The
venue for the Mexican round has not yet been
named, but Japan’s Okayama International Circuit, which is about 200km
north-east of Hiroshima, is in talks to host the first WTCC round to be
held in the country. The provisional calendar also sees a change for
the Portuguese round from Porto to Estoril, which hosted the FIA
European
Touring Car Cup last year.
The
provisional 2008 dates were announced at the
official press conference for this weekend’s British WTCC round at
Brands Hatch, and double world champion, Andy Priaulx, gave his
reaction to
the new venues along with fellow British drivers James Thompson and Rob
Huff.
Andy Priaulx,
BMW
“I think it’s a great
calendar. It’s brilliant to see Japan in there. The Far East is so important for the manufacturers and there’s a big touring car
following out there. I’ve never been to Japan but BMW’s PR representative was there in 1994 for the F1. She tells me there’s
some great hot springs right near the circuit, which is a definite bonus!
“I'm
sure this expanded calendar
is the result of more demand. The build up for this weekend has been
much bigger and better than last year. There’s definitely more
interest and that’s really good for the sport.”
James Thompson, N.Technology Alfa
Romeo
“Estoril
is a good track,
especially for overtaking. It’s fast in places and has nice, wide,
slow-speed stuff in others. In the European Touring Cars I had a great
race
with Jörg Müller a couple of years ago with Alfa Romeo.
“It's
great to go to Japan; I love
Japanese food, and I really like the people. They are always
fantastically friently and polite. I was taken there by Honda when I
drove for them
to compete in the Suzuka support race in a Honda Civic and I saw my
idol, Ayrton Senna, so it has a lot of happy memories for
me.”
Rob Huff, Chevrolet
“I like to think I learn new circuits quickly but then everybody in World Touring Cars does! When I get
to a new circuit I walk around for a few laps and try to find out as much information as possible.”
A one minute silence was held at the conference
for Scottish rally driver, Colin McRae, who was killed in a helicopter accident on Saturday afternoon.
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Okayama International Circuit, Japan
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Built:
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1992
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Length:
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3.703km
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Location:
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Mimasaka in the Chugoku Region, located in the western part of Japan's main island Honshu, approximately 200km north east of
Hiroshima
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Highlight:
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F1 Pacific GP, 1994 and 1995. Michael Schumacher
won both races with Benetton
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WTCC round:
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26 October / 2 November 2008
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Autódromo do Estoril,
Portugal
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Built:
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1972
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Length:
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4.182km
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Location:
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The beach resort of Estoril, close to capital city Lisbon
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Highlight:
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Home of the Portuguese GP from 1984 to
1996
Hosted the FIA European Touring Car Championship
from 2001 to 2003 and the FIA European Touring Car Cup in 2006
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WTCC round:
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6 July
2008
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