VOLVO C30 TO MAKE WTCC DEBUT
The new Volvo C30 in Super 2000 is ready to make its maiden appearance in the FIA WTCC at Brands Hatch.
The
Swedish car entered by the Volvo Olsbergs Green Racing and driven by
Robert Dahlgren is fitted with a bio-ethanol fuel-powered engine.
Because the car runs in the Swedish Touring Car Championship on
the basis of national homologation, it will be admitted to take part at
Brands Hatch with a special authorization by the FIA Touring Car Bureau
and therefore Dahlgren will not be eligible to score championship
points.
During their current STCC season, Dahlgren and his Volvo C30 have claimed three pole positions so far and are lying 11th in the Drivers' Championship.
"We
are excited to come to Brands Hatch. This race was on the 'to-do-list'
in our plan for the C30 from start. We wanted this as a check point to
see how far we have come against the best," sayd Derek Crabb, Motorsport Director at Volvo Car Corporation. "We strongly believe the Volvo C30 may become a very competitive car in any FIA Super 2000 championship."
ROUTE TO: BRANDS HATCH, UK
The 13th and 14th
rounds of the FIA WTCC will take place next week at the Brands Hatch
Grand Prix Circuit, located some 30 km South East of London. It is the
third consecutive year the championship visits the racetrack.
Being
a regular venue of the British Touring Car Championship, Brands Hatch
is very well known by a number of WTCC competitors, starting with the
local boys: James Thompson, Robert Huff and Andy Priaulx. Thompson
has won here four times; Huff also tasted victory at Brands Hatch
during his first year of the BTCC in 2004. Reigning world champion,
Priaulx finally grabbed his first touring car win at the Kent circuit
last year in the WTCC's Race 2.
Other
WTCC drivers to have scored wins at Brands Hatch include former BTCC
champions Alain Menu, Gabriele Tarquini and Yvan Muller. The Swiss is
the recordman, with seven BTCC victories between 1995 and 2000 and two
WTCC sucesses: in 2006 (Chevrolet's maiden victory in the championship)
and 2007. Before winning the 2006 WTCC's Race 1 for SEAT, Muller had
already won four times here. As for the current leader Tarquini, he
scored four consecutive wins at Brands in 1994.
TARQUINI LEADS BY ONE POINT
Brands Hatch marks the beginning of the second half of the championship's season.
With
twelve of the twenty-four rounds in the archives, ten different drivers
have managed to claim victory so far. Only two of them - Ganriele
Tarquini and Tiago Monteiro - have been able to win twice.
Despite
remaining pointless in Estoril, Tarquini is still leading the Drivers'
Championship; however his margin went down to only one point ahead of
Yvan Muller. Rickard Rydell completes the SEAT Sport trio on top
trailing by 10 points. BMW's Andy Priaulx and Chevrolet's Robert Huff
are the first non-SEAT men in the classification, with gaps of 15 and
22 points respectively.
In the Manufacturers' Championship, SEAT lead from BMW by 37 points.
Sergio Hernández
of Proteam Motorsport leads the Independents' Trophy, 5 points from
team-mate Stefano D'Aste, with Pierre-Yves Corthals a further 6 points
adrift.
YVAN MULLER LADEN BY 70 KILOS
In
Estoril SEAT Sport's Gabriele Tarquini was the first driver to receive
the maximum 70-kg success ballast. But after remaining scoreless in
Portugal the championship leader will go down to 58, leaving to his
team-mate and closer chaser Yvan Muller the dubious honour to carry the
maximum ballast. Another SEAT Sport man - Rickard Rydell, currently
third in the points - will be laden by 68 extra kilos, with BMW's Andy
Priaulx and Chevrolet's Nicola Larini the only other drivers to carry
50 or more kilos of ballast.
A total of twenty drivers will have
success ballast in Estoril, including the race-by-race entries Robert
Dahlgren, Aytaç Biter, Kristian Poulsen and Lourenço Beirão da Veiga who will receive 30 kilos each according to article 79 c) of the Sporting Regulations.
Success ballast - United Kingdom
70 kg Y. Muller
68 kg R. Rydell
58 kg G. Tarquini
53 kg A. Priaulx
50 kg N. Larini
49 kg T. Monteiro
46 kg R. Huff
34 kg J. Gené
30 kg K. Poulsen, R. Dahlgren, L. Beirão da Veiga, A. Biter
28 kg J. Müller, F. Porteiro
27 kg A. Farfus
23 kg A. Menu
18 kg A. Zanardi
10 kg T. Coronel
3 kg J. Thompson
1 kg O. Tielemans
A FIELD OF 28 WITH BEIRÃO AND BITER
The
WTCC will have a field of 28 cars in Brands Hatch. Besides Dahlgren's
Volvo the championship will welcome two more newcomers: Lourenço Beirão da Veiga and Aytaç Biter.
Beirão da Veiga, a 29 year-old driver from Lisbon, has won his participation at the wheel of a SUNRED SEAT León
through the SEAT Eurocup. The Portuguese youngster claimed victory in
the second race at Estoril and emerged as the best driver in his home
event.
Biter,
from Turkey, will join his fellow countryman Ibrahim Okyay in the
Borusan Otomotiv Motorsport's second BMW 320si car. He has already
tested with the team, three weeks ago at Monza.
ANDY PRIAULX IN F1 DEMO LAPS
Reigning
World Touring Car Champion Andy Priaulx will return behind the wheel of
a Formula One car during the WTCC race at Brands Hatch.
"It
is always a highlight for me to race in front of my home crowd and I'm
looking forward to giving the fans something to cheer about, both in
the WTCC races and the F1 car," said Priaulx who will drive the BMW Sauber F1 car during two sessions: on Saturday at 14.00 and on Sunday at 15.30.
Priaulx last tested a Formula One car in 2005 when BMW co-operated with the Williams F1-team.
EUROSPORT COVERAGE FROM BRANDS HATCH
Saturday, 26th: Qualifying - LIVE Eurosport 2, 16.00/16.45
Sunday, 27th: Warm up - LIVE Eurosport 2, 11.00/11.30
Race 1 - LIVE Eurosport International, 12.45/13.45
Race 2 - LIVE Eurosport International, 14.15/15.00
Times are CET (Central European Time)
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