touring Car Cup that took place last weekend at the Austrian Salzburgring.
In difficult weather conditions, with the track flooded by pouring rain, the 17-year old Spaniard showed that his first year in WTCC is bringing him to maturity very quickly, and just like a veteran he fought with Giovanardi with no awes.
Giovanardi’s Honda Accord and Oriola’s SEAT León TDi shared victories and second places, but the title was awarded on the basis of the qualifying points, which meant that Giovanardi was crowned champion by one mere point thanks to his pole position.
Oriola said: "Second behind Giovanardi was a great result for me and the team. I did my best to follow him in the first race and pushed at the maximum in the second. I am also very proud to be the driver who gave the SEAT TDi its last victory."

Pepe Oriola on his way to win the FIA ETCC Race 2 at the Salzburgring

CERQUI TESTS FOR ROAL MOTORSPORT
Taking the opportunity of a test session with Tom Coronel at the Adria Raceway, in order to prepare this weekend’s event at Oschersleben, the ROAL Motorsport team offered to Alberto Cerqui his first drive in the WTCC BMW 320 TC.
Cerqui, only 19-years old, is one of ROAL Motorsport’s regular drivers in the Superstars series in which he currently lies second in the points after claiming his first race win three weeks ago at Misano.
"I was very impressed by the WTCC car. Its strong points are the agility in changing direction and over the kerbs, the braking and cornering speed. The 1.6-litre turbo engine supplies the power in a very peculiar way and needs to adjust a bit the driving style. I thank the team for giving me this opportunity that I hope could be repeated in the future," said Cerqui.

HUFF AND MENU TO RACE IN ARGENTINA
Chevrolet WTCC drivers Alain Menu and Rob Huff will take part in the 200 Km of Buenos Aires, the main event of Argentina’s TC2000 championship, at the wheel of Cruze cars run by the Equipo Oficial Chevrolet.
This year the race takes place on 21^st August and has been moved from the Autódromo Municipal de Buenos Aires to the Autódromo Roberto Mouras in La Plata, in the surroundings of the federal capital.
It is a tradition for the Chevrolet WTCC drivers to join their Argentine fellow drivers in this traditional event that attracts touring car specialists from worldwide and huge crowds. Alain Menu has been a regular invitee in recent years, winning the race in 2006, while Rob Huff will be competing for the second time.
The Equipo Oficial Chevrolet are campaigning two Cruze cars in the TC2000, achieving excellent results with Agustín Canapino and Christian Ledesma.

www.fiawtcc.com

„Es war einfach alles perfekt“, strahlte Franz Engstler nach dem WTCC Rennen in England. Der 49 jährige konnte in seinem LIQUI MOLY BMW bereits im Qualifying überzeugen. Er belegte Platz 6 und Platz 7- gute Ausgangspositionen für die beiden WM-Rennläufe.
Im ersten Lauf konnte Engstler sich gegen seine Mitstreiter durchsetzen und die Wertung der Privatfahrer gewinnen. Zudem wurde er in der Gesamtwertung Sechster. „Das sind wirklich wichtige Punkte, die Franz für die Meisterschaft gut machen konnte. Jetzt haben wir wieder Anschluss“, so Teammanager Kurt Treml nach dem ersten Lauf. Groß war die Sorge, ob das Wetter halten würde. Denn in den vergangenen Tagen wurden die Fahrer immer wieder von Regen überrascht. Und so sollte es auch am Rennsonntag sein: im letzten Drittel des Rennens setzte Regen ein. Dadurch verloren die Autos an Grip. Nichts desto trotz konnte Engstler seinen sechsten Platz verteidigen und als Sieger in der Privatfahrerwertung über die Ziellinie fahren.
Auch der zweite Lauf versprach Spannung pur: Engstler hatte einen perfekten Start und konnte als Dritter aus der ersten Kurve heraus fahren. Beim Kampf um den ersten Platz, kam es zum Aus der beiden Führenden. Engstler konnte sich an die Spitze setzen und sich zunächst einen guten Vorsprung heraus fahren. Allerdings kamen dann die beiden Chevrolets von hinten und machten Druck. „Jeder kennt die Stärke und Kraft der Chevis. Ich wollte auf keinen Fall eine Kollision riskieren und ließ deshalb Beide passieren“, erklärt Engstler den Überholvorgang. Seinen dritten Platz konnte der Allgäuer erfolgreich verteidigen, zwar machte ihm ein weiterer BMW mächtig Druck, doch Engstler hielt erfolgreich dagegen. „Es ist einfach ein wahnsinniges Gefühl in der Königsliga des Tourenwagensports einen dritten Platz im Gesamtfeld einzufahren- und das als Privatfahrer“, so Teammanager Kurt Treml nach dem Rennen.
Nun kann das Heimrennen am 30. und 31. Juli kommen. Die WTCC wird dann in Oschersleben zu Gast sein. „Ich freue mich wahnsinnig auf das Rennen, denn mittlerweile ist es Tradition, dass uns viele Freunde und Fans besuchen kommen. Das macht Laune“, so Engstler zufrieden, nach dem erfolgreichen Rennwochenende.

Yvan Muller struck back in Donington Park, claiming a double victory and cutting by half his gap in the points from Rob Huff that is now of 15 points only.
The Chevrolet team is a steamroller and his drivers are re-writing the WTCC book of records, including 13 race wins in the same season and two back-to-back victories in the same weekend for the same driver (Huff in Monza, Muller at Donington).
The fight between the two Muller and Huff for the WTCC title becomes hotter and hotter as again one of the races was decided by a controversial manoeuvre. Two weeks ago in Porto Huff stole the leadership from Muller by cutting a chicane, today in Donington Muller overtook Huff after hitting the rear bumper of his car, which will cost him three positions on the starting grid for the next race at Oschersleben.
As for Alain Menu, he seems now relegated in the role of the ‚third man‘ having lost more points from his team-mates; despite he finished third and fifth in today’s races, the Swiss racer is not 71 and 56 points behind the two leaders.
Franz Engstler had his best weekend ever in WTCC, winning both races in the Yokohama Trophy and claiming his first overall podium in the championship.
The championship will resume at Oschersleben, Germany, on July 31^st for rounds 15 and 16.

WTCC Race of the UK – Donington Park – 16 / 17 July 2011
www.fiawtcc.com – www.donington-park.co.uk

Yvan Muller claimed his second pole position of the season in a qualifying that was full of drama because of the changeable weather.
Despite the grip changed completely lap after lap, the Chevrolet team managed to keep everything under control and filled the top three positions of the starting grid for Race 1 once again, with Rob Huff and Alain Menu in second and third behind Muller.
Tiago Monteiro was the best of the SUNRED patrol, qualifying in fourth while his team-mate Gabriele Tarquini did not manage to proceed to Q2.
On his WTCC comeback, Colin Turkington put in a strong performance and ranked fifth overall, emerging as the best of the BMW drivers and winning pole position in the Yokohama Trophy.

Q1 – Changeable weather made this part of the session extremely exciting. The track was dry when the session started, but a shower came during the warm up lap. It did not last long and the track dried up so quickly that every car crossing the line was dramatically shaking the order.
Yvan Muller set a provisional fastest lap of 1:45.203 immediately before the shower and came back to the pit thinking that it was good enough for the pole.
However, as the racing lines began to dry, Yokohama Trophy competitors took command. Colin Turkington, Pepe Oriola, Franz Engstler and Kristian Poulsen followed one another in the lead, until the Chevrolet drivers re-established the hierarchy by posting the top three times in the dying moments: Muller 1:40.422, Rob Huff 1:40.526 and Alain Menu 1:40.838.
Darryl O’Young turned the Chevrolet trio into a quartet, setting the fourth fastest lap (1:40.895) and emerging as the best of the Yokohama Trophy.
The following drivers qualified for Q2: Muller, Huff, Menu, O’Young, Turkington, Engstler, Monteiro, Villa, Nykjær and Coronel who won pole position for tomorrow’s Race 2.
Gabriele Tarquini was the most illustrious victim of Q1, dropping to 11^th by the end of the session, while Robert Dahlgren’s Volvo qualified in a disappointed 19^th position.

Q2 – Once again Muller set a provisional fastest time on his first lap out of the pits (1:38.992), while Huff spoiled his first attempt making a mistake at the last corner.
Muller too made a mistake, driving wide at Coppice and missing a chance to improve; this gave Huff the opportunity to jump on top with a lap of 1:38.551, but the Frenchman struck back and claimed pole position with the time of 1:38.470.
Eventually Menu was able to qualify in third (1:38.794), ahead of Tiago Monteiro (1:39.167) and Colin Turkington (1:39.332) who topped the Yokohama Trophy.

WTCC Race of the UK – Donington Park – 16 / 17 July 2011
www.fiawtcc.com – www.donington-park.co.uk

Yvan Muller set the pace in today’s test session at Donington Park, but Robert Dahlgren’s Volvo emerged as the second fastest car, very close to the reigning world champion’s Chevrolet.
Alain Menu was the first to post a significant time, completing a lap in 1:38.725 in the early minutes; soon afterwards Rob Huff improved the mark to 1:38.326 that kept him on top of the time sheet until the mid of the session.
Dahlgren ousted Huff from the lead, posting a remarkable 1:38.209 that remained the fastest lap until the last five minutes, when Muller set an impressive 1:37.194 opening a nine-tenth gap between himself and the rest of the field.
Only Dahlgren was capable to fill part of this gap with two consecutive laps of 1:37.553 and 1:37.479, leaving Menu (1:38.125) and Huff (1:38.223) well behind, in third and fourth positions respectively.
Tom Coronel was the fastest of the BMW men in sixth (1:38.585), followed by Gabriele Tarquini (1:38.640), the best of the SUNRED pack.
Javier Villa (1:38.664) topped the Yokohama Trophy in seventh, ahead of Michel Nykjær (1:38.764), Colin Turkington (1:38.813) and Pepe Oriola (1:38.839).
Tiago Monteiro was not able to post any valid time, as his SUNRED León 1.6T remained nailed into the garage while the team were trying to solve engine bugs.
The WTCC field will hit the track again tomorrow for the usual two 30-minute free practices and the 30-minute qualifying.

Second fastest lap for Dahlgren’s Volvo in today’s test at Donington Park

THE WORD TO. MULLER AND DAHLGREN
Yvan Muller: "It was a good lap and I am happy with the balance of the car. We still have to improve and maybe there are some changes to do on the track, because there are a few cars cutting beyond the kerbs. It would be good to place some tyres here and there, otherwise it will be a mess."
Robert Dahlgren: "It is a promising results that proved we have the potential to stay close to the top. It would have been nice to be ahead of all the Chevrolet cars, but the car is good and I hope we will manage to be competitive and happy again after tomorrow’s qualifying."

YVAN MULLER COLLECTS BIKE AT NORTON FACTORY
Yvan Muller used the opportunity to be at Donington Park for taking delivery of his new Norton Commando 961 Special Edition straight from the factory of the legendary British motorcycle company, which is based close to the circuit.
For the occasion, the Frenchman had traveled to the UK by road, with his personal Chevrolet Captiva and a trailer, in order to be able to bring home his new 80hp black and gold bike, which is unit # 195 of a limited edition of 200.
"Since I was a kid, I have been fascinated by motorcycles, it is a real passion and I have several vintage and custom bikes at home. I am not too much into sports bikes, what I really like is cruising around, enjoying the landscape and the sense of freedom that only motorcycles can provide. Some time ago, I had the opportunity to visit Norton’s factory and fell in love with the Commando 961 SE. I am sure I will have a lot of pleasure riding it this summer," commented the reigning world champion.

Yvan Muller and his new bike in front of the Norton factory at Donington Park

WTCC ATTENDANCE AND VIEWERSHIP UPTREND
Just before the second half of the 2011 FIA WTCC season kicks off at Donington Park this weekend, Eurosport Events announced that both the championship’s on-site attendance and TV audiences are on a significant upward trend.
In the first six events held so far, the world championship has attracted more than 350,000 spectators, which equates to an increase by 71% compared to 2010. This was mainly due to the outstanding crowds that attended the race meetings at Budapest’s Hungaroring (75,000) and Porto’s spectacular street circuit (140,000).
All the WTCC events have also benefited from an extensive live TV coverage, on local terrestrial channels, while Eurosport have increased TV audiences by 12% since the season started at Curitiba, Brazil.

The historical circuit of Donington Park will host the WTCC for the first time next week. The event featuring the championship’s 13^th and 14^th rounds will also kick off the second half of the season that will come to an end in Macau on November 20^th.
Before visiting the Leicestershire racetrack, the WTCC Race of the UK had homes in Silverstone (2005) and Brands Hatch (2006 to 2010).
However, Donington Park is not a new venue for the FIA touring cars, as it hosted the European Championship three times between 2002 and 2004. The score in those six races was four wins for BMW (Jörg Müller 2, Dirk Müller and Andy Priaulx), two for Alfa Romeo (Gabriele Tarquini and James Thompson).
Since then the circuit underwent a number of renovations that included the erection of a new pit building with modern facilities.
The WTCC event will be the first FIA World Championship meeting at Donington since the 1993 F1 European Grand Prix.

Andy Priaulx won the last FIA ETCC race at Donington Park in 2004

TURKINGTON AT DONINGTON WITH WIECHERS-SPORT
German outfit Wiechers-Sport clinched a sensational last-minute deal, signing 2009 British Touring Car Champion and WTCC race winner Colin Turkington for the British event at Donington Park.
After delivering a great show in Porto with Stefano D’Aste, who led the second race for a couple of laps, the team was forced to replace the Italian driver because of a previous commitment.
Team manager Dominik Greiner commented: "I’m happy we signed Colin for the British event. He knows the track very well and I’m confident that with him we may continue on our positive upward trend that began last week in Porto with Stefano D’Aste who was leading a WTCC race for the first time in the team’s history."
Turkington returns to the World Championship after an impressive 2010 season in which he claimed four podium finishes out of ten races, also inheriting his first WTCC victory in the second race at Okayama after Augusto Farfus was excluded because of a technicality. This year Turkington is taking part in the Scandinavian Touring Car Cup where he currently lies sixth.
‚I am delighted with this opportunity. It’s great to be back racing in front of my British fans on such a fantastic circuit like Donington Park. I have raced there many times in a BMW but this will be my first experience with the new 1.6 turbo engine. I’m really excited to see how this performs and I’m confident we can deliver a strong performance," said the North Irishman.

Colin Turkington returns to WTCC after claiming his first win in Japan last year

BMW AND VOLVO LOSE WEIGHT IN DONINGTON
The BMW 320 TC and Volvo C30 cars will be granted a weight reduction for the next WTCC event at Donington Park.
According to the calculation of the compensation weight based on the lap times set in the three previous events (Hungary, Czech Republic and Portugal) the Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T will be carrying again the maximum weight of 40 extra kilos.
The BMW 320 TC cars will be 20 kilos lighter, 10 kg less than in Porto, while the compensation weight is applied for the first time to the Volvo, after the Swedish car ran with 40kg of extra weight in Brno and Porto, the first two events in which it was fitted with the new 1.6-litre turbo engine. Thus Dahlgren’s Volvo, just like all the other cars – SUNRED SR León 1.6T, Dudukalo’s SEAT León TDi and Fabiani’s BMW 320si – will benefit from a 20kg reduction on its maximum weight.

Compensation weight Donington Park
+ 40 kg Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T
+ 20 kg BMW 320 TC
– 20 kg BMW 320 si, SEAT León TDi, SUNRED SR León 1.6T, Volvo C30 Drive

THE SEAT TDI LEAVES THE WTCC STAGE
Aleksei Dudukalo is the last of the SUNRED drivers to switch from the SEAT Le ón TDi to the SUNRED León 1.6T that he will drive from the Donington Park event.
This change marks the exit of the Spanish turbo diesel car from the WTCC stage the boards of which she trod for five years, from the 2007 event in Anderstorp, claiming 32 race wins and making motor sport history for being the first diesel car to win FIA World Championships (2008 with Yvan Muller and 2009 with Gabriele Tarquini).
And besides securing to world titles, the Muller-Tarquini duo also marked the beginning and the end of this outstanding machine’s racing career, as the Frenchman claimed her first win at Oschersleben in 2007 and the Italian the last one, two-and-a-half months ago at Zolder.

The SEAT León TDi claimed her last WTCC victory in Zolder earlier this year

ROB HUFF AIMING FOR FIRST HOME VICTORY
Rob Huff arrives to his home event at Donington Park as the Drivers‘ Championship leader. In the first half of the season the Chevrolet man has built up a comfortable lead of 29 points ahead of his team-mate and reigning world champion Yvan Muller.
And there is more. Huff has won six of the twelve races held so far, already matching the record of victories in one season established by Augusto Farfus in 2009 and equalled by Andy Priaulx in 2010.
However, he has never won a WTCC race on the British soil. although he was close to do it, especially in 2008 when a blown tyre stopped him on the last lap when he was leading Race 1 at Brands Hatch.
"My home record is not too bad – with three podiums – but I miss a victory and I think it’s just time I take one. However, my goal remains to win the championship this year, we’ve had a great start to the season and my priority in Donington will be to score as many points as possible, which is more important than a race win. I can’t wait to race in front of my home fans! Their support will be very important and I hope they will cheer for me as much as the Portuguese and Hungarian fans did for Tiago Monteiro and Norbert Michelisz," Huff said.
MICHELISZ TAKES LEAD IN YOKOHAMA TROPHY
With two victories in the Yokohama Trophy at Porto, Norbert Michelisz stole the point leadership from Kristian Poulsen who experienced his worst weekend of the season.
Michelisz collected 21 points out of the possible 23, adding pole position and leaving only the race fastest laps to Javier Villa and Mehdi Bennani.
"It was an almost perfect weekend for me. I collected enough points to take the lead in the Trophy and also some important points in the overall championship that enabled me to move up to the seventh position," said the Hungarian racer.
In the Yokohama Trophy classification Michelisz has a 5-point margin ahead of Poulsen, with Villa in third, a further 5 points adrift.
Michel Nykjær and Franz Engstler were the drivers who scored more points in the weekend after Michelisz: 11 for the Dane and 13 for the German. They are now fifth and sixth respectively in the overall classification.

VILLA DROPPED BY FIVE GRID POSITIONS
Proteam Racing’s Javier Villa will be dropped by five positions on the starting grid for Donington’s Race 1, because of the penalty that the Panel of the Stewards imposed to the Spanish youngster for having caused the incident that eliminated Fredy Barth and Aleksei Dudukalo during the first race in Porto. Villa received an additional penalty of 10-grid positions that will remain suspended for the events in the UK and Germany.
Other drivers under threat of suspended penalties of 10-grid positions are Norbert Michelisz and Mehdi Bennani. The former following the accident at the start of Budapest’s Race 2 (the penalty is suspended until Donington), the latter because of his collision with Stefano D’Aste at the end of Race 2 in Porto (the penalty will remain suspended until Valencia).

www.fiawtcc.com

Franz Engstler vom LIQUI MOLY Team Engstler konnte in der Tourenwagenweltmeisterschaft in Porto/ Portugal wichtige Punkte für die Meisterschaft einfahren.

Der Stadtkurs hatte es in sich, hohe Curbs trugen ihr übrigens dazu dabei. „Ohne ein gut abgestimmtes Auto ist man hier verloren“, so Engstler nach dem ersten freien Training. Dass das Rund-Um-Paket beim LIQUI MOLY BMW stimmte, zeigte das Erge bnis im Qualifying: in Q1 belegte Engstler Platz 5 im Gesamtfeld und in Q2 wurde er Zehnter.

Beim Start am Rennsonntag verlor Engstler zunächst einige Startplätze, konnte dann aber wieder ein paar Plätze gut machen und belegte letztendlich Platz 4 bei den Privatfahren und Platz 12 im Gesamtfeld.

Zweites Rennen- gleiches Bild. Wieder verliert Engstler am Start wichtige Plätze, doch diesmal kämpfte er sich nach vorne. Auf Platz 3 in der Privatfahrerwertung liegend, bekam der Fahrer vor ihm eine Durchfahrtsstrafe. Der Grund: er war zu früh gestartet. Damit kam Engstler auf Position 2 der Privatiers und fuhr diese 8 Punkte sicher ins Ziel. Zudem wurde er Achter im Gesamtfeld und erhielt dafür zusätzlich 2 wichtige WM Punkte. „Franz hat eine tolle Leistung gezeigt, mit diesem Paket freuen wir uns schon auf das nächste Rennen in 14 Tagen in Donigton“, so Teammanager Kurt Treml nach dem Rennen.

Die nächsten beiden Rennläufe der Tourenwagenweltmeisterschaft finden am 16.- und 17. Juli in England statt. Schon kommendes Wochenende ist das LIQUI MOLY Team Engstler in der ADAC GT 3 Maste rs am Start, und zwar am Nürburgring.

Chevrolet’s triumphal march towards a second consecutive world title seems unstoppable, as on the tricky Circuito da Boavista the Cruze cars have collected their 10^th and 11^th victories out of the twelve races held so far.
Alain Menu and Rob Huff shared the race wins in Porto, while Yvan Muller pocketed two second places. However, the outcome of the Portuguese round was clearly in favour of Huff, who managed to stretch further his leading gap that is now of 29 points ahead of Muller.
Although the overtaking manoeuvre that decided the second race was not investigated by the Stewards, it will remain controversial for the fans and the drivers themselves.
"I had no other place to go than through the chicane," said Huff, while Muller rebuted: "If this is the way we can overtake, is good to know for the next races."
Tiago Monteiro was definitely the driver who took the most out of the weekend besides the three Chevrolet men. In both races he emerged as the best of the rest and claimed his first podium on his home racetrack that excited the Portuguese fans who packed the grandstands. The official figures released by the Municipality of Porto speak of 80,000 spectators on Sunday and 140,000 over the weekend.
The championship will resume at Donington Park, UK, on July 17^th for rounds 13 and 14.

WTCC Race of Portugal – Circuito da Boavista, Porto – 2 / 3 July 2011
www.fiawtcc.com – www.circuitodaboavista.com

MENU SETS POLE IN EXCITING QUALIFYING
Alain Menu claimed his second pole position of the season in what was a last gasp session for him. First the Swiss driver had to recover a difficult situation in Q1, improving in the dying seconds from 11^th to second, which granted him the ticket to ride in Q2.
And then again, in the 15-minute Q2, Menu posted his fastest lap just before the end, moving up from third to first ahead of his Chevrolet team-mates Yvan Muller and Rob Huff who were separated by only four thousandths of a second.
Menu’s pole position lap was absolutely spotless and improved further the track record to a stunning 2:04.946.
Gabriele Tarquini and Tiago Monteiro did their best, but could not achieve more than fourth and fifth positions, ahead of Tom Coronel, Robert Dahlgren and Norbert Michelisz who topped the Yokohama Trophy.

Q1 – In a breathtaking session Gabriele Tarquini posted the fastest lap of 2:06.397 under the chequered flag, which cost him pole position for tomorrow’s Race 2 as he jumped from 10^th to first in Q1 classification. Seconds afterwards Kristian Poulsen crashed his BMW at the pit chicane while trying to make the top ten.
After a few cautious laps, Yvan Muller posted a provisional fastest time of 2:06.964 that was soon to be beaten by Rob Huff’s 2:06.918 and then Tom Coronel’s 2:06.673.
With ten minutes left on the clock, the ball for squeezing among the top-ten and kicking the others off began.
D’Aste, Tarquini, Poulsen and Michelisz in this order, demoted Villa, Monteiro, Engstler and Oriola to 11^th position and downwards.
A couple of minutes later Monteiro, Engstler and Villa reacted, provisionally eliminating Barth, Menu and Poulsen.
Menu was able to recover and posted a provisional fastest lap of 2.06.622 kicking Villa off again.
Just as the session expired, Tarquini posted the fastest lap, while Dahlgren eliminated Nykjær.
The following drivers qualified for Q2: Tarquini, Menu, Coronel, Michelisz, Engstler, Dahlgren, Monteiro, Huff, Muller and D’Aste who won pole position for tomorrow’s Race 2.

Q2 – Compared to Q1, the second part of the qualifying session was relatively calm. Yvan Muller set a provisional fastest lap of 2:05.280, while Alain Menu (2:05.424), Gabriele Tarquini (2:05.665) and Rob Huff (2:05.782) were placed second, third and fourth respectively.
The second attempt resulted in a few improvements, with Tiago Monteiro (2:05.656) and Rob Huff (2:05.284) moving up to third and second in the provisional classification.
Eventually Menu claimed pole position with a last lap of 2:04.946, while Gabriele Tarquini’s last effort was worth the fourth place (2:05.548) and Tom Coronel spun during his final attempt.

WTCC Race of Portugal – Circuito da Boavista, Porto – 2 / 3 July 2011
www.fiawtcc.com – www.circuitodaboavista.com