Touring Car

WTCC, PK Carsport, Porsche and their RS Spyder, Racing Box and Spyker makes up today's news in brief

TOPEKA, Kan. (Dec. 7, 2009) – SCCA Pro Racing and WC Vision have announced competition classifications for the 2010 SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Championships. The series will take a firm stance on cost control in 2010, with the Touring Car class adopting TC2 rules and the GT class using a new baseline of performance. Additionally, a new Grand Touring Sport class has been added.

As has probably some of you did, I have also read the news of my "retirement" from WTCC which has appeared, at various times, on news channels on the subject and I feel that a more precise information is needed since the perception from the reported news misrepresents, in my opinion, not only my real thoughts but also the way things happened.

More from the weekend in sports and touring car racing events including Australian V8 Supercars, Classic Adelaide, Formula Le Mans Winter Series and the Vallelunga 6 Hours.

The brief from Macau and news from the SCCA Speed GT Championship makes up today's news.

Touring cars around the world have struggled with safety cars this year. First of all there was this damaging impact in the WTCC, now the V8 Supercars have had their own issues, although no where near as catastrophic as the WTCC version. Although it could have been worse.

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (July 4, 2009) – Seth Thomas, of Cumming, Ga., took his second SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car win of the season in the Toyo Tires Watkins Glen Grand Prix Presented by Lala Motorsports. Charles Espenlaub, of Lutz, Fla. , and Andrew Aquilante, of Phoenixville , Pa. , completed the Round Five podium during the Camping World Grand Prix Weekend at Watkins Glen International.

Lausitz: Race Results

With an impeccable tactic and well-timed pit stops, Briton Gary Paffett claimed victory for Mercedes-Benz after 52 laps at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz in the second round of the 2009 DTM. The 28-year old planned his two mandatory pit stops late in laps 24 and 34 and was thus able to extend his lead in first place lap after lap. Second-place went to his team-mate Bruno Spengler from Canada, who also went past Swedish Audi driver Mattias Ekström thanks to late stops. The champion of 2004 and 2007, who had started from pole position, came third in the second DTM race of the year.

Valencia: Race Results

SEAT Sport celebrated a 1-2-3 at their home track. Yvan Muller won the race (his third victory of the season) from second on the grid after taking the lead off the start. Tiago Monteiro finished second with Gabriele Tarquini third.

There seemed to be something missing from the FIA WTCC press releases. The first lap of the first race was absolute chaos, ending in a crash between the Safety Car and Franz Engstler.

CANADA (May 17, 2009) – Peter Cunningham, of Milwaukee, Wis., captured his record-extending 32nd World Challenge win Sunday, taking the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Championship Round Four race, part of the Victoria Day Speedfest at Mosport International Raceway. Charles Espenlaub, of Lutz, Fla. , and Jason Saini , of Fort Worth , Texas , completed the podium.

Robert Huff took his second win in three races for Chevrolet. The Briton got a great start from third and overtook Farfus who hit some oil and went wide at Pont Oscar on lap 2.

Pau: Race Results

For Audi, the start into the 2009 DTM season could hardly have been better. Tom Kristensen (DK), Timo Scheider (D), Oliver Jarvis (GB) and Markus Winkelhock (D) crossed the finish line of the Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg with their Audi A4 DTMs in that order and thus completed the four-fold victory for the manufacturer from Ingolstadt in the 100th DTM race after the series’ revival in 2000.

Hockemheim: DTM Race Results

CANADA (May 16, 2009) – Canadian Kuno Wittmer got the jump on the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car field at the standing start on a damp track and never looked back to dominate Saturday’s portion of a doubleheader weekend at Mosport International Raceway, part of the Victoria Day Speedfest. Teammates Pierre Kleinubing, of Coconut Creek , Fla. , and Nick Wittmer, of Montreal , completed the podium.

The first visit of the WTCC to the new street circuit in Marrakech provided two exciting races and hailed double success for the new Chevrolet Cruze.

Morocco: Race Results

MILLVILLE, N.J. (May 2, 2009) – Jason Saini , of Fort Worth, Texas, captured his second-career SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car win Saturday at New Jersey Motorsports Park’s Thunderbolt Raceway. Peter Cunningham, of Milwaukee , Wis. , and Andrew Aquilante, of Phoenixville , Pa. , completed the top three.

MILLVILLE, N.J. (May 1, 2009) – Canadian Kuno Wittmer won the pole for Saturday’s SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Round Three race at New Jersey Motorsports Park’s Thunderbolt Raceway. However, after a post-qualifying coin flip, the top-five qualifiers were inverted. This means Wittmer will start fifth, while his teammate and fifth-place qualifier Peter Cunningham, of Milwaukee , Wis. , will start first.

May 2 is the premiere of this year's STCC - the Swedish Touring Car Championship. Volvo and Polestar will be on the grid with a two-car team with Robert Dahlgren and Tommy Rustad fighting for the title, each driving an enhanced version of the Volvo C30 DRIVe powered by E85.

- At the wheel of the 2009 AMG Mercedes C-Class: Gary Paffett (28, Salzgitter AMG Mercedes C-Class), 2005 DTM Champion and Formula 1 test driver for Vodafone McLaren Mercedes; Paul Di Resta (22, AMG Mercedes C-Class), 2006 Formula 3 Euro Series Champion and 2008 DTM runner-up; Ralf Schumacher (33, Trilux AMG Mercedes C-Class), second most successful German Formula 1 driver with six grand prix wins; Bruno Spengler (25, Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG C-Class), 2006 and 2007 DTM runner-up.

Jason Plato in a privately-entered RML Chevrolet Lacetti is a dramatic late entry for Sunday’s (5 April) opening round of the HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship at Brands Hatch.

Puebla: Race Results

Rickard Rydell forced his way through the BMW front row to claim SEAT’s third consecutive victory in three rounds.
Augusto Farfus and Andy Priaulx put a lot of pressure on the Swedish driver and eventually settled in second and third respectively, the first podium results for BMW in the season so far.

Puebla: Qualifying Times

Augusto Farfus, Andy Priaulx and BMW pushed to the limit and interrupted SEAT’s domination that lasted since the test session in Curitiba.
Farfus won pole position, beating Priaulx by only 0.045 seconds, while Gabriele Tarquini saved SEAT’s honour claiming third position with a one-tenth gap.

SEBRING, Fla. (March 20, 2009) – Seth Thomas, of Cumming, Ga., capitalized on a tremendous start from the front row to take his first-ever SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car win in the Toyo Tires SCCA SPEED World Challenge Season Opener at Sebring, part of the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring Presented by Fresh From Florida. Pierre Kleinubing, of Coconut Creek , Fla. , and Jason Saini , of Fort Worth , Texas , completed the podium.

SEBRING, Fla. (March 19, 2009) – Pierre Kleinubing, of Coconut Creek, Fla. earned his second-consecutive pole at Sebring International Raceway in preparation for Friday’s SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Round One race. Seth Thomas, of Cumming, Ga., will complete the front row for the Toyo Tires World Challenge Season Opener, part of the 57th Annual Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring Presented by Fresh From Florida.

PHOENIXVILLE, Pa. (March 13, 2009) - Andrew Aquilante and Phoenix Performance will give the 2009 Subaru Impreza WRX its professional sports car racing debut on March 20 at Sebring (Fla.) International Raceway, in the opening round of the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Championship.

DUBLIN, Va. (March 9, 2009) - Building on the success of 2008 has been the focus of Dublin, Virginia's BimmerWorld / GearWrench Racing while preparing for the 2009 SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Championship.

Curitiba: Manufacturer Recaps After the Race
Seat
BMW
Chevrolet
Lada

SEAT Sport and their Leon TDI cars annihilated the opposition in Brazil, saying loud and clear that they are determined to retain the Drivers' and Manufacturers' titles they claimed last year.

TOPEKA, Kan. (March 6, 2009) – WC Vision has announced that BMW of North America will join the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Manufacturers’ Championship Presented by RACER Magazine in 2009.

Curitiba: Race Results

Curitiba: Manufacturer Recaps After Qualifying
Seat
BMW
Chevrolet
Lada

Curitiba: Qualifying Times

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

TOPEKA, Kan. (March 5, 2009) – WC Vision announced today the continued partnership with SPEED to broadcast all 10 Rounds of the 2009 SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Championships. Internal Combustion Group has been signed to produce the broadcasts.

Building on the success of 2008 has been the focus of Dublin, Virginia's BimmerWorld / GearWrench Racing while preparing for the 2009 SCCA SPEED World Challenge Touring Car championship.

Mattias Ekström has been the DTM champion twice. Now, the 30-year-old Swede tackled a completely different kind of challenge – and mastered it with flying colors: Ekström finished the famous "Wasa Run" for cross-country skiers in 3,692th place in a field of 15 000 contenders last weekend.

The start of the 2009 FIA World Touring Car Championship is under one week away.

The series' fifth season will get underway again at the Autodromo Internacional de Curitiba, Brazil.

Former independents’ champion Rob Collard will race for Motorbase Performance BMW in the 2009 HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship.

Ingolstadt – Audi starts the 2009 DTM season at the Hockenheimring on 17 May with something new: For the first time there is not a single change to the driving squad compared to the previous year.

The LADA Sport team have confirmed their three drivers for the 2009 FIA World Touring Car Championship.

Croatian youngster Marin Èolak will compete in the full season of the FIA World Touring Car Championship at the wheel of a petrol-powered SEAT León car run by the Èolak Racing Team.

SEAT, Chevrolet and BMW were all testing at Valencia's Ricardo Tormo circuit during this week.

In 2009, the WTCC gives a further contribution to make motor sport more eco-friendly by starting the season in Brazil with the whole field powered by second generation bio-fuel.

Tom Boardman will compete in the 2009 FIA WTCC in a petrol-engined SEAT Leon run by the SUNRED team.

In 2009 a new system of Compensation Weight (art. 79 of the Sporting Regulations) determines the running weight of the WTCC cars on the basis of lap time calculation.

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

TOPEKA, Kan. (Jan. 29, 2009) – SCCA Pro Racing has announced that the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII and IX, and Subaru Impreza STi will be moved from the SPEED World Challenge GT category to SPEED Touring Car in 2009.

Ingolstadt -- In the 2008 season Audi won everything the brand had set its sights on: The Four Rings stood for the four victories in the DTM, the American Le Mans Series, the Le Mans Series in Europe and the 24 Hours of Le Mans in what has so far been its most successful racing season. Audi now received special recognition for its string of successes with the R10 TDI and the A4 DTM by the Motorsport Industry Association (MIA), an important organisation of the British motorsport industry.

N.Technology Spa Shareholders' Meeting - Following a meeting from the company’s Board of Directors, taking into consideration some of the manufacturers decisions to postpone the terms of participation into the sporting activities under discussions, as well as the worldwide critical economical state, N.Technology has decided to suspend its participation in the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) in 2009 and put the company into liquidation.

RML last night collected the Motorsport Industry Association (MIA) Business Excellence Award for Business of the Year 2008. The award was a result of nominations from fellow MIA members who voted for companies they feel have achieved outstanding performances in their field over the last year.

Munich, 8th January 2009. BMW is to keep faith in its tried and tested national team concept for the 2009 FIA World Touring Car Championship. Three experienced teams will run five BMW 320si WTCC cars, receiving support from the national BMW sales organisations.

The Christmas break is over for the new FIA World Touring Car champion Yvan Muller. The Frenchman will fly on Sunday to Argentina where he will take part in the Dakar rally.

Stefano D'Aste will re-join Wiechers-Sport for the 2009 FIA World Touring Car Championship.

WTCC promoter KSO and Yokohama, the championship’s tyre supplier, have confirmed that independent drivers will compete again for a euro 384,000 prize money during the 2009 season.

The FIA World Touring Car Championship will change its qualifying format from next season to adopt a system similar to Formula One.

The new format was proposed by the FIA Touring Car Commission and approved yesterday by the FIA World Motor Sport Council in Monaco.

December 11, 2008 (Orlando, Florida). The number one brand in road racing went to the countries biggest motorsports trade show to make a number of early announcements for the 2009 season. MAZDASPEED executives gathered at the annual Performance Racing Industry show to share updates on a half-dozen topics.

Munich, 29th November 2008. In 2009 BMW Motorsport will put its touring and sports car programmes into action on several popular stages, and will use racing versions of the BMW 3 series to fight for victories and titles: BMW once again take part in the FIA World Touring Car Championship, where the marque will be aiming to recapture the World Championship titles it missed out on with the BMW 320si WTCC in 2008.

From next season a system of Compensation Weights will replace the Success Ballast system that has previously adjusted car weights based on driver results. Compensation Weight will balance the performance between car models rather than the difference between the drivers. Therefore all drivers in the same model of car will carry the same weight.

Macau: Manufacturer Recaps after the Race
Seat
Chevrolet
BMW
Honda

Rob Huff delivered another victory for Chevrolet in the second FIA World Touring Car Championship race in Macau after seeing three leaders crash out of the event in the final two laps.

Alain Menu claimed victory for Chevrolet in the first of today's FIA World Touring Car Championship races at Macau - but all eyes were on SEAT driver Yvan Muller whose third place was enough to win the title.

Chevrolet's Alain Menu secured pole position for the FIA World Touring Car Championship finale in Macau on Friday - but all eyes were on SEAT's Yvan Muller, who moved a step closer to claiming the title when he secured third on the grid.

Ingolstadt/Neckarsulm – Four rings, four wins. The end of season party at the Audi Forum Neckarsulm was celebrated under this motto, and at which Audi thanked its teams and drivers for the most successful motorsport season in the company’s history. Chairman of the Board of Management Rupert Stadler and Michael Dick, Member of the Board of Management with responsibility for Technical Development, emphasised the importance of motorsport for the brand.

A record fifteen drivers will carry the maximum 70kg success ballast in the season's final race meeting at Macau, including the top-seven of the Drivers' Championship: from Yvan Muller to Augusto Farfus.

Ingolstadt/Hockenheim – The new DTM Champion has been crowned: With a victory in the finale at Hockenheim, Audi driver Timo Scheider clinched the title win in the most popular international touring car racing series and celebrated the biggest triumph in his career. In his private life, the 29-year-old driver from Lahnstein is a family man who prefers spending time with his girlfriend and his son to the stereotypical life of a racer.

Ingolstadt/Hockenheim – The most extensive motorsport programme in the history of AUDI AG is now the most successful one as well: following the triumph at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the title wins at the Le Mans series in North America and Europe, Timo Scheider with a victory at the finale at Hockenheim also secured the title in the DTM. This means that, for the first time since 1990/1991, Audi successfully defended the title in the most popular international touring car racing series. In addition, with eight pole positions and six victories, the new Audi A4 DTM in its debut year was the most successful car of the season and superior to the Mercedes-Benz C-Class.

§ Paul Di Resta finished the 11th and final round of the 2008 DTM at Hockenheim in second place and ended the season runner-up in the championship. Race win and title went to Timo Scheider (Audi).

Race results for WTCC rounds 21 and 22 will remain suspended, pending the technical check of the front and rear hubs of cars #3 Augusto Farfus' BMW 320si) and # 11 (Gabriele Tarquini's SEAT Leon TDI).

Okayama: Post Race Manufacturer Recaps:
Seat
BMW
Honda
Chevrolet

Okayama: Provisional Race Results

In a dramatic first race at Okayama it was Rickard Rydell who crossed the line first. His victory gifting SEAT Sport the Manufacturer’s Championship and helped Rydell’s own chances for third position in the Driver’s Championship.

Augusto Farfus continued to destroy all his competitors in Okayama. After he topped the test and two practice sessions he took pole position today on his first flying lap. He gradually bettered his time repeatedly, and was on an even faster lap at the end, but aborted it when discovered that his pole was safe. The rest of the field battled for second place that was eventually taken by Farfus' team mate at BMW Team Germany, Jorg Muller, following a fight with Gabriele Tarquini, Tiago Monteiro and Alain Menu.

Okayama: Post Qualifying Manufacturer Recaps
BMW
Seat
Honda
Chevrolet

Record-breaking DTM champion Bernd Schneider is ending his racing career and will become a Mercedes-AMG brand ambassador

* Bernd Schneider is retiring from motor racing. At the age of 44, he will compete in his last DTM race at Hockenheimring this coming Sunday.

Ingolstadt/Hockenheim – Eleven races, eight best times in qualifying: the Audi A4 DTM is clearly the quickest car of the 2008 DTM season. At the finale at the Hockenheimring the Swede Mattias Ekström clinched the eighth pole position of the year for Audi. Leader of the standings Timo Scheider will start to the most crucial race (Sunday, starting at 1:45 p.m., local time, live on "Das Erste”) from position three, just behind his rival for the title Paul di Resta (Mercedes). A total of six Audi drivers made it into the top ten.

Paul Di Resta (AMG Mercedes C-Class) will start Sunday’s 11th and final round of the 2008 DTM at Hockenheim second on the grid on the front row. With a time of 1m32.284; he was four hundredths of a second behind the pole position time of Mattias Ekström (Audi); however, Paul was more than two tenths faster than his title rival Timo Scheider (Audi) who qualified third.

N.Technology will run a second Honda Accord Euro R Super 2000 in the FIA World Touring Car Championship season finale at Macau next November, with driver André Couto reprising his yearly seat.

The FIA World Motor Sport Council has approved the draft for the 2009 World Touring Car Championship.

ZURICH / WELLINGBOROUGH, Chevrolet Europe has shown the first glimpse of the marque's 2009 World Touring Car Championship contender, today. The all-new Chevrolet Cruze, which recently premiered at the Paris Motor Show, will continue Chevrolet's presence in the WTCC, in which the marque so far has won twelve world championship races.

BRASELTON, Ga. (Oct. 4, 2008) – Following the exciting season finale at Road Atlanta, the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge paddock gathered at the Gwinnett Place Marriott to celebrate the accomplishments of the 2008 season.

Ingolstadt/Le Mans – At Le Mans, Audi celebrated their fifth DTM victory of the season with Mattias Ekström, and with Alexandre Prémat, at the latter’s home race, the first podium result of a year-old car in the current season. Timo Scheider defended the lead of the standings with a two-point advantage – the title decision from an extremely thrilling starting base will therefore be made at the finale at Hockenheim three weeks from now. The constantly changing intensity of the rain turned the tenth round into a lottery and thus the most action-packed race of the season so far: only four of the 19 drivers came in for the two mandatory pit stops, all other classified drivers pitted three, and two drivers even as much as four times.

Paul Di Resta finished the 10th round of the 2008 DTM at Le Mans in second place, reduced the gap to the overall leader Timo Scheider (Audi) who came home sixth today to two points and postponed the championship decision until the season finale on 26th October in Hockenheim.

SEAT Sport's Yvan Muller, who leads the Driver's Championship, took the first win in Monza from team mate Gabriele Tarquini. Rickard Rydell finished behind them in third to make it a complete SEAT podium.

Monza: Manufacturer Recaps after the Races
Seat
BMW
Chevrolet
Honda

Ingolstadt/Le Mans – After qualifying, Audi factory driver Tom Kristensen, the record winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans with eight wins under his belt, is also at the very front of the DTM grid in France. At the "Circuit Bugatti”, the Dane in the Audi A4 DTM secured the pole position in front of Jamie Green (Mercedes) with a lead of eight hundredths of a second. The next position is occupied by Audi team-mate Mattias Ekström. The leader of the standings, Timo Scheider, achieved fifth place on the grid in his Audi A4 DTM, and will thus be going into the race directly behind his immediate championship rival Paul di Resta (Mercedes).

Jamie Green (Salzgitter AMG Mercedes C-Class) will start tomorrow's 10th and penultimate round of the 2008 DTM at Le Mans from the front row of the grid. In Saturday's close fought qualifying, Green was second with a time of 1m30.229; eight hundredths of a second outside the pole position time of Tom Kristensen (Audi/1m30.149).

SEAT Sport turbodiesel cars have claimed the top four positions on the grid for tomorrow’s first race.SEAT Sport turbodiesel cars have claimed the top four positions on the grid for tomorrow’s first race. Qualifying was all about the SEAT drivers who will line up on the grid with the three Championship leaders – Yvan Muller, Gabriele Tarquini and Rickard Rydell – in the top four places.

Monza: Team Recaps after Qualifying
Seat
BMW
Chevrolet
Honda

BRASELTON, Ga. (Oct. 3, 2008) – While Chip Herr, of Lititz, Pa., led every lap of the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED Touring Car Finale Presented by Toyo Tires®, the focus of the race was glued on third through fifth place, where the battle for the 2008 SPEED Touring Car Drivers’ Championship was unfolding. Michael Galati , of Olmsted , Ohio , and Pierre Kleinubing, of Coconut Creek , Fla. , completed the podium at Road Atlanta, site of the Petit Le Mans Presented by the Totally New MAZDA6. Battling with his teammate all the way to the finish, Peter Cunningham, of Milwaukee , Wis. , crossed the finish line in fourth, to take his fifth World Challenge Championship.

BRASELTON, Ga. (Oct. 2, 2008) – Chip Herr, of Lititz, Pa., earned his sixth-career pole position in qualifying for Friday’s SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Finale Presented by Toyo Tires®, part of the 11th Annual Petit Le Mans Presented by the Totally New MAZDA6 at Road Atlanta. Rookie Patrick Lindsey, of Santa Barbara , Calif. , will start a career-best second.

Maximum Ballast For Muller, Rydell And Huff
Monza To Close The European Season
First Honda Test For Taniguchi
Wiechers And Poulsen Join Forces
Da Costa From Seat Eurocup To WTCC

ZURICH / WELLINGBOROUGH, 25th September 2008 The Chevrolet WTTC team will go to the last European round of the 2008 World Touring Car Championship with the clear mission to further Rob Huff's position in the current points standings. The British driver moved up one place in the championship at the last race in Imola and is now fourth with still six races to be run.

The Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship Presented by Toyo Tires concluded its 2008 season at Mosport International Raceway on September 13/14, 2008. There were 16 races over eight different race weekends in 2008. The Championship visited five different racetracks in Quebec and Ontario including Mosport International Raceway, ICAR at Mirabel, Shannonville Motorsport Park, Trois-Rivieres and Calabogie Motorsports Park.

SEAT Sport's Yvan Muller took the first race win in Imola having overtaken his team mate and pole sitter Rickard Rydell into the first corner. Following this move the pair of drivers led the whole race, although Rydell had to defend his position from the Chevrolet cars.

Imola: Manufacturer Recaps After the Races
Honda
Seat
Chevrolet
BMW

Paul Di Resta (AMG Mercedes C-Class) won the ninth round of the 2008 DTM series at Barcelona and took his second win of the season. After 58 laps, Paul took the chequered flag 4.531sec ahead of Timo Scheider (Audi). Bernd Schneider (Genuine Parts AMG Mercedes C-Class) ended up third.

Ingolstadt/Barcelona – With a cleverly clinched second place, Audi driver Timo Scheider defended his overall DTM lead at Barcelona. Before the last two rounds, the 29-year-old German has a seven-point advantage over the Scot Paul di Resta (Mercedes) and thus the chance of securing the champion’s title early at the next race at Le Mans on 5 October.

The Italian driver finished the first of today’s three races at Brands Hatch a lowly 14th after damaging his Vauxhall Vectra VXR in a tangle with privateer Adam Jones' Air Cool SEAT. Both their cars ran through the Paddock Hill Bend gravel trap but were able to continue.

Fabrizio Giovanardi says he experienced a rollercoaster ride of emotion today as he became HiQ MSA British Touring Car Champion for the second year running – despite suffering his worst set of results all season.

John George will stay in hospital overnight for precautionary checks following his dramatic crash in today’s final round of the 2008 HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship at the Brands Hatch circuit in Kent.

Rickard Rydell claimed pole position in his SEAT León Tdi during a highly competitive qualifying session at Imola.

Imola: WTCC Manufacturer Recaps after Qualifying
Chevrolet
BMW
Seat
Honda

Bernd Schneider (Genuine Parts AMG Mercedes C-Class) will start tomorrow’s ninth round of the 2008 DTM at Barcelona from pole position. On his final run of an exciting qualifying, Bernd set a time of 1m07.248. Paul Di Resta (AMG Mercedes C-Class), third of the overall ranking, qualified third fastest with a 1m07.305, and Jamie Green (Salzgitter AMG Mercedes C-Class), second overall tied on points with Di Resta, was fifth with a 1m07.384. Three Mercedes-Benz C-Class cars were among the top five within 0.136sec.

Ingolstadt/Barcelona – At the DTM’s ninth round at the Circuit de Catalunya near Barcelona (Spain) leader of the standings Timo Scheider will again start from the first row of the grid. In the most gripping qualifying session the season has seen so far the Audi "factory” driver was merely 31 thousandths of a second short of reaching the pole position.

Stephen Jelley has achieved the first HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship pole position of his career for the first of tomorrow’s final three rounds of 2008 at the Brands Hatch circuit in Kent.

News ahead of Imola
THE WTCC OPENS UP IMOLA AGAIN
ART CAR FOR MENU IN IMOLA
FOUR DRIVERS COME FROM JAPAN
TEST SESSION FOR WTCC TOMORROW

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. (Sept. 16, 2008) - James Sofronas never had a chance. From growing up with his car-loving dad in Vienna , Austria , to his move to Porsche-crazy Southern California ; from his first time trail event, to his three-car strong World Challenge team, every step in Sofronas’ life has drawn him deeper into racing. Each new experience has amplified his passion for speed and it’s that same passion that keeps him striving for his first World Challenge victory.

Ingolstadt – The Barcelona circuit is used for the third time by the DTM. Last year, the Audi drivers experienced the circuit for the first time following the extensive modifications to the section before the start-finish. Martin Tomczyk connects several record performances with the track in Catalonia. "Das Erste" broadcasts the ninth round of the DTM live on 21 September from 1.45 p.m.

News from the WTCC Paddock
Imola Launched
Barilla Pasta Party
Manabu Orido To Drive For Chevrolet
WTCC Represantives Visit Moscow

FARFUS AND BMW GIVE GERMANY CAUSE FOR CHEER The stage was set for a dramatic race with Robert Huff in the Chevrolet on pole, and Gabriele Tarquini, a title contender next to him in the SEAT Sport Tdi.

Oschersleben: Manufacturer Recaps after the Race
BMW
Chevrolet
Seat
Honda

Ingolstadt/Brands Hatch – At the eighth DTM round at Brands Hatch, Audi celebrated their fourth win of the 2008 season. In unstable weather conditions Timo Scheider defended an extremely narrow lead against Mercedes driver Paul di Resta on the British circuit. In front of 26,800 spectators (throughout the weekend) Timo Scheider thus extended his leadership of the standings to nine points. Mattias Ekström shone with a brilliant recovery from seventh to third place.

- Paul Di Resta (AMG Mercedes C-Class) finished the eighth round of the 2008 DTM series at Brands Hatch in second place. After 82 laps, Di Resta came home 0.793sec behind winner Timo Scheider (Audi).

Jason Plato moved another ten points closer to championship leader Fabrizio Giovanardi with his eighth win of the season in a wet opening race at Silverstone. While the Seat Sport UK driver led from start to finish, the series leading Italian had to settle for a safe fifth place after starting only 11th on the grid. The pair are now separated by 30 points with five rounds remaining...

Robert Huff took his first WTCC pole position in style in the sunshine at Oschersleben this afternoon. His time of 1:35.675 was even faster than Farfus' this morning and set a new record. He was the final car to cross the line as the Chevrolet team were careful to make sure that he was not plagued by traffic like his team mate Alain Menu, whose final lap was spoiled.

Oschersleben: Post Qualifying Manufacturer Recaps
BMW
Seat
Chevrolet

Jason Plato boosted his title hopes by securing pole position for the first of Sunday's three HiQ British Touring Car Championship rounds at Silverstone. With six races remaining on the 2008 calendar, the SEAT Sport UK driver trails VX Racing's reigning champion Fabrizio Giovanardi by 40-points but with the Italian only qualifying in a lowly 11th position, Plato is well placed to make significant in-roads into the Italian's series lead.

Ingolstadt/Brands Hatch – At Brands Hatch Audi managed setting their sixth best qualifying time in eight races: Timo Scheider secured the pole position with a lead of nine hundreths of a second. This means that the Audi factory driver and leader of the standings starts from the top grid position for the fourth time this year. A total of four Audi A4 DTM cars will start to the race from the first four rows of the grid on Sunday.

Chevrolet has handed over the keys a very unique car to games developers, SimBim. They have now created the V-WTCC, which stands for Virtual World Touring Car Chamionship. A V-WTCC RaceRoom™ will be set up at six FIA WTCC events in Europe where the winners from the qualifying races can compete against one another for a ticket to the final in Monza. The Virtual World Championship Touring cars will be driven over several rounds and has currently reached the fifth round of the season. Until 5 September everyone can take part in online races at the Anderstorp circuit in Sweden and try to get to the top of the classifications.

Lewis Hamilton will return to his roots this coming Sunday when he pays a visit to the DTM race at Brands Hatch. For two years, he used to race in the Formula 3 Euro Series staged as a part of the DTM events and he won the F3 title in 2005. Now, Lewis will visit his Mercedes-Benz driver colleagues in the DTM. In addition, he will drive a couple of demonstration laps with his Vodafone McLaren Mercedes MP4-23, will sign autographs and will attend the race live at site.

Ingolstadt – 1.78 million German television viewers recently watched the live broadcast of the DTM race at the Nürburgring. They would be well advised to switch on the television once again on Sunday, 31 August at 1.50 p.m.: The exciting final spurt of the 2008 DTM starts at Brands Hatch close to the British capital London.

Ingolstadt -- The DTM races at Brands Hatch for the third time. The mere 1.929 kilometre Indy Circuit layout is exciting for both drivers and fans alike. The race in Great Britain means a return to Katherine Legge's home ground, where she last competed in a race in 2004. The eighth round of the 2008 DTM season is broadcast live on "Das Erste" on Sunday from 1:50 p.m.

CANADA (Aug. 24, 2008) – Michael Galati, of Olmsted, Ohio, took his second SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car win of 2008, topping the field in the Mosport SPEED Touring Car Presented by Toyo Tires at the Mobil 1 Presents the Grand Prix of Mosport. After some last-corner Mosport International Raceway fireworks, Jason Saini , of Fort Worth , Texas , clinched the Rookie of the Year honors by finishing second, and Milwaukee ’s Peter Cunningham completed the podium, clinching the Manufacturers’ Championship for Acura.

CANADA (Aug. 23, 2008) – Chip Herr, of Lititz, Pa., captured his third pole of the season in preparation for Sunday’s SPEED Touring Car Presented by Toyo Tires race. Teammate Michal Galati, of Olmsted , Ohio , made it an all-Tindol Motorsports front row for Round Nine of the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Championship, part of the Mobil 1 Presents the Grand Prix of Mosport at Mosport International Raceway.

A cost-effective tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS) for touring cars has been developed by industry leaders BERU f1systems. Specifically for closed- wheel, road car-derived saloons and sports cars, the system provides accurate tyre pressure and temperature information for drivers and engineers to optimise tyre pressures and wear, as well as offering puncture detection.

Toyo Tires®, the official tire of SCCA Pro Racing’s SPEED World Challenge Championships, has been named the presenting sponsor of this weekend’s SCCA SPEED GT and Touring Car races at Mosport International Raceway as well as the SPEED Touring Car season finale at Road Atlanta.

Jason Plato has clinched the first of today's three HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship rounds at Knockhill in Scotland.

The Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship Presented by Toyo Tires was showcased at the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres on August 15-17, 2008. Over thirty-five racecars and drivers put on an incredible show that featured close racing and lots of passing in front of a huge crowd.

A WTCC News Update

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (Aug. 10, 2008) – Road America might have owed James Clay one. After twice being upside down in the turn one gravel in 2004 and missing the race altogether in 2006 after a practice crash, Clay got his redemption Sunday, scoring his first SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car win in a thrilling Round Eight at Road America, part of the Road Race Showcase weekend. Polesitter Pierre Kleinubing, of Coconut Creek , Fla. , and Jason Saini , of Fort Worth , Texas , completed the top three.

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (Aug. 9, 2008) – Pierre Kleinubing, of Coconut Creek, Fla., captured his record-extending 34th SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Championship pole position in preparation for Sunday’s SCCA SPEED Touring Car Round Eight race, part of the Road Race Showcase weekend at Road America. Jason Saini, of Fort Worth , Texas , will start second.

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (Aug. 6, 2008) - From Watkins Glen to Mid-Ohio and now Road America , SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge continues its tour of North America ’s greatest road courses. While SCCA SPEED Touring Car has hit the home stretch (Round Eight), SCCA SPEED GT commences the second half of its season, with the Road America SPEED GT Presented by Remington serving as Round Six. There is still much to be decided in both classes.

N.Technology will run a second car at two FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) events this season: Monza in Italy and the Japanese rounds in Okayama.

The eagerly awaited BMW ALMS seats will be hotly contested among the drivers and it seems to be a hard fought affair to be one of four drivers to pilot the ALMS BMW M3.

Jorg Muller of BMW Team Germany and Alain Menu for Chevrolet claimed a win apiece after two breathtaking races at Brands Hatch. The German drivers has become the eleventh different driver to step on the highest podium after the first 14 rounds of the season. As for Menu, this was his second win of the season and his third in the WTCC at Brands Hatch in three years.

Brands Hatch: Manufacturer Recaps after the Races
Chevrolet
BMW
Seat
Honda

Bernd Schneider (Genuine Parts AMG Mercedes C-Class) won the seventh
round of the 2008 DTM at the Nurburgring. After 43 laps in changeable
weather conditions, Schneider -- starting sixth - crossed the finish
line 5.7sec ahead of Paul Di Resta (AMG Mercedes C-Class) who had
qualified 12th. Jamie Green (Salzgitter AMG Mercedes C-Class) in
third and Gary Paffett with last year's stern AMG Mercedes C-Class
completed the quadruple success for the AMG Mercedes C-Class.

Ingolstadt/Nürburg – With a fifth-place finish Audi driver Timo Scheider defended his overall lead in the DTM. However, a tyre choice that failed to work out deprived Audi of a possible fourth victory of the season in the Eifel.

Jason Plato won the first of today's three HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship rounds at the Oulton Park circuit in Cheshire.

Augusto Farfus managed to beat Alain Menu to pole position in the qualifying at Brands Hatch, but he had to set a new lap record to do it.

Brands Hatch: Manufacturer Recaps after Qualifying
BMW
Chevrolet
Seat

ngolstadt/Nürburgring – Seven races, five pole positions: The qualifying performance of the new Audi A4 in the DTM remains impressive. At the Nürburgring, Le Mans record winner Tom Kristensen secured the best spot on the grid. Mike Rockenfeller at the wheel of his A4 from last year in second place caused a huge surprise. A total of three Audi A4 DTM cars will be starting to the race from the top grid positions on Sunday at 5:35 p.m.

Gary Paffett (stern AMG Mercedes C-Class) will start Sunday's seventh round of the 2008 DTM at the Nurburgring with his last year's C-Class from the second row. In heavy rain, Paffett set a time of 1m38.649 and qualified fourth fastest.

For the second consecutive event, SEAT’s Jason Plato and Darren Turner completed a qualifying lock-out and will start the first of tomorrow’s three HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship rounds at Oulton Park from the front row of the grid.

The HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship has released its full official 2009 calendar today (Saturday 26th July). Dates for the ten BTCC race weekends were released earlier this month and now the venues have been confirmed.

Representatives of the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) met the British media today in London for the Brands Hatch press conference, with President of the FIA Touring Car Commission Jonathan Ashman confirming the championship's plan to use biofuel next year.

Ingolstadt – Martin Tomczyk returns to the Nürburgring, the scene of a perfect weekend for the Audi factory driver last year, with fond memories. This year the race only starts at 5:35 p.m. and is broadcast live on German television on "Das Erste".

Ingolstadt – Podium lock-out on debut at Hockenheim, one-two finish at Oschersleben, and now the first four finishing positions at Zandvoort: The new Audi A4 is clearly the car to beat in the 2008 DTM. Audi also wants to demonstrate this in no uncertain terms to the spectators at the Nürburgring on 27 July.

§ Because of the live broadcast of the Tour de France's final weekend, the qualifying for the seventh race of the 2008 DTM at the Nurburgring this coming weekend will start only at 18:48 h instead of 13:28 h; Sunday's race will begin at 17:35 h instead of 14:00 h. German channel ARD will broadcast qualifying and race live.

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.

Brands Hatch: News Leading into the WTCC Event
- Route To Brands Hatch, UK
- Tarquini Leads By One Point
- A Field Of 28 With Beirao And Biter

LEXINGTON, Ohio (July 20, 2008) – Montreal’s Kuno Wittmer earned his third win of the season in Round Seven of the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Championship at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. RealTime Racing teammate Peter Cunningham, of Milwaukee , Wis. , finished second followed by rookie Jim Daniels, of Germantown , Tenn.

LEXINGTON, Ohio (July 19, 2008) – Peter Cunningham, of Milwaukee, Wis., went more than two seasons without a pole position, but he took his second SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car pole in-a-row Saturday in preparation for Sunday’s Round Seven race, part of the Acura Sports Car Challenge/Honda Indy 200 weekend at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Teammate Kuno Wittmer, of Montreal , will start second.

Jason Plato has won the first of today’s three HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship rounds at the Snetterton circuit in Norfolk.

Plato led all the way from pole position to rack up the 41st race win of his BTCC career. Team-mate Darren Turner followed him throughout to finish second and give SEAT’s turbo-diesel Leon TDI model its first 1-2 result in the BTCC. Turner also set a new lap record of 1m11.711s.

The start was extremely competitive as the front four drivers all fought for the lead. Rydell kept a cool head as he found he had the pace over pole sitter Chevrolet’s Nicola Larini into the first corner. Robert Huff came up the outside to challenge for second position but made contact with Jordi Gené’s SEAT, which pushed the Chevrolet driver down to sixth.

Estoril: Manufacturer Recaps after the Race
Seat
Chevrolet
Honda
BMW

Ingolstadt/Zandvoort – Audi showed a dominant performance at the sixth DTM round at Zandvoort and, like last year, celebrated a one-two-three-four victory in the Netherlands. It was the new Audi A4 DTM’s best result so far and Audi’s 45th victory in the DTM. One day before his 30th birthday, title defender Mattias Ekström celebrated his second exploit of the season, after winning the season opener at Hockenheim. Following the twelfth DTM triumph of his career, the two-time champion is now the best Audi driver in DTM history.

Bruno Spengler (Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG C-Class) finished fifth in the sixth round of the 2008 DTM in Zandvoort, Netherlands and was the best Mercedes-Benz driver. After 38 laps, he came home 21.9sec behind winner Mattias Ekstrom (Audi).

Ingolstadt/Zandvoort – The DTM continually attracts actor Moritz Bleibtreu ("Knockin’ on Heavens Door", Run Lola run", "Munich"). This time, the 36-year-old film star visited Audi during the horsepower spectacle in the Dutch North Sea dunes at Zandvoort. The occasion afforded him an opportunity many can merely dream of: a ride in the racing taxi in demanding conditions in the rain.

Ingolstadt/Zandvoort – The qualifying at the sixth DTM race weekend at Zandvoort was marked by nail-biting suspense when as many as three Audi drivers fiercely fought for the pole position. In the end, Mattias Ekström prevailed as the front runner with a lead of more than two tenths of a second, thus setting a new track record on the Dutch dune circuit. Timo Scheider and Tom Kristensen completed the trio on the top grid positions.

Jamie Green (Salzgitter AMG Mercedes C-Class), the winner of the Norisring race two weeks ago, was also the fastest C-Class driver in today's qualifying for Sunday's sixth round of the 2008 DTM in Zandvoort. Green qualified fourth with a time of 1m31.600 whilst Bruno Spengler (Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG C-Class), the Norisring pole sitter, will line fifth on the grid with a 1m31.709. Paul Di Resta (AMG Mercedes C-Class) was seventh fastest with a 1m31.815.

It was closely fought between the two manufacturers with the BMW cars trailing close behind. Chevrolet's Nicola Larini, whose last pole position was at this circuit in the 2003 European Touring Car Championship, took the top spot of the grid by 0.150 seconds. The Italian driver dominated the last fifteen minutes of qualifying and even improved his time, therefore completing two laps that would have been good enough for pole, the best being 1:47.325.

Estoril: Manufacturer Recaps after Qualifying
Chevrolet
BMW
Seat
Honda

Ingolstadt – If there is one track on which Audi feels particularly at home then it is Zandvoort. Audi won three of the last four DTM races on the circuit around the sand dunes on the North Sea coast of Holland. Last year Audi even filled the top-four positions. The anticipation for the sixth race of the 2008 DTM season is correspondingly great in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm.

ngolstadt – Summer, sun, sand and almost 80,000 spectators, but also sand on the track, an extremely demanding track layout and correspondingly meticulous technical preparation dominate the impressions of Zandvoort. At a glance all the interesting facts about the mid-point of the season marked by the sixth race of the eleven round DTM season.

Ingolstadt – Oliver Jarvis has never competed in the DTM at Zandvoort. Nevertheless, a trophy he won only ten months ago at a race around the circuit in the dunes is displayed in his trophy cabinet. The Briton loves the circuit on the North Sea coast. The sixth round of the 2008 DTM season is broadcast live on "Das Erste” in German television on Sunday from 12:45 a.m.

The FIA World Touring Car Championship will expand to Africa in 2009. With the addition of a race meeting in Marrakech, Morocco, the world championship is now set to visit four continents next year: Americas, Africa, Europe and Asia.

Chevrolet welcomed today’s announcement that the 2009 World Touring Car Championship will visit the streets of Marrakech, in central Morocco. The announcement was made in the presence of high Moroccan dignitaries.

Ingolstadt/Nuremberg – In front of 140,000 spectators (throughout the weekend) Audi maintained its lead in the DTM standings in Nuremberg. Finishing the race in third place, Timo Scheider defended his overall lead and gave Audi its first Norisring podium since 2005. With Mattias Ekström in fourth, and Tom Kristensen in seventh place, two other Audi drivers scored points.

Bruno Spengler (Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG C-Class) will start Sunday’s fifth round of the 2008 DTM at Nuremberg’s Norisring from pole position. In a thrilling final part of qualifying, he set a time of 47.785sec and achieved his sixth DTM pole. His pole lap was the fastest DTM pole lap in Nuremberg. His advantage of 0.178sec in the dry was the biggest in Nuremberg since the launch of the three-part qualifying in 2006; compared to the best Audi of Timo Scheider, Bruno was even 0.243sec ahead.

Ingolstadt/Nürnberg – The fifth round of the 2008 DTM in Nuremberg promises to become the most thrilling one of the year. The fiercely competitive qualifying on Saturday confirmed that Audi with the new A4 has realistic chances of putting an end to the string of Norisring wins Mercedes has clinched since 2003.

SEAT Sport's Gabriele Tarquini, who won the second race in Brno and is currently leading the Drivers' Championship, will carry the maximum ballast on board his SEAT León TDI car during the next race meeting in Estoril.

Munich, 25th June 2008. Having secured three wins in the latest four rounds of the FIA World Touring Car Championship, BMW has returned to the road to success. However, BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen confirms the BMW national teams, which have won all the European and World Touring Car Championship titles since 2004, are facing a difficult task if they want to secure the title again in this year's season finale at Macau (MO).

- Six points separate the top four of the championship prior to the fifth round of the 2008 DTM this coming weekend in Nuremberg, the traditional season highlight with the circuit located in the middle of the city.

Ingolstadt -- Another huge event is on the Audi Sport race schedule only 14 days after the Audi R10 TDI prototype's magnificent victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans: The Norisring race in Nuremburg, the Audi team's "home race".

Ingolstadt – Existing since 1947, the Norisring, which is traditionally visited by almost 150,000 spectators, is once again regarded as the highlight of the DTM season in 2008. Audi still holds a record on the street circuit which doubles as the Ingolstadt squad’s home race.

Norisring can not be compared with any other race circuit. The apparently simple circuit layout holds a number of dangers typically associated with street circuits – and, thanks to the number of lap, 74 times in a race. The fifth round of the 2008 DTM season is broadcast live on "Das Erste" from 1:45 p.m. on Sunday.

Last Saturday in Brno the 2008 Visual Art 'Young? Creative? Chevrolet!' competition came to an end with the election of the best design of a new decoration for the Lacetti race car among various projects presented by young European students.

Past, present and future Champions and drivers from the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) were at Silverstone today to help launch the Northamptonshire circuit’s plans to celebrate the 50th, 60th and 80th Anniversaries of the BTCC, Silverstone and British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) respectively, at this year’s round of the 2008 HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship on the last weekend in August (30/31 August). In addition to celebrating the three special anniversaries, Silverstone is also looking forward to the BTCC’s return to the Home of British Motor Racing.

The BMW cars played with their opposition in the first race at Brno. Taking four of the top five positions the German manufacturer dominated, with only Alain Menu's Chevrolet in third to upset the party. Alessandro Zanardi took his first win from pole position, but it wasn't as easy as that.

Brno: Manufacturer Recaps after the Race
BMW
Chevrolet
Seat
Honda

On June 14th, an atypical panel of judges will gather in Brno, Czech Republic, during the WTCC race (world touring car championship), in which Chevrolet takes part. They will elect the best design of a new decoration for the Chevrolet Lacetti/Nubira race car among various projects presented by young European students.

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (June 8, 2008) – In a race that was effectively over when a lap nine incident brought out a race-ending caution, Michael Galati, of Olmsted, Ohio, used a restart to take his first SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car win of the season. Peter Cunningham, of Milwaukee , Wis. , and Pierre Kleinubing, of Coconut Creek , Fla. , completed the podium for the Round Six race at Watkins Glen International, part of the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen weekend.

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (June 7, 2008) – Peter Cunningham, of Milwaukee, Wis., scored his 31st-career SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge pole position, his first since 2005, and will lead the SCCA SPEED Touring Car field at the standing start of Sunday’s Round Six race at Watkins Glen International. Pierre Kleinubing, of Coconut Creek , Fla. , will start second.

Last month, Citroen Sport management expressed internet in joining the DTM series in 2010, possibly with the C6.

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (June 4, 2008) - The numbers speak for themselves: 168 starts, 31 wins, 30 poles, four-time Champion. And those are just Peter Cunningham’s World Challenge stats. He’s won three more SCCA Pro Racing Championships, ice racing championships, rally championships, the 2000 BMW Sports Trophy (first North American driver) and is generally recognized as the winningest driver in professional road racing in North America . So naturally, a sit-down with the RealTime Racing owner feels like a visit to the University of Sports Car Racing , where Intro to Racing is followed by the History of World Challenge and Team Management 101.

The sun was shining for the first WTCC race in Pau this morning. BMW Team Germany's Augusto Farfus led the drivers out on the first lap and carefully negotiated the first few corners, keeping the SEAT cars behind him. However, as they reached Turn 3, the problems began behind the top six.

Pau: Manufacturer Recaps after the Race
BMW
Seat
Chevrolet
Honda

Croft race 1: Turkington declared winner
Colin Turkington has been declared the winner of a dramatically shortened first HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship race at the Croft circuit in North Yorkshire with full points awarded.

Augusto Farfus claimed his and BMW's first pole position of the season at the end of an eventful session that had been delayed by a half-an-hour for the track to be repaired after a support race. The asphalt had dried and the drivers were finally able to set faster times than in this morning's wet practice sessions.

Pau: Manufacturer Recaps after Qualifying
BMW
Chevrolet
Seat
Honda

Bureau's Make BMW And Honda Lighter

LAKEVILLE, Conn. (May 26, 2008) – Chip Herr, of Lititz, Pa., led every lap from the pole to capture his fifth career SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge win in Monday’s second half of a SCCA SPEED Touring Car doubleheader at Lime Rock Park. Peter Cunningham, of Milwaukee , Wis. , and Pierre Kleinubing, of Coconut Creek , Fla. , completed the podium.

LAKEVILLE, Conn. (May 24, 2008) – Kuno Wittmer, of Montreal, Que., further enhanced his SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Championship point lead with a victory Saturday at Lime Rock Park. Polesitter Pierre Kleinubing, of Coconut Creek , Fla. , and Chip Herr, of Lititz , Pa. , completed the podium for the first of two SPEED Touring Car races at Lime Rock Park over Memorial Day Weekend.

Oscar Nogués Farré is the first competitor of the new SEAT Eurocup to be awarded with a participation in the FIA WTCC. The 31-year old Spaniard will race in Pau at the wheel of a petrol-powered SEAT León TFSI run by the SUNRED Engineering Development team.

The 68th Grand Prix de Pau WTCC Race of France was launched yesterday at the Quartier Libre shooping mall, where BMW, Chevrolet and SEAT show cars where exhibited.

As a consequence of his stretched championship lead, SEAT Sport's Gabriele Tarquini will carry the heaviest ballast in Pau. The Italian's León TDI will be loaded with 61 kilos of success ballast, 13 more than Robert Huff, who was the most successful driver in Valencia with 18 points scored.

LAKEVILLE, Conn. (May 23, 2008) – Pierre Kleinubing, of Coconut Creek, Fla., earned his second-consecutive Lime Rock Park pole for Saturday’s SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Round Four race, part of an SCCA SPEED Touring Car doubleheader. Current point leader Kuno Wittmer, of Montreal , Que., will start second.

The Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship Presented by Toyo Tires kicked off the 2008 season with a tough test at Mosport International Raceway on May 17, 18, 2008. Competitors battled mechanical gremlins and changing weather throughout the weekend.

TOOELE, Utah (May 18, 2008) – Jason Saini, of Fort Worth, Texas, led every lap en route to his maiden SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Championship win Sunday at Miller Motorsports Park, part of the Larry H. Miller Dealerships Utah Grand Prix Presented by the Grand and Little America Hotels weekend. Pierre Kleinubing, of Coconut Creek , Fla. , and Kuno Wittmer, of Montreal , Quebec , completed the top three.

Robert Huff claimed his and Chevrolet’s first victory of the season, charging from fourth position to the lead in the first five laps of the race.

Valencia: Manufacturer Recaps after the Race
Seat
Chevrolet
BMW
Honda

Ingolstadt/Klettwitz -- Extension of the the lead and reduction of weight: in front of 80,000 spectators at the DTM's fourth round at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz, Audi created an ideal starting base for its home race at the Norisring. Timo Scheider as the runner-up extended his lead of the standings. The compact Audi team performance in the Lausitz region was completed by Mattias Ekstrom and Martin Tomczyk in places three and four.

* Paul Di Resta (AMG Mercedes C-Class) won the fourth round of the 2008 DTM at the Lausitzring; his first win in the championship in his 14th DTM race. Following the 1-2 victory of Jamie Green and Paul Di Resta in Mugello two weeks ago, it was the second consecutive win for Mercedes-Benz within two weeks this year and 143rd for the brand out of 304 DTM/ITC races since 1988. After four races of the 2008 season, Mercedes and Audi are tied on victories with two each.

Tom Onslow-Cole has won the first of today’s three HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship rounds at the Thruxton circuit in Hampshire.

Vauxhall driver Onslow-Cole, this weekend celebrating his 21st birthday, lost his pole position advantage at the start to the Team Halfords Honda of Gordon Shedden.

Yvan Muller dominated today's qualifying session on the wet track. SEAT Sport's Frenchman made his ambitions clear from the start, posting a provisional fastest lap of 1:59.123. Eventually this time would have been enough to be on pole position but, just to be sure, Muller improved to 1:58.816, being the only driver under the 1:59. mark and securing his second pole of the season after Curitiba.

Valencia: Manufacturer Recaps after Qualifying
Seat
Honda
BMW
Chevrolet

Tom Onslow-Cole has taken his second pole position in a row in qualifying for tomorrow’s three HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship rounds at the Thruxton circuit in Hampshire.

TOOELE, Utah (May 17, 2008) – Jason Saini , of Fort Worth, Texas, became the first rookie to score an SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car pole position in three years today, and will start first in Sunday’s Round Three race at Miller Motorsports Park, part of the Larry H. Miller Dealerships Grand Prix of Utah Presented by the Grand and Little America Hotels weekend. Pierre Kleinubing, of Coconut Creek , Fla. , will start second.

Ingolstadt/Klettwitz – Audi’s Timo Scheider remains the best Audi factory driver in qualifying in the 2008 DTM season: the German will tackle the fourth DTM round at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz in his GW:plus/Top Service Audi A4 DTM from position three on the grid. This marks the end of a string of eight best times in a row set by Audi since July 2007.

Paul Di Resta (AMG Mercedes C-Class) will start Sunday's fourth round of the 2008 DTM at the Lausitzring from pole position, his first pole position in his 14th DTM race. In an exciting qualifying, the Scotsman took first place with a 1m17.628; Bruno Spengler (Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG C-Class) completed an all Mercedes-Benz front row with a 1m17.892.

The EuroSpeedway is the "youngest" circuit on the DTM schedule. Audi has the chance to continue its impressive series of pole positions and to defend its lead of the standings. Here are all the key facts on the fourth round of the 2008 DTM at a glance.

The Touring Car Bureau have issued a decision to limit the engine speed of the SEAT León TDI cars. From the next event in Valencia and until further notice, the engine speed of the turbo-diesel SEAT cars will be limited to 4100 revs per minute.

SEAT Sport's Yvan Muller set the fastest time in the official test at Oschersleben on Tuesday and Wednesday. With a lap of 1:35.227 clocked on Wednesday afternoon, the Frenchman managed to beat Robert Huff's fastest time of 1:35.324 from the previous day. Most of the drivers who took part in the test were able to be faster than last year's pole position set by Alain Menu's Chevrolet at 1:36.291.

The 5th and 6th rounds of the FIA WTCC will take place in Spain, at Valencia's Circuit Ricardo Tormo on May 17th and 18th. This is the fifth consecutive visit of the FIA Touring Cars to the Spanish stadium-like racetrack.

N.Technology concluded the two-day official FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) test at Oschersleben today, before entering its first WTCC race of the season in Valencia , Spain on the 18 May 2008.

N.Technology's preparati on s for the team's first outing in the 2008 FIA World Touring Car Champi on ship (WTCC) at Valencia on 17-18 May 2008 made good progress following today's WTCC official testing sessi on at a dry and sunny Oschersleben , Germany , where the team recorded the third fastest time of the day

Jason Plato has given a diesel-powered car – SEAT’s Leon TDI – a first ever win in the HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship with victory in the first of today’s three rounds at the Donington Park circuit in Leicestershire.

It has been reported that French manufacturer, Citroen could enter the DTM series in 2010.

Ingolstadt/Mugello – At the DTM’s Italian round, Audi defended its overall lead. Although scoring no points at Mugello after a jump start, Audi driver Timo Scheider continues heading the leaderboard. Tom Kristensen clinched third place for Audi in an action-packed race. A total of five A4 DTM cars finished in the top eight, and thus in the points.

Jamie Green (Salzgitter AMG Mercedes C-Class) won the third round of the 2008 DTM in Mugello, Italy. Paul Di Resta (AMG Mercedes C-Class) came home second. The first win of the year for the Mercedes-Benz C-Class was the 142nd for the brand out of 303 DTM/ITC races since 1988 and the 86th 1-2 victory.

Ingolstadt/Mugello – Audi driver Timo Scheider remains "the man to be beaten” in the DTM: at the third race of the season the German in his GW:plus/Top Service Audi A4 DTM will start from the pole position as well. At Mugello (Italy), Scheider managed a perfect lap at the crucial moment of qualifying, resulting in a gap of over three tenths of a second to the rest of the field.

Jamie Green (Salzgitter AMG Mercedes C-Class) will start the third round of the 2008 DTM in Mugello, Italy on Sunday from the first row of the grid. In Saturday's exciting qualifying, Jamie held the best time with a 1m43.401 until the closing seconds when he was edged out by Timo Scheider (Audi/1:43.079). Green will start from second place tomorrow.

The 17th and 18th rounds of the 2008 FIA World Touring Car Championship will be held at Imola's Enzo and Dino Ferrari racetrack on September 20th and 21st. It was announced today by Formula Imola, GruppoNorman's company that was appointed to run the Italian circuit (that needs to be re-homologated by the FIA) for the next thirty years.

News from the WTCC
Lada Turns its First Laps
Official Test In Oschersleben

ALTON, Va. (April 26, 2008) – Canadian Kuno Wittmer watched the competition fall off the course in front of him and held off the attacks of others to record his maiden win in SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car competition today at VIRginia International Raceway—the fifth-closest finish in series history. Teammates Seth Thomas, of Cumming, Ga., and James Clay, of nearby Blacksburg completed the top three.

ALTON, Va. (April 25, 2008) – Chip Herr, f Lititz, Pa., will start Saturday’s SCCA Pro Racing SPEED Touring Car Round Two race from pole at VIRginia International Raceway during the Bosch Engineering 250 weekend after setting a new qualifying lap record. Charles Espenlaub , of Lutz, Fla. , will start second, making it an all-Mazda front row.

As a consequence of their domination in the first two events of the season, SEAT drivers will carry the heaviest success ballasts in their home race meeting at Valencia.

News from the WTCC Ahead of Valencia
Golden Bears Join the Series in Spain
Melvin Choo has been Testing
SEAT León Supercopa champion to race in Spain

Now in its 19th consecutive year, SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge has built its legacy around providing fans the most competitive road racing in the world, and the series has earned well-deserved praise the past few years from publications such as Car & Driver and RACER Magazine for doing just that. But what really sets SPEED World Challenge GT and Touring Car apart from all other series is the “everyday” element it brings each event. World-class drivers piloting production-based cars that come from more than 15 auto manufacturers – it’s a formula that has and will continue to serve the interests of manufacturers, drivers and, most importantly, automotive enthusiasts and race fans.

Ingolstadt/Oschersleben – Second race, second triumph: the new Audi A4 DTM could not be beaten in its second race either. One week after the 1-2-3 exploit at Hockenheim, Timo Scheider and Martin Tomczyk clinched a commanding 1-2 victory for Audi at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben. By claiming the maiden victory of his DTM career, Scheider has taken the overall lead as well.

Bruno Spengler (Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG C-Class) finished the second round of the 2008 DTM in Oschersleben in third place and was the best C-Class driver. His HWA team mates Paul Di Resta (AMG Mercedes C-Class) and Jamie Green (Salzgitter AMG Mercedes C-Class) came home fourth and fifth respectively.

Ingolstadt/Oschersleben – For the seventh time in a row, Audi starts from the pole position in the DTM. As at the Hockenheim season opener a week ago, the new Audi A4 DTM cars fielded by Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline were in a class of their own in qualifying at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben. Timo Scheider, Tom Kristensen and Martin Tomczyk clinched grid positions one to three for Audi. Youngster Oliver Jarvis in Audi Sport Team Phoenix’s A4 from last year in fourth position ensured that the first two rows on the grid are firmly in Audi’s hands on Sunday.

Bruno Spengler (Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG C-Class), Paul Di Resta (AMG Mercedes C-Class) and Jamie Green (Salzgitter AMG Mercedes C-Class) will start Sunday's second round of the 2008 DTM in Oschersleben from grid positions five, six and seven respectively. In Saturday's qualifying, Spengler was the fastest C-Class driver with a 1m21.718, four thousandths of a second behind the second row. Di Resta was on a 1m21.740 whilst Green set a 1m21.757; all three drivers were within 39 thousandths of a second.

Jacques Villeneuve could be the latest formula one refugee to switch to the premier German touring car series, DTM.

Ingolstadt/Hockenheim – With a commanding 1-2-3 victory at the Hockenheim DTM season opener Audi, yet again, underpinned the brand’s slogan "Vorsprung durch Technik”, not only on the road but on the circuit. 93,000 spectators (throughout the weekend) witnessed an impressive premiere showing of the new Audi A4 DTM, which outperformed the competition in its racing début, clinching positions one, two, three and five.

Bruno Spengler (Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG C-Class) finished the 2008 DTM season opener in fourth place and was the best C-Class driver.

Jamie Green (Salzgitter AMG Mercedes C-Class), winner of the previous DTM race here in Hockenheim in October 2007, ended up sixth ahead of Gary Paffett (stern AMG Mercedes C-Class) and Bernd Schneider (Genuine Parts AMG Mercedes C-Class). Paffett was the best driver with a last year's car. Thus, four Audis and four Mercedes-Benz C-Class cars finished in the points.

Rockingham race 1: Shedden all the way

Scotland’s Gordon Shedden has won the first of today’s HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship rounds at the Rockingham circuit in Northamptonshire.

N.Technology were on-track today at the Italian circuit of Castrezzato for a shakedown ahead of next week's official FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) testing session in Valencia, Spain.

Ingolstadt/Hockenheim – Impressive début for the new Audi A4 DTM: Timo Scheider (Germany) and Mattias Ekström (Sweden) set the best lap times by a wide margin in Saturday’s qualifying for the DTM opening race at Hockenheim. This puts two of the new Audi A4 DTM cars on the front row of the grid for the race that is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. on Sunday.

Bruno Spengler (Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG C-Class) will start the season opener of the 2008 DTM at Hockenheim on Sunday third on the grid. From the front row will start Timo Scheider from pole position and Mattias Ekstrom with their Audis. Spengler qualified with a time of 1m33.034 and was the fastest Mercedes-Benz driver. Next to him on the second row will start Paul di Resta (AMG Mercedes C-Class); in his first qualifying for the HWA team, the Scotsman was on a 1m33.075, 41 thousandths of a second behind his team mate Spengler. Jamie Green (Salzgitter AMG Mercedes C-Class) was sixth with a 1m33.418.

Scotland's Gordon Shedden has qualified on pole position for the first of tomorrow's three HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship rounds at the Rockingham circuit in Northamptonshire - and immediately dedicated his achievement to fellow countryman David Leslie.

When DTM Champion Mattias Ekström returns to Hockenheim with Audi for the season opener on 13 April, this will evoke special memories. It is the venue where the Swede won the season-opening race last year and in the finale on the 4.574-kilometre circuit secured the title in one of the most thrilling races in the history of the DTM. The first race of the 2008 season will be broadcast live on "Das Erste" on Sunday, starting at 1:45 p.m. (local time).

Audi achieved remarkable successes at Hockenheim in the past season. As the brand returns to this circuit for the season opener, here are some interesting facts from Audi’s DTM history at Hockenheim.

News From the Canadian Touring Car Championship
P.J. Groenke Racing Enters Canadian Touring Car Championship
Team Mad Macs Announces Two-Car Campaign for 2008
Fastco Motorsports Announces Two-Car Team

Jordi Gene led from pole to secure the win of the first race in Puebla. He started alongside Chevrolet's Nicola Larini, and was only challenged during the rolling start when Larini came up beside him off the line. Gene's SEAT Sport team mate Rickard Rydell came up from sixth during the first corner scuffle to second place, and remained there for the rest of the race. From this position he was able to protect his team mate from the Chevrolet charge coming from behind.

Puebla: Manufacturer Recaps after the Races
Seat
Chevrolet
BMW

Despite Nicola Larini and birthday boy Tom Coronel topping the times for most of the qualifying, Jordi Gené snatched pole for SEAT Sport in the closing minutes.

Puebla: Manufacturer Recaps after Qualifying
Chevrolet
Seat
BMW

The motorsport world was rocked today as two of its sons were taken in a plane crash over Kent.

The Cessna Citation 1 jet experienced engine troubles shortly after takeoff and despite the best efforts of the pilots, the plane came down in a residential suburb. Fortunately, no one was injured on the ground.

Fabrizio Giovanardi has won today’s (Sunday) opening round of the HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship at Brands Hatch.

Rising star Mat Jackson led from pole position in his BMW Dealer Team UK squad’s BMW 320si, but light rain mid-race favoured the following Giovanardi’s Vauxhall Vectra VXR.

N.Technology's next on-track appearance will be at the FIA World Touring Car Championship's (WTCC) official testing session on 15 and 16 April in Valencia, Spain, followed by the team's racing season debut a month later at the Spanish track.

Racing history will be made at Brands Hatch on Sunday 30th March, when SEAT becomes the first manufacturer to race a diesel-engined car in the HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship. Jason Plato and Darren Turner will drive a pair of Holiday Inn supported SEAT Leon TDIs, as the SEAT Sport UK team embarks on a new diesel- powered phase of its motorsport programme.

Motorbase Performance is deep into its preparations for the 2008 HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship. After an encouraging debut season last year, the Wrotham, Kent based team is turning up the heat in 2008 with new cars and a new driver line-up.

The new FIA WTCC success ballast system will come into force from the second race meeting of the season, which will take place in Puebla, Mexico, on April 6th.

The Audi drivers are looking forward to the DTM season opener at Hockenheim on 13 April with increasingly eager anticipation: during the first official tests at Mugello, Italy, the nine factory drivers completed their extensive work programme without significant interruption. This first "matching of strengths" with the competition saw them among the front runners in any of the changing weather conditions.

Britain’s premier motor racing championship – the HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship – today released an official list of 27 entries for its golden anniversary season in 2008, which will begin at the Brands Hatch circuit in Kent on Sunday 30 March.

During last week's WTCC event in Curitiba, Yokohama exhibited the Mach 5 car that will star in the new Warner Bros movie 'Speed Racer'.

The WTCC Race of Brazil, which took place last Sunday in Curitiba, again made a contribution towards the aid of the starving people of Brazil.

The Confederation of Australian Motor Sport has announced the composition of the Investigatory Panel into the incident that occurred during a Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series race at the Clipsal 500 Adelaide event, which took the life of driver Ashley Cooper.

To make a championship winning car even better – the Audi Sport engineers and technicians faced this delicate task when the job of developing the DTM race version of the new Audi A4 arose. From the visual aspect they certainly succeeded: The new A4 DTM, which was publicly unveiled for the first time at the Motor Show in Geneva, spontaneously appears even more dynamic than the successful predecessor model with which Mattias Ekström won the DTM title last year.

On the day of his 46th birthday Gabriele Tarquini gave himself an outstanding present by winning the second race in Brazil and also got his payback for helping out his team-mates (Yvan Muller, who leaves Brazil as the championship co-leader with Tarquini, and Rickard Rydell) in the first race.

SEAT Sport drivers Yvan Muller and Rickard Rydell held off the BMW Team Germany's attack of Augusto Farfus and Jorg Muller, to win the first race in Curitiba.

Curtiba: Manufacturer Race Recaps
Seat
BMW
Chevrolet

Yvan Muller placed his SEAT León TDI on pole position following an eventful qualifying session in Curitiba, with a time of 1:24.295, the fastest time of the weekend so far, half a second faster than Jörg Müller's pole from last year.

Curtiba: Manufacturer Recaps After Qualifying
Chevrolet
Seat
BMW

Competitors from the FIA World Touring Car Championship will be supporting the FIA's Make Cars Green campaign from the first round of the series, in Curitiba, Brazil, this weekend.

Russian Bears Motorsport are entered in the 2008 FIA World Touring Car Championship's full season. The Russian outfit will run two LADA 110 2.0 cars from the third race meeting of the season that will take place in Valencia on May 18th. The procedure to homologate the Russian car with the FIA is currently underway.

The Nueschwanstein castle was the charming background to the presentation of the Liqui Moly Team Engstler's FIA WTCC programme last weekend, in Germany.

24 drivers from 13 countries, representing five different car Manufacturers - BMW, Chevrolet, Honda, LADA and SEAT - have entered the 2008 FIA World Touring Car Championship's full season that will start next week with the WTCC HSBC Race of Brazil at Curitiba.

Members of the Spanish and European press were guests today at Madrid’s Zarzuela Hippodrome, where SEAT presented its team of drivers competing for the title at the 2008 WTCC, which is scheduled to begin next 2 march on Brazil’s Curitiba circuit.

The start of the 2008 FIA World Touring Car Championship is just a few days away.

It is with deep regret that the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) confirms that Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series driver Ashley Cooper, aged 27, of Ulladulla in New South Wales, has passed away in Royal Adelaide Hospital today following a race incident last Saturday at the Clipsal 500.

AUDI AG targets the successful defence of the DTM championship title with an interesting and strong mix of big names and young talented drivers. Oliver Jarvis (GB/24), Katherine Legge (GB/27) and Markus Winkelhock (D/27) have secured the three remaining cockpits within the Audi factory team for which racing drivers from around the world were in contention.

Eurosport unveiled their plans for the live TV coverage from Curitiba for the FIA World Touring Car Championship's opening event.

Golden Motors Honda Dealer Team, from St. Petersburg, Russia officially announced their plans for the 2008 racing season. They will start in the Swedish Touring Car Championship to continue in the FIA WTCC and finish in the FIA European Touring Car Cup with two Honda Accord Euro R cars, built by JAS Motorsport and run by the Estonian team Artman Racing.

Denmark-based Poulsen Motorsport confirmed their plans to enter three races of the 2008 FIA WTCC.

WPS/WOW Racing team owner Craig Gore has announced that his team has withdrawn from the V8 Supercar Championship Series because of personal business and health commitments.

Tiago Monteiro returned to the Estoril circuit for a day of test with SEAT Sport. It was the first chance for the Portuguese driver to drive the SEAT León TDI he will be using in the FIA WTCC. Tiago's work was more intense in the afternoon, when the track was dry. Therefore he was able to test new shock absorbers that gave him some good sensations. At the end of the day he was satisfied with the development and his adaptation to the new car.

N.technology concluded their first test towards the 2008 FIA WTCC in Valencia with James Thompson at the wheel of the Honda Accord Euro R Super 2000.

Busy days for the BMW drivers in view of the start of the FIA WTCC season.

After they tested in Valencia, Andy Priaulx, Jörg Müller, Augusto Farfus and Félix Porteiro headed to Southern Bavaria where they are taking part in a fitness camp. Their sporting activities include cross country skiing, trekking, climbing and even Zen meditation to improve their power of concentration.

After having fought for the 2007 WTCC Independents' Trophy crown, Belgian driver Pierre-Yves Corthals is now ready for a second season with the Exagon Engineering team directed by Luc Marchetti. Like last year Corthals will be at the wheel of a SEAT León TFSI backed by SEAT Belgique and Monroe.

German team Engstler Motorsport had their first roll out with the BMW 320si cars they will run in the 2008 FIA World Touring Car Championship. In the past few weeks the team have worked very hard to build the new cars and immediately after finishing they headed to Hockenheim to shake them down.

N.Technology concluded the first test of its 2008 FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) contender today in Valencia with driver James Thompson at the wheel of the Honda Accord Euro R Super 2000.

With less than two months to go until the 2008 HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) kicks-off, Vauxhall completed an intense five-day test programme at Almeria today.

N.Technology will take part in the 2008 FIA World Touring Car Championship with a Honda Accord Euro R, designed and built by JAS Motorsport and driven by James Thompson who classified third in the 2007 FIA WTCC. The team will start their test programme next week in Valencia.

For the fourth consecutive year Dutch driver Tom Coronel will be racing a SEAT in the FIA World Touring Car Championship. With the backing of the Dutch SEAT importer, Pon Car, Coronel will drive a León run by the Spanish team SUNRED. The team has close links to SEAT Sport and are based nearby SEAT's factory in Martorell.

The 23-year old Dutchman Olivier Tielemans will drive a BMW 320si car for the Germany-based Wiechers-Sport team in the 2008 FIA World Touring Car Championship.

Young Kiwi talent Shane van Gisbergen has claimed the remaining prize seat at Stone Brothers Racing, the 18-year-old set to drive the number-nine Ford BF Falcon in the 2008 V8 Supercar Championship Series.

Triple FIA World Touring Car Champion racing driver Andy Priaulx was in London today to unveil of a set of stamps commemorating his title hat trick. Guernsey Post is issuing the special miniature sheet focussing on Andy’s three world titles with Andy being the only driver to take the three consecutive World Touring Car crowns. This is the second set in Andy’s honour following an issue celebrating his first world championship title.

Anders Olofsson passed away last Monday in his house at the age of 55.

In the late 70s Anders emerged as a talented Formula 3 driver, taking two Swedish national titles and winning seven rounds of the FIA European F3 Championship in 1977 and 1978. Later he became a works driver for Nissan winning the Japanese Touring Car Championship three years running and the 1991 24 Hours of Spa.

The Chevrolet RML team successfully concluded a three-day test at the Portuguese track of Estoril yesterday. Alain Menu, Nicola Larini and Rob Huff tested and evaluated several new components for the 2008-spec Chevrolet Lacetti, which also sports a revised livery for the coming World Touring Car Championship. Further tests, including those of the 2008 engine, will be conducted in the United Kingdom using the test car, while the race cars are being shipped to South America for the first round of the WTCC in Curitiba, Brazil on March 2nd.

Eurosport will broadcast a 30-minute preview of the FIA World Touring Car Championship's new season.

N.Technology will race in the 2008 FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) with double British Touring Car Champion James Thompson, running the Honda Accord Euro R Super 2000 designed and built by JAS Motorsport.

RML Chevrolet’s preparations for the 2008 World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) have taken another step-forward following a highly-successful three-day test at Estoril, Portugal, this week.

More rumour has emerged regarding Ralf Schumacher and a switch to the DTM.

For the fourth consecutive season – a unique feat in motorsports – Chevrolet / RML has re-signed Alain Menu, Nicola Larini and Rob Huff to campaign their Chevrolet Lacetti’s in the 2008 World Touring Car Championship. Chevrolet, one of the quickest manufacturers of the 2007 season, elected to continue on the road of team stability which so far has brought lots of success to brand, team and drivers alike.

After >this story, more has come to the surface that suggest that we won't be seeing Ralf Schumacher in DTM in 2008.

SEAT will continue to compete at the highest level at the 2008 World Touring Car Championship with a team made up of four drivers from the 2006 roster - Jordi Gené, Tiago Monteiro, Yvan Muller, and Gabriele Tarquini, who will be joined by former SEAT driver Ryckard Rydell, who is returning to the WTCC with backing from the Spanish maker.

The fourth season of the FIA World Touring Car Championship will get underway in less than two months, on March 2nd in Brazil, at the Autódromo Internacional de Curitiba. Only 45 days have passed since the final event of the 2007 season, when BMW Team UK’s, Andy Priaulx, claimed his third consecutive World Championship at Macau.

The FIA WTCC handicap weight system has been revised in view of the 2008 season, starting from the name that has been changed to "success ballast". The new system was approved by the FIA World Motor Sport Council after a proposal coming from the Touring Car Commission.

The FIA World Touring Car Championship will visit Mexico again in 2008. After a one-year break the 3.2-km Miguel E. Abed racetrack of Puebla Amozoc will host the championship’s third and fourth rounds on April 6th.

Team-mates at SEAT Sport in the FIA WTCC, together Yvan Muller and Tiago Monteiro are facing another big challenge: the Lisbon-Dakar.

Singaporean driver Melvin Choo is eyeing to take part in two rounds of the 2008 FIA World Touring Car Championship.

ASN Canada FIA and the Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship Presented by Toyo Tires are pleased to announce that a sanctioning agreement has been reached for the next three years.

Sportscar & Touring car honours keep German manufacturer ahead of rivals
Formula Palmer Audi racer Brundle Jnr gets Audi power on the road
The German manufacturer’s pioneering diesel engine technology triumphed in arguably the world’s toughest motor race, the Le Mans 24 Hours, for a second consecutive year.

Heavy rain did not deter from N.Technology Alfa Romeo’s last outing with the Alfa Romeo 156 today at the Bologna Motor Show in Italy as James Thompson claimed third place in the Nivea For Men Eurotouring event.

Audi thanked the Audi Sport team, the race teams, the partners and the drivers for the successful 2007 DTM season at an end-of-season party in the Audi Forum Neckarsulm. At the same time, Christian Abt and Vanina Ickx, who both finish their DTM careers, received an official send-off. The complete Executive Board of the DTM organising body ITR e.V. were among the guests.

HiQ, the nationwide vehicle servicing and tyre retailing network, has announced its title sponsorship of the UK’s premier motor racing series, the MSA British Touring Car Championship, for the next three years beginning with the 2008 season.

V8 Supercar driver Jack Perkins will make his return to the race track behind the wheel of a go-kart on Friday as he prepares for this weekend’s VACC Four Hour Karting Enduro at Port Melbourne.

Just months after making its debut in the series, the Robertshaw Racing team has announced plans to bring the first two Chevrolet Lacettis to the British Touring Car Championship grid in 2008 – one to be driven by reigning SEAT Cupra R champion Harry Vaulkhard.

AUDI AG makes a clear commitment to motorsport for the 2008 season with the most extensive factory involvement in the company’s history. In addition to defending the DTM title with the new A4 and the entry of three diesel-powered sportscars in the 24 Hour of Le Mans, Audi Sport plans the continuation of its involvement in the American Le Mans Series and its entry in the Le Mans Series in Europe.

Following 18 years of successful partnership, next week’s 32nd edition of the Bologna Motor Show will see the end of N.Technology’s sporting activities with Alfa Romeo and the Fiat Group.

Sport UK will retain its Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship Teams’ winning driver line up for 2008, with Jason Plato and Darren Turner confirmed as the squad’s drivers for next season. They will pilot the team’s two-car SEAT Leon challenge.

MotoGP star Marco Melandri will join N.Technology in the 32nd edition of the Bologna Motor Show on 8-9 December, racing in the Nivea For Men Eurotouring event alongside James Thompson.

Only one week after celebrating his third consecutive title in the FIA World Touring Car Championship, BMW Team UK's Andy Priaulx (GBR) is a visitor at the Formula BMW World Final. In Valencia (ESP) he is following the exciting contest with 35 young drivers from around the globe fighting for their chance to test a BMW Sauber F1 Team car.

A record crowd attended the 54th Macau Grand Prix event that included the FIA WTCC finale. According to the figures released by the Macau Grand Prix Committee last Monday, 55,000 spectators gathered on the grandstands along the Guia Track over the weekend, while an estimated 200,000 more watched the races from hotel rooms, flats and restaurants' terraces around the track.

Munich, 22nd November 2007. A dream came true on Thursday for Christian Vietoris (GER) and BMW works driver Augusto Farfus (BRA): both drove with the BMW Sauber F1 Team as part of the programme for the Formula BMW World Final at the "Circuit de la Comunitat" in Valencia (ESP).

The RML Chevrolet team rounded off the 2007 season by cleaning-up at the glittering World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) awards in Macau last Sunday evening. As the dust settled on the final race of the season around the torturous street circuit, the RML Chevrolet drivers, team bosses and crew celebrated the team’s amazingly successful season in style at the sparkling ceremony held at the Fisherman’s Wharf.

Tom Chilton will join Team Dynamics’ 2008 Dunlop British Touring Car Championship line-up in a straight swap for former champion Matt Neal who has replaced him in Vauxhall’s VX Racing squad.

Mattias Ekström won the DTM title on 14 October at Hockenheim. The Swede from the Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline squad has hardly seen his apartment on the shores of Lake Constance since then. "One appointment follows the next," explains the Audi factory driver. "It’s only from the 18 December onwards that I finally have a few days to myself."

Macau: Manufacturer Team Recaps After the Last Event of 2007
BMW
Seat
Chevrolet
Alfa Romeo

Yvan Muller led the race after the first straight but on lap eight the SEAT Sport title contender suffered a technical problem – his engine died without a warning – and had to stop on the track.

Macau: Team's Qualifying Reports
BMW
Seat
Chevrolet
Alfa Romeo

In the dying minutes of qualifying Yvan Muller looked to have secured prime position in Macau with a time of 2:31.395, but under the chequered flag Menu stormed a lap in 2:31.209.

Macau: WTCC Notes
New Procedure For The WTCC Pre-Grid
A New Engine For Coronel And Corthals

Munich, 12th November 2007. Prior to the season finale of the FIA World Touring Car Championship in Macau (MAC), BMW has already laid down the foundations for success in the coming year: all five drivers that have been successful for BMW in this year's World Championship campaign will also be fighting for points and victories in the BMW 320si WTCC in 2008.

Three BMW drivers are still in contention for winning the drivers' title in the FIA World Touring Car Championship. Prior to the season finale in Macau, double world champion, Andy Priaulx (GBR), of BMW Team UK leads the overall standings with 81 points.

Macau: Manufacturer Previews Coming into the Finale
Alfa Romeo
Seat
Chevrolet

The FIA Touring Car Bureau decided to impose a 60kg ballast for the races in Macau to all the BMW cars equipped with a 6-speed sequential gearbox.

Engstler Motorsport have entered a third BMW 320i car for Hong Kong driver David Louie, alongside those of Franz Engstler and Andrey Romanov.

Henry Lee jr, one of the most victorious racing drivers from Hong Kong, will make his FIA WTCC debut in Macau at the wheel of a BMW 320i E46 entered by the Russian team Avtodom Racing.

Local hero André Couto will join the Alfa Romeo N.technology team for his home race in Macau. The 30-year old driver had his first test in the Alfa Romeo 156 car last week at the Varano racetrack in Italy.

Audi "factory” driver Martin Tomczyk follows in the footsteps of motor racing stars like Walter Röhrl, Michael Schumacher or Bernd Schneider: The ADAC selected the 25-year-old driver from Rosenheim (Bavaria) as the "racer of the year 2007”. In the past season, Tomczyk had clinched third place overall in the DTM and, with two victories, had one exploit more to his credit than his teammate and new DTM champion Mattias Ekström.

The third edition of the FIA European Touring Car Cup was placed in the archives with very positive outcome.

Before 10,000 spectators, the 38 competitors of the third FIA European Touring Car Cup delivered two exciting races in Adria.

The first race of the third FIA European Touring Car Cup turned to a double win for the Honda drivers.

Tomas Engström from Sweden claimed pole position for the third FIA European Touring Car Cup and Jens Reno Møller from Denmark completed an all-Honda front row on the grid for tomorrow’s Race 1. Maurizio Ceresoli in the GR Asia SEAT León posted the third fastest lap after sitting on provisional pole.

Eleven meetings are listed, including one in Japan on October 26th that will be hosted by the Okayama International Circuit, formerly known as Aida Tanaka International Circuit.

All the six drivers who are still in contention to secure the world champion’s crown will be carrying the maximum 60kg ballast on board their cars at Macau: Andy Priaulx, Yvan Muller, Augusto Farfus, James Thompson, Jörg Müller and Nicola Larini.

Alain Menu, Nicola Larini and Robert Huff, the Chevrolet WTCC team racing drivers, have each purchased a Corvette Z06 for their personal use. At the weekends they win races in their light blue Chevrolet Lacetti race car in FIA’s World Touring Car Championship and during the week drive around in their yellow Corvette Z06.

October 17, 2007 - Ford Performance Vehicles (FPV) has renewed its foundation sponsorship of the Ford Performance Racing (FPR) V8 Supercar team through to the end of the 2009 racing season.

WPS/WOW Racing V8 Supercar drivers Max Wilson and Jason Bargwanna are aware that the brutal Surfers Paradise street circuit is going to require their full attention in Round 11 of the V8 Supercar Championship Series this weekend.

At the finale at Hockenheim Mattias Ekström in front of a record turnout of 152,000 spectators clinched the DTM title for Audi. After 2004, the Swede won the most popular international touring car racing series for the second time. For AUDI AG, after 1990, 1991, 2002 and 2004, this is already the fifth DTM title. In addition, Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline secured a commanding title in the team classification.

"If you want to clinch the title in the DTM you’ve got to be prepared to tackle difficult challenges.” Casual comments like these would come from Mattias Ekström when ending up further towards the back than the front of the grid after a qualifying practice in 2007. The 29-year-old Swede kept his word and made his title dream come true for a second time after 2004: In the final round at Hockenheim, Ekström secured the triumph in the most popular international touring car series with a third-place finish against the strong competition from Mercedes-Benz as well as from within his own Audi squad.

An emotional last DTM weekend was experienced by Christian Abt, who is the only driver besides Bernd Schneider to have contested the DTM in all eight seasons since 2000. For a party held at the Audi VIP Hospitality on Friday night, which – in addition to numerous names from the DTM – was attended by private friends as well, the Hofmühl brewery donated 120 cases of Bavarian "weissbier".

§ Jamie Green (2007 Salzgitter AMG Mercedes C-Class) won the exciting finale of the 2007 DTM in Hockenheim and achieved his second consecutive victory in the championship after his first win in Barcelona three weeks ago. It was the seventh win for the C-Class in the tenth race of the year and the 141st win for Mercedes-Benz in the brand's 300th DTM/ITC race since 1988. After 37 laps, Jamie came home 3.6sec ahead of Timo Scheider (Audi).

Fabrizio Giovanardi has today been crowned the new Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Champion at the Thruxton circuit in Hampshire. The Italian, driving for Vauxhall, took two race wins and then, in the final round of 2007, finished second to privateer driver Mat Jackson to move ahead of season-long rival, SEAT’s Jason Plato by a winning margin of just three points.

Team Dynamics will continue to run a two-car squad with Halfords title sponsorship in 2008’s Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship despite its lead driver Matt Neal’s decision to join newly-crowned champion Vauxhall’s VX Racing squad for next season.

Matt Neal will partner new Champion Fabrizio Giovanardi in Vauxhall’s 2008 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship line-up, but his family’s Team Dynamics squad will continue to operate a two-car outfit with Halfords title sponsorship next season (see separate story).

With an impressive qualifying performance Audi has worked out an optimum starting base for the DTM finale at the Hockenheimring. Tom Kristensen, Timo Scheider, Mattias Ekström and Martin Tomczyk secured grid positions one, two, three and five. This puts all four drivers from Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline in front of Bruno Spengler �� the only Mercedes driver who might be able to snatch the 2007 DTM title from Audi on Sunday.

Jamie Green (Salzgitter AMG Mercedes C-Class), winner of the previous DTM race in Barcelona, will start Sunday's 2007 DTM season finale in Hockenheim as the best driver of an AMG Mercedes C-Class from fourth place on the grid. In the third part of qualifying, Green set a time of 1min33.028. Tom Kristensen (Audi/1:32.862) took pole position.

Tom Chilton has qualified on pole position for the first of tomorrow’s title-deciding Dunlop MSA British Touring car Championship rounds at the Thruxton circuit in Hampshire. Chilton, aged 23 from Reigate, achieved his first pole of 2007 with a lap time of 1m17.269s to lead a Vauxhall team 1-2-3 ahead of team-mates, Italian Fabrizio Giovanardi and Swiss Alain Menu.

52,000 fans gathered last Sunday at the Monza circuit for the last European meeting of the FIA WTCC. They attended two frantic races and showed their enthusiasm by invading the track at the end of the second race and crowding under the podium to cheer the winners.

Alessandro Zanardi is ready for another outstanding exploit: he will take part in the ING New York City Marathon on November 4th, riding a hand-bike.

The 54th Macau Grand Prix was launched today at Macau; the event will include the FIA World Touring Car Championship’s final meeting as well as the 25th edition of the FIA Formula 3 Intercontinental Cup and the 41st Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix.

Volvo Car Corporation will develop an entirely new racing car based on the compact C30, and Volvo will continue to work with bioethanol (E85) and Green Racing in the Swedish Touring Car Championship. Volvo Cars has committed to a three-year development program for the C30.

As many as 36 drivers among a total starting list of more than 140 entries will be waving the home state flag of Queensland, during Australia’s biggest motorsport event, the Lexmark Indy 300 on the Gold Coast from next Thursday October 18.

The points’ situation going into the DTM finale on 14 October at Hockenheim could hardly be closer: With Mattias Ekström (Audi/44 points), Bruno Spengler (Mercedes/42 points) and Martin Tomczyk (Audi/40 points), three drivers are still fighting for the title in the most popular international touring car series – this has not been the case since the DTM made its comeback in the year 2000.

§ § The 10th and final round of the 2007 DTM in Hockenheim this coming weekend will be the 300th race for Mercedes-Benz in the DTM and in the ITC since the brand has officially returned to touring car racing in 1988.

Things turned sour for Pierre-Yves Corthals after he finished second and third in the Independents' Trophy races at Monza.

Last weekend Allan Simonsen, the Danish/Aussie hired gun, justified to his Triple 8 / Team Vodafone boss, Roland Dane, just why he'd been given the most prised V8 Supercar enduro gig, for the second year in a row.

In front of a large crowd Jordi Gene made it two wins for SEAT Sport this weekend, becoming the 11th driver to have scored a victory this season.

The chequered flag came just in time for Muller as on his in-lap he suffered a puncture to his front left tyre. The result enabled the Frenchman to move up to second in the Drivers' Championship, only four points behind Andy Priaulx.

Monza: Team Recaps After the Races
Seat
Chevrolet
Alfa Romeo
BMW

Another edition of Australia’s great race has come and gone on what is a busy weekend for worldwide motorsport.

Yvan Muller posted a stunning 1:59.487 in the second half of the session to give the diesel powered Leon its first pole.

Monza: Manufacturer Recaps after Qualifying
Seat
Chevrolet
Alfa Romeo
BMW

Three of Caltex’s four driver combinations for this weekend’s Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 at Mount Panorama, Bathurst, NSW, are set to tackle the top ten shootout after successfully moving past the first two legs of qualifying today.

October 5, 2007 - Ford Performance Racing (FPR) continues to set a scorching pace at Bathurst ’s Mount Panorama with 26 year old Mark Winterbottom racing to provisional Pole position with a field beating fastest lap time of 2:07.1481s around the legendary 6.2 kilometre circuit.

Chevrolet Europe has re-signed an agreement with UK-based Ray Mallock Limited to extend the current agreement and WTCC commitment beyond the 2007 season.

Monza: Manufacturer Previews Coming into the Final European Round
Alfa Romeo
Chevrolet
Seat
BMW

For his home race meeting SEAT Sport’s Gabriele Tarquini will switch from the petrol-powered León to the León TDI; the third turbo diesel car lined up by the Spanish manufacturer alongside Jordi Gené’s and Yvan Muller’s.

No less than six drivers – three of BMW, one of SEAT, one of Alfa Romeo and one of Chevrolet – will carry the maximum 60-kg ballast onboard their cars during the next FIA WTCC event at Monza. They are Andy Priaulx, Augusto Farfus, Yvan Muller, Jörg Müller and James Thompson who occupy the first five positions in the championship classification, plus Robert Huff who is ninth.

The title decision in the 2007 DTM will only be made in the finale at Hockenheim on 14 October. 42,000 spectators at the Circuit de Catalunya near Barcelona (Spain) witnessed an excessively rough race in which one Audi driver after the other was bumped off the track by Mercedes drivers – among them all four drivers of Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline including the two candidates for the title, Mattias Ekström (Sweden) and Martin Tomczyk (Germany). When the situation threatened to escalate, Audi decided to withdraw all seven Audi A4 DTM cars that were still in the race.

* Jamie Green (2007 Salzgitter AMG Mercedes C-Class) won the ninth round of the 2007 DTM in Barcelona and achieved his first victory in the championship. After 58 laps, he came home 11.549sec ahead of Bruno Spengler (2007 DaimlerChrysler Bank AMG Mercedes C-Class) and Paul di Resta (2005 JAWA4U.de AMG Mercedes C-Class).

The Chevrolet driver came under pressure from N.technology's James Thompson on numerous occasions but the Alfa Romeo never got close enough to overtake. Third across the line was Colin Turkington's BMW who overtook Jordi Gene on the penultimate lap.

Brands Hatch: Manufacturer Race Recaps
BMW
Chevrolet
Seat
Alfa Romeo

Alain Menu has claimed his fourth pole position of the season for Chevrolet. The Swiss man stole pole from the grasp of James Thompson who set a superb 1:33.032 on his first flying lap.The field had a task on their hands to beat it. Menu did so by 0.014 of a second with just one and a half minutes left on the clock.

Brands Hatch: Manufacturer Qualifying Reports
Alfa Romeo
BMW
Seat
Chevrolet

With a superior qualifying performance in the rain for the DTM race at Barcelona (Spain) Audi driver Martin Tomczyk underpinned his ambitions for the DTM title. Like last year, the 25-year-old German secured the pole position for Audi at the Circuit de Catalunya in a commanding drive.

There’s a very serious side to the October 18-21 Lexmark Indy 300 on the Gold Coast, where one of the official charities CanTeen is in the business of providing a more wholesome and fulfilling life for young people whose lives have been affected by cancer.

Brands Hatch: The Manufacturer Previews
Alfa Romeo
Chevrolet
Seat
BMW

It’s getting serious in the DTM: At Barcelona (Spain) on Sunday 23 September the championship battle could be decided – to the benefit of Audi.

§ § In the ninth round of the 2007 DTM in Barcelona this coming weekend, the new Mercedes-Benz C-Class will start with its basic weight of 1,070 kilograms for the first time since the season opener in Hockenheim on 22nd April, and so does the respective model of the competition. Prior to the championship showdown with the races at the Circuit de Catalunya and the finale in Hockenheim on 14th October, there is an equality of chances between the title contenders.

The 17th and 18th rounds of the FIA WTCC will take place in two weeks at the Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit, located some 30 km South East of London.

Team RAC will take part in the FIA WTCC meeting at Brands Hatch with one BMW 320si driven by Colin Turkington.

The Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship has today released its provisional fixture list of ten race meetings for 2008 when the series will celebrate its 50th anniversary. Notably, Silverstone will return to the calendar while Brands Hatch’s full-length Grand Prix circuit will stage the season finale.

The 2007 V8 Supercar Championship Series picks up a gear this weekend with the first endurance race of the year, the Just Car Insurance 500, firing into action at Melbourne’s Sandown International Raceway.

The 17th and 18th rounds of the FIA WTCC will take place in two weeks at the Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit, located some 30 km South East of London.

James Thompson and Robert Huff are gunning for double World Champion Andy Priaulx as the three Britons prepare for their home round at Brands Hatch.

No less than five drivers – three of BMW and two of SEAT – will carry the maximum 60-kg ballast onboard their cars during the next FIA WTCC event at Brands Hatch. They are Augusto Farfus, Andy Priaulx, Jörg Müller, Yvan Muller and Gabriele Tarquini who occupy the top-five places in the championship classification. James Thompson of Alfa Romeo and Nicola Larini of Chevrolet will be 5 and 10 kilos lighter respectively. A total of 15 drivers will receive handicap weight.

With Ralf Schumacher's ailing F1 performances seemingly ending his F1 career, the German could be on his way to the DTM.

117,000 spectators (throughout the weekend) at the Nürburgring witnessed another impressive showing of the Audi A4 DTM. After starting from pole position, Audi driver Martin Tomczyk (Rosenheim) continued setting the pace throughout the 43-lap race to celebrate his second consecutive DTM victory.

Jason Plato’s and Fabrizio Giovanardi’s battle to become the 2007 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Champion will be decided on BTCC Finals Day at Thruxton, Hampshire on 14 October following today’s penultimate three rounds at the Knockhill circuit in Fife which were won by Darren Turner and Gordon Shedden.

For the third time in a row, Audi secured the top three grid positions in the DTM. The qualifying thriller at the Nürburgring was decided for Audi by Martin Tomczyk, Timo Scheider and Tom Kristensen. The best Mercedes will go into the race on Sunday from fourth place (start at 3 p.m. local time / live broadcast on "Das Erste” from 2:30 p.m.). DTM leader Mattias Ekström will start from the fifth row.

Four more C-Class cars followed in positions five to eight: Bernd Schneider (Genuine Parts AMG Mercedes C-Class/1min23.329) was fifth ahead of Jamie Green (Salzgitter AMG Mercedes C-Class/1min23.376), Paul di Resta (JAWA4U.de AMG Mercedes C-Class/1min23.612) and Mika Häkkinen (AMG Mercedes C-Class/1min23.685).

Darren Turner has achieved his second pole position of the season in Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship qualifying at the Knockhill circuit in Scotland.

The final phase in the 2007 DTM begins at the Nürburgring on the first weekend in September (Sunday from 2:30 p.m. live on German TV "Das Erste”). The 3.629 kilometre "sprint-circuit” is used. Alexandre Prémat, who claimed his first ever DTM podium finish at the end of July at Zandvoort, describes the scene of the next DTM race. It doubles as the "home race” for Audi Sport Team Phoenix, for whom the young Frenchman starts in the DTM.

Before the DTM race at the Nürburgring on 2 September one fact is already certain: Audi arrives in the Eifel as championship leader and will also leave at the top of the table. Current leader Mattias Ekström can only be caught be his team mate Martin Tomczyk. With a twelve point deficit, Mercedes driver Bruno Spengler is too far behind.

§ Mercedes-Benz C-Class drivers won five out of the 2007 season’s seven races and started five times from pole position. Prior to the Nürburgring race, Bruno Spengler is third overall with 26 points followed by Bernd Schneider (Vodafone AMG-Mercedes C-Class) with 25.5 points in fourth place.

The Stewards judged Alessandro Zanardi guilty for causing the pile-up at the start of today’s first race.

Oschersleben: Team Recaps after the Race
Seat
BMW
Alfa Romeo
Chevrolet

Augusto Farfus and Andy Priaulx gave BMW a dominant 1-2 finish in their home race.

Munich, 23rd August 2007. When Jörg Müller (GER) takes to the grid this weekend for the FIA World Touring Car Championship, it will be his sixth appearance for BMW Team Germany in Oschersleben. The World Championship leader boasts an impressive tally: since 2002, the circuit has seen him celebrate two wins and six podium finishes in the European and World Touring Car Championships.

Yvan Muller made motor sport history today at Oschersleben, claiming the first World Championship victory for a diesel car.

Oschersleben: Team Reports after Qualifying
Seat
Alfa Romeo
BMW
Chevrolet

SEAT drivers dominated the qualifying session for the FIA WTCC’s eighth race meeting at Oschersleben.

Oschersleben: Team Previews ahead of Round 15 & 16
Chevrolet
BMW
Alfa Romeo
Seat

Current World Touring Car Champion Andy Priaulx will make a guest appearance at Brands Hatch this weekend in preparation for the FIA WTCC event there next month.

Oschersleben: WTCC News ahead of Germany
Preview
Testing
Driver Movements

Fabrizio Giovanardi won twice and Colin Turkington once in today’s three Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship rounds at the Brands Hatch circuit in Kent. Crucially, Italian Giovanardi’s two wins have helped him slash the gap to championship leader Jason Plato down to just four points as the race for Britain’s premier motor racing title next heads to the Knockhill circuit in Fife for its penultimate three rounds on Sunday 2 September.

Colin Turkington has qualified on pole position for the first of tomorrow’s (Sunday) three Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship rounds at the Brands Hatch circuit in Kent – by a margin of just 2/1000ths of a second from Darren Turner.

LGT Engineering confirmed their plans to enter the FIA World Touring Car Championship. The Liverpool based team will enter two Lexus IS220d cars to compete in the Yokohama Independents’ Trophy.

For the first time so far in the season a non-BMW driver tops the handicap weight list. Nicola Larini, who is fourth in the championship classification, will carry the maximum 60-kg ballast on board his Chevrolet Lacetti at Oschersleben.

The new SEAT León TDI made a convincing debut at Anderstorp. The Spanish machine, the first to use a turbo diesel engine in a World Championship, showed its potential in spite of the difficult weather conditions that plagued WTCC’s Swedish weekend.

If it hadn’t be transparent (because it was accepted on the basis of national homologation), the bio-ethanol powered Volvo S60 of Robert Dahlgren would have scored one point on its first appearance in the FIA WTCC.

Motorbase Performance’s Matt Allison put on a strong show in front of hundreds of friends, family and sponsors at his home rounds of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship at Snetterton this weekend. However, despite consistent running over the course of the three races, Allison and teammate Tom Ferrier were left with just a handful of points to show for their efforts.

Robert Huff claimed victory in particularly tricky racing conditions in Anderstorp.

Anderstorp: Team Reports after the Races
Chevrolet
Seat
BMW
Alfa Romeo

Team Halfords’ Gordon Shedden, Vauxhall’s Fabrizio Giovanardi and, for the first time in his career, Team RAC’s Tom Onslow-Cole shared the wins in today’s three Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship rounds at a hot and sunny Snetterton circuit in Norfolk. Onslow-Cole’s victory – which makes him the eighth different winner so far in 2007 – was shown live on ITV1.

The so far most thrilling and fiercely fought DTM race of the year that was marked by strategy, nail-biting duels and perfect teamwork within the Audi squad ended in a total Audi triumph. 74,500 spectators (throughout the weekend) witnessed the first quadruple victory of the Audi A4 in DTM history.

§ After five consecutive race wins, four of them with the new C-Class, this car carried 20 kilograms more than the opposition of the same year, due to the handicap weight

Anderstorp: WTCC Team Previews
Chevrolet
BMW
Alfa Romeo

For the second time in a row, Audi has dominated the qualifying in the DTM. Just like a fortnight ago at Mugello (Italy), five Audi drivers will be starting from the top five grid positions at Zandvoort (the Netherlands) as well. The pole position on the dune circuit near Amsterdam was secured by the German Timo Scheider (Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline). DTM leader Mattias Ekström will start from the front row alongside his teammate at
1 p.m. (local time) on Sunday, thus having the best prerequisites for a further expansion of his advantage in the overall standings.

Following four consecutive victories for the new C-Class, the drivers of the 2007 generation start with a weight handicap of 20 kilograms compared to the 07 Audis. The 2006 C-Class is 25 kilograms heavier than the respective Audis and the 2005 C-Class has a weight handicap of 20 kilograms.

Colin Turkington achieved his third pole position of the 2007 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship season when he headed qualifying for the series’ rounds at the Snetterton circuit in Norfolk.

Tiago Monteiro claimed SEAT's first pole position of the season and the first for him in WTCC at the end of a breathtaking qualifying session that challenged men, teams and machines to the limit. Rainfall before the start and during the opening of the session meant the track was wet.

Anderstorp: Team Reports from Qualifying
Chevrolet
Seat
BMW
Alfa Romeo

Audi contests the seventh round of ten DTM races during the 2007 season at Zandvoort. Listed below are several interesting facts about the race on the North Sea cost.

Audi contests the seventh round of the 2007 DTM season at Zandvoort (Sunday from 12:45 p.m. live on German TV "Das Erste"). The 4.307 kilometre long circuit, which has been used since 2001, is the venue of a traditionally very atmospheric DTM event.

§ § The seventh round of the 2007 DTM in Zandvoort, Netherlands this coming weekend is also the seventh DTM race at this track located 25 kilometres west of Amsterdam. In the six races in Zandvoort so far after the DTM premiere in 2001, Mercedes-Benz and Audi took turns winning the event - regarding their victories they are equal on wins three to three .

Volvo is the first Manufacturer to take part in an FIA WTCC event with a bio-fuel powered car. Volvo Car Corporation announced today that they will enter their team Polestar at Anderstorp, on July 28th and 29th to support WTCC's green agenda. The Swedish team will take part with one Volvo S60 Flexifuel powered by Ethanol E85 and driven by Robert Dahlgren, currently second in the Swedish Touring Car Championship.

# In Sweden, Jordi Gené and Yvan Muller will drive a León WTCC equipped with a 280 hp TDI engine, stemming from the 170 hp 2.0 mounted in the León FR.

Four Mercedes-Benz C-Class cars of all three generations used ended up among the top-five: Paul di Resta (2005 JAWA4U.de AMG Mercedes C-Class) came home third ahead of Bruno Spengler (2007 DaimlerChrysler Bank AMG Mercedes C-Class) and Daniel la Rosa (2006 TrekStor AMG Mercedes C-Class).

With a second place at Mugello (Italy), Mattias Ekström re-captured the DTM lead for Audi. After six of ten races, the Swede from Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline has a 6.5-point advantage to title defender Bernd Schneider, who scored no points in Italy.

Team Halfords’ Gordon Shedden and SEAT’s Jason Plato shared the race wins in today’s three Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship rounds at a rain-lashed Donington Park circuit in Leicestershire. For Plato, victories in both races two and three have enabled him to turn a one-point deficit into a sizeable 25-point lead at the top of the championship over Vauxhall driver Fabrizio Giovanardi as the BTCC next heads for the Snetterton circuit in Norfolk on 29 July.

With a dominant qualifying performance Audi secured a perfect starting base for the DTM race at Mugello (Italy). On the longest and most demanding circuit of the year, the current-generation Audi A4 DTM cars were in a class of their own on both days of practice. Putting five cars on the top five grid positions on Saturday, AUDI AG managed its best qualifying result ever in DTM history.

Qualifying, part 1: Bernd Schneider (Genuine Parts AMG Mercedes C-Class) was sixth with 1min44.892 and was the fastest driver with a Mercedes-Benz C-Class.

Scotland’s Gordon Shedden has qualified on pole position for the first of tomorrow’s (Sunday) three Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship rounds at the Donington Park circuit in Leicestershire.

The sixth round of the 2007 DTM will be staged at Mugello, Italy, 30 kilometres north of Florence this coming weekend. Five different drivers won the five races so far, among them were four Mercedes-Benz C-Class drivers - the most recent one was Bruno Spengler (2007 DaimlerChrysler Bank AMG Mercedes C-Class) who won at the Norisring two and a half weeks ago.

Tom Ferrier has been confirmed as the new driver for Motorbase Performance in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship. He will join the team for Donington Park this weekend (14/15 July) and, subject to funding, hopes to continue through the remaining races of 2007.

Returning to the 5.245-kilometre long circuit, which was the scene of several DTM races during the 1990s, rekindles an old tradition. Timo Scheider talks about the circuit that meanders through Tuscany.

Gareth Howell will not contest the second half of the 2007 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship with Motorbase Performance.

Porto: Manufacturer Recaps from Race Day
Chevrolet
BMW
Seat
Alfa Romeo

Alain Menu led the field for the entire race - which included six laps behind the safety car – and came home victorious, followed by Rob Huff and Nicola Larini.

Porto: Manufacturer Reports After Qualifying
Chevrolet
BMW
Alfa Romeo
Seat

Last Wednesday, following an invitation to tender, the FIA World Motor Sport Council appointed the Yokohama Rubber Company to supply the control tyre for the 2008 and 2009 FIA World Touring Car Championships.

Caltex has announced that it will not be renewing its sponsorship of V8 Supercar teams Stone Brothers Racing and Triple Eight Race Engineering at the end of the 2007 season.

WTCC Headed to Portugal
Luis Pedro Magalhaes Races for Life
WTCC: Robert Colciago Back on Track
WTCC: Maximum Ballast for Farfus and Muller

Porto: Manufacturer Previews coming into Portugal
BMW
SEAT
Chevrolet
Alfa Romeo

Motorbase Performance drivers Matt Allison and Gareth Howell both came away from rounds 13, 14 and 15 of the 2007 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship at Oulton Park, Cheshire having added to their championship points tally.

§ After Mika Häkkinen’s and Bernd Schneider’s victories at the Lausitzring and in Brands Hatch respectively, it is the third race win for the new C-Class and the fourth for Mercedes-Benz after Gary Paffett took victory in Oschersleben with the 2006 C-Class.

In front of 141,000 spectators (throughout the weekend) Mattias Ekström clinched a podium result for Audi in the "home race” at the Norisring despite a spoiled qualifying. The Swede in his Red Bull Audi A4 DTM fought his way forwards from seventh position on the grid to third place. In the DTM’s overall standings, Ekström as the runner-up lies merely 1.5 points behind title defender Bernd Schneider. Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline is the front runner in the team standings at the season’s midpoint.

Team Halfords’ Gordon Shedden, Team RAC’s Colin Turkington and Jacksons MSport’s Mat Jackson today shared the victories in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship’s three rounds at the Oulton Park circuit in Cheshire. Shedden’s and first-time winner Jackson’s successes mean that seven different drivers have so far achieved victories this season, but the main talking point centres on the title race – leaving Oulton, Vauxhall’s Fabrizio Giovanardi and SEAT’s Jason Plato are now tied for the championship lead.

The race version of the new Mercedes-Benz C-Class now took all five pole positions in the first five races of the 2007 season. Behind three new C-Class cars, Gary Paffett (56.447sec) qualified fourth fastest with the 2006 Laureus AMG Mercedes C-Class. Including the sixth position of Jamie Green (Salzgitter AMG Mercedes C-Class/56.584sec), all four 2007 AMG Mercedes C-Class cars and one last year’s model ended up among the top six.

Timo Scheider will start from fifth place in the DTM race at the Norisring on Sunday as the best Audi driver. His teammates from Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline, Mattias Ekström, Tom Kristensen and Martin Tomczyk, will go into the race from positions seven, eight and eleven. Local hero Christian Abt (Audi Sport Team Phoenix) in tenth place was the best driver of an Audi A4 DTM with last year’s specifications.

Christian Abt will end his DTM career on 14 October at the close of the 2007 season. The Audi factory driver announced this decision on Friday during a press conference at the Norisring race. "For me, the DTM is the greatest racing series in the world," stated the 40-year-old driver. "That’s why I’ve always planned to step down while I’m still going strong rather than waiting until people start writing me off behind my back. Although this departure is difficult, I’m leaving with my head held high, strong and happy because I’ve achieved my goals in any situation. And most of all I’ll be taking lots of good memories with me."

Colin Turkington (Portadown) has qualified on pole position for tomorrow’s Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship starting grid at the Oulton Park circuit in Cheshire. The 25-year-old becomes the first driver in 2007 to take two pole positions and his achievement follows his first win of the season last time out at the Croft circuit three weeks ago.

The Norisring is about to see the DTM start to its fifth race weekend (Sunday, starting at 1:45 p.m. live on "Das Erste"). The circuit that is typically lined by far more than 100,000 spectators has a tradition of being the season’s highlight. Audi factory driver Christian Abt, who previously finished as the runner-up on this circuit, claiming his best DTM result so far, comments on the 2.300-kilometre race track in the heart of Nuernberg.

Brno: BMW Have a Near Perfect Weekend + Results!
RACE 1: PORTEIRO LEADS A BMW 1-2-3-4
RACE 2: MÜLLER WINS, FARFUS LEADS

ZURICH / WELLINGBOUROUGH, 17 June 2007 – The Chevrolet team will enter a fourth Lacetti WTC in the Race of Sweden (Anderstorp, 28-29 July 2007), the seventh round of the WTCC for local hero Rickard Rydell. The Swedish driver, one of the top touring car drivers in the world, will make a come-back to the WTCC in his home event and on a track he knows particularly well.

Brno: Manufacturer Reports from the Weekend
BMW
Seat
Chevrolet
Alfa Romeo

In a session that was decided in the very last seconds, Félix Porteiro secured his and BMW Team Italy-Spain’s first pole. The young Spaniard clocked a 2:11.584 on his last lap which was three tenths faster than the rest. In fact, all the BMW drivers waited until the dying seconds before mounting their attacks. Five BMWs will line up in the top six tomorrow.

In a spectacular touring car race at Brands Hatch (England), Audi captured the double lead in the DTM: Martin Tomczyk and Mattias Ekström in the two Red Bull Audi A4 DTM cars fielded by Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline clinched places two and three although, due to previous exploits, they were driving the heaviest cars in the entire field. Today’s result means that a fortnight from now, Audi will be travelling to their "home race” in Nuremberg as the front runners in the DTM. At the same time, the handicap weight will be reduced from 21 to merely seven kilograms.

Audi driver Mattias Ekström has good chances of winning back the lead in the DTM standings at Brands Hatch (Great Britain). Despite carrying an additional 21 kilograms of weight imposed as a result of previous exploits, the Swede in his Red Bull Audi A4 DTM will start from fourth place on the grid on Sunday – the same position from which Ekström won the race at Brands Hatch last year.

Brands Hatch in Kent is the venue for the fourth round of the 2007 DTM this coming weekend. The 1.929-kilometre long short track of the former Grand Prix circuit is the shortest track on the DTM calendar.

Gareth Howell scored a fifth place finish for Motorbase Performance in the second race at Croft in North Yorkshire - the best result of the season so far for the Kent-based team - providing a boost on an otherwise challenging weekend.

Alain Menu was victorious after leading the field from lights to flag in Pau. He drove his Chevrolet Lacetti solidly to turn his second pole of the season into his second win, precisely like one moth ago in Zandvoort.

Pau: The Teams Tell the Story
N. Technology
BMW
Chevrolet
Seat

Team RAC’s Colin Turkington, SEAT’s Darren Turner and Vauxhall’s Italian driver Fabrizio Giovanardi shared the victories in today’s three Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship rounds in front of a bumper crowd at a hot and sunny Croft circuit in North Yorkshire.

Alain Menu will line up on pole for race one at Pau tomorrow; the second time for him in the season as he had already topped qualifying in Zandvoort. The Chevrolet man was battling with Yvan Muller for the duration of the session and eventually clocked a time of 1:21.930 which was 0.398 of a second faster than the SEAT man’s attempt. Augusto Farfus qualified third but due to a penalty incurred at Valencia he will line up 13th.

Scottish driver Gordon Shedden has qualified on pole position for tomorrow’s Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship starting grid at the Croft circuit in North Yorkshire.

The fourth round of the 2007 DTM is staged close to the city of London at Brands Hatch on 10 June. The Audi drivers in particular are looking forward to the appearance of the DTM on British soil: Because one year ago the Audi A4 DTM was the benchmark around the 1.973-kilometre and shortest DTM track.

James Thompson turned pole position into his and Alfa Romeo's first win of the season. Nicola Larini of Chevrolet was second followed by SEAT Sport man Yvan Muller. Six cars were involved in incidents in the first corner meaning three laps under safety car conditions.Andy Priaulx came home 5th, in between SEAT Sport duo Jordi Gené (4th) and Michel Jourdain (6th). Jörg Müller will begin Race 2 from pole after claiming 8th position.

DTM rookie Paul di Resta (JAWA4U.de AMG Mercedes) drove the 2005 C-Class to a second-place finish like two weeks ago in Oschersleben. The Scotsman took the championship lead with 20 points, followed by Gary Paffett (Laureus AMG Mercedes C-Class) and Audi drivers Mattias Ekström and Martin Tomczyk, all on 12 points. A ranking similar to Formula 1: Here, rookie Lewis Hamilton in the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes leads the championship.

77,500 spectators (throughout the weekend) witnessed one of the most turbulent races in DTM history at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz. Even
a few hours after the podium ceremony, the course of events continued to be the subject of heated debates, and the race result will always provide a subject for discussions. As the best Audi driver, Timo Scheider was classified fifth.

Valencia: Manufacturer Race Reports
Seat
Chevrolet

With a strong performance in qualifying at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz, Alexandre Prémat impressively returned to the DTM: The Frenchman was the only Audi driver to make it into the top eight in the three-part "shoot-out” for the best grid positions. In the Audi Bank Audi A4 DTM, Prémat secured sixth place on the starting grid for the race on Sunday (broadcast live on ARD starting at 1:45 p.m. local time) although Audi Sport Team Phoenix had to replace the upper wishbone of the left rear suspension on his A4 between the first and second section of the qualifying.

James Thompson gave the Alfa Romeo N.technology team their first pole of
the season. In fact, the last time they were on pole was at Valencia last year.
Thompson’s time of 1:43.954 was set halfway into the session and beat Yvan
Muller of SEAT Sport into 2nd place by an astonishing one thousandth of a
second. Andy Priaulx posted his best time (1.44.114) on the last lap to line up
third on the grid for BMW, making it three manufacturers in the top three.

Mika Häkkinen (AMG Mercedes C-Class), polesitter for the previous race in Oschersleben two weeks ago, will start second on the grid; with his time of 1min18.521sec he was 0.113sec behind Spengler. Paul di Resta (JAWA4U.de AMG Mercedes) qualified the 2005 C-Class third after setting a time of 1min18.660sec; the Scotsman leads the championship together with Audi drivers Mattias Ekström and Martin Tomczyk, all on 12 points.

DTM fans can look forward to a thrilling qualifying at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz: In both of the two 90-minute test sessions on Friday the DTM field presented itself in an ultra-compact and colourful mix yet again. The quickest Audi driver was Adam Carroll (Great Britain). The DTM newcomer from the Audi customer team Futurecom TME drives the Audi A4 DTM that - due to the regulations - has the lowest weight.

Six podium positions, six different drivers: Six different drivers occupied the six podium positions of the 2007 season's first two races. In addition to Audi drivers Mattias Ekström and Martin Tomczyk as well as Daniel la Rosa at the wheel of the 2006 TrekStor AMG Mercedes C-Class in Hockenheim, Gary Paffett (2006 Laureus AMG Mercedes C-Class), Paul di Resta (2005 JAWA4U.de AMG Mercedes C-Class) and Mike Rockenfeller (2006 Audi) were at the top in Oschersleben. Last year, Bernd Schneider repeated his victory in the season opener in the second race; Tom Kristensen (Audi) came home second twice. Only third place changed: Mika Häkkinen (AMG Mercedes C-Class), third at the Lausitzring, followed Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Audi), third in Hockenheim.

The third round of the 2007 DTM season is held next weekend at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz (Sunday from 1:45 p.m. live on German TV "Das Erste”). Audi factory driver Mike Rockenfeller, who turned heads last time out at Oschersleben by claiming third place in a year-old car, talks about the 3.478 kilometre long EuroSpeedway Lausitz, at which Audi have won two of the last four DTM race (Mattias Ekström in both 2004 and 2005).

Audi contests the third of ten DTM races in the 2007 season next weekend at the EuroSpeedway. Listed below are several interesting facts about the race at the EuroSpeedway.

British driver Adam Carroll will be back in action this weekend in the third round of DTM at the Euro Speedway, Lausitz. After completing his first DTM race and his first race in 8 months, the 24 year old, from Northern Ireland, was happy to get into the top ten after a tough battle in Oschersleben in his 2005 Audi A4.

May 14, 2007 - Ford Performance Racing (FPR) heads to first of three home
rounds this season at Victoria's Winton Motor Raceway this weekend. Fresh
from two fast-paced days of development testing at the regional Victorian
circuit, the Prodrive team is well prepared for what is sure to be a close
three race contest.

The first two races of the 2007 DTM have demonstrated just how rarefied the atmosphere is in the most popular international touring car race series. Almost every driver in the 20 car field has a chance of finishing on the podium. The smallest details are the difference between victory and defeat. It is already plain to see that every point will count in the title battle.

ZANDVOORT (RACES 3 & 4), 6 May 2007: Alain Menu scored the first win of the season for Chevrolet in the 2007 World Touring Car Championship at Zandvoort today. Menu led from start to finish in the first race, closely followed home by team mate Nicola Larini. It was the first ever 1-2 win for Chevrolet since the make started in the WTCC in 2005. Rob Huff retired from race 1 while running in eighth when the steering broke as a result from a collision at the start and another big knock three corners preceding his retirement.

May 9, 2007 - The Ford Performance Racing (FPR) V8 Supercar team has
completed a detailed two day test at Victoria's Winton Motor Raceway, the
team's nominated test circuit and the venue for Round 4 of the V8 Supercar
Championship Series to be held next weekend (May 18-20).

Paul di Resta (JAWA4U.de AMG Mercedes C-Class) drove his 2005 car to second place. After 44 exciting laps, the 2006 Formula 3 Euro Series champion came home 3.7sec behind Gary Paffett. In the overall ranking, Paul di Resta is third with 12 points, tied with Audi drivers Mattias Ekström and Martin Tomczyk; a situation like in Formula 1, where Vodafone McLaren Mercedes drivers Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton share the overall lead with Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari).

63,000 spectators (throughout the weekend) at the Motorsport Arena witnessed another turbulent DTM race and an impressive showing by Mike Rockenfeller: Audi’s youngest factory driver – aged 23 – fought a thrilling duel with the two-time Formula 1 World Champion Mika Häkkinen, which he decided in his favour on the second last lap. Clinching third place after a fierce fight, "Rocky” managed to make it onto the podium in what was only his second DTM race so far. In addition, he claimed the best result for Audi Team Rosberg since the launch of the "new” DTM in 2000.

Chevrolet have recorded their best ever result in the WTCC with a 1-2 finish for Alain Menu and Nicola Larini. The two began from the front of the grid and survived a restart following a lap under safety car conditions. It was in fact the third Chevrolet driver, Rob Huff, who caused the safety car to be deployed after he spun at the Audi Esses on lap 8.

Vauxhall’s Fabrizio Giovanardi and SEAT’s Jason Plato (Oxford) again shared the victories in today’s three Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship rounds at Thruxton in Hampshire – the fastest track on the BTCC calendar. Just as at Rockingham a fortnight ago, Giovanardi won twice and he has now slashed the gap to championship leader Plato from 18 points to just nine as the BTCC prepares for its next meeting, at the Croft circuit in North Yorkshire on 3 June.

For the first time in WTCC history the front row of the grid will be filled by two Chevrolet Lacetti cars. Alain Menu dominated the electrifying session, improving his time whenever others looked set to challenge for the pole. After he set a provisional pole position of 1:47.578 he improved to 1:47.044, a time that his team-mate Nicola Larini was able to close on but not to match; the Italian will line up alongside the Swiss, only 0.157 slower. Augusto Farfus ensured BMW were in the top three with a lap of 1:47.519.

Vauxhall driver Fabrizio Giovanardi has taken pole position in Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship qualifying at the Thruxton circuit in Hampshire.

In the third part of today’s qualifying, the Canadian posted a time of 1min22.625sec and is third on the grid. Jamie Green (Salzgitter AMG Mercedes C-Class) qualified fifth with 1min22.791sec; Gary Paffett (Laureus AMG Mercedes) ended up eighth with 1min23.134sec at the wheel of the 2006 C-Class. In the second part of qualifying, Bernd Schneider (Genuine Parts AMG Mercedes C-Class) ended up tenth after he was held up by another car and lost two tenths of a second.

Mike Rockenfeller – at age 23 the youngest Audi factory driver – was the great sensation in the qualifying practice for the DTM race at Oschersleben. In the fight for the pole position, "Rocky” at the wheel of his S line Audi A4 DTM only had to admit defeat to the two-time Formula 1 World Champion Mika Häkkinen by 74 thousandths of a second. This means that for the first time the rookie from Neuwied will be starting from the front row of the grid in his second DTM race – a remarkable feat that has been accomplished only by very few DTM newcomers so far.

Ahead of the second meeting of the 2007 WTCC season in Zandvoort, the field had the chance to suss out the circuit. A thirty minute private testing session saw Alain Menu emerge on top with a time of 1:47.424 behind the wheel of his Chevrolet Lacetti.

The Audi A4 DTM is the car to beat at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben as well. By setting best times in both 90-minute tests on Friday, Audi factory driver Ekström underlined the fact that his victory in the DTM season opener at Hockenheim two weeks ago was no coincidence. With a time of 1m 23.417s, the Swede in the Red Bull Audi A4 DTM of Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline achieved the fastest time of the day on the 3.696-kilometre circuit.

Hockenheim review: Six Mercedes-Benz drivers covered the points positions from third to eighth, including all three C-Class generations which had been entered. The eight fastest race laps posted by two Audis and six Mercedes-Benz’ were within two tenths of a second.

British driver Adam Carroll will be back in action this weekend in the second round of DTM at Oschersleben. After walking away from a horror smash at Hockenheim two weeks ago, which left two drivers in hospital, Adam cannot wait to get back behind the wheel of his 2005 Audi A4 for Team Futurecom-TME.

Audi factory driver Frank Biela makes a comeback in the DTM this coming weekend: The 1991 DTM Champion and four-time Le Mans winner jumps, at short notice, into Tom Kristensen’s cockpit at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben for Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline.

This coming weekend the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben hosts the second DTM race of the year (Sunday from 1:45 p.m. live on German TV "Das Erste”). Audi factory driver Lucas Luhr talks about the 3.696 kilometre long circuit close to Magdeburg, on which Audi has won two of the previous three DTM races (Tom Kristensen winning in both 2004 and 2006).

The second of ten DTM races during the 2007 season is on the agenda next weekend at Oschersleben. Listed below are several interesting facts about the race near Magdeburg.

Audi factory driver Alexandre Prémat (25) left hospital two days after Tom Kristensen was discharged. The Frenchman, who cracked a lumbar vertebra at the DTM opener at Hockenheim, returned to his family in France on Thursday afternoon. He will continue his therapy under the watchful eyes of professor Gérard Saillant, who has already helped numerous prominent sport personalities make a speedy, full recovery.

With a double victory at Hockenheim, Audi managed a successful start to the 2007 DTM season. 101,000 spectators (throughout the weekend) witnessed an impressive début of the evolution Audi A4 DTM that was the quickest car on all three days of the event. The Swede Mattias Ekström celebrated his tenth victory in the DTM with a flawless race and perfect strategy of Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline. Martin Tomczyk (Germany) bumped Mercedes driver Bruno Spengler from second place on the last lap to complete Audi’s triumph.

Bruno Spengler Lost Third Place Bruno Spengler after time penalty relegated from third to 14th Six AMG Mercedes C-Class cars in the eight points positions.

Vauxhall’s Fabrizio Giovanardi and SEAT’s Jason Plato (Oxford) shared the victories in today’s (Sunday) three Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship rounds at the Rockingham circuit in Northamptonshire. A pair of wins for Italian Giovanardi have seen him move into second position in the standings, although it is Plato, today’s third race winner, who remains on top as the championship next heads to the fastest circuit on the calendar – Thruxton in Hampshire – on 6 May.

NZ: Ford Team Race Recaps
FPR
WPS/WOW
Caltex

In the opening round of the 2007 DTM at Hockenheim, the Audi squad clinched an outstanding starting base for the race. Audi was the only one of the two manufacturers to succeed in getting all four new cars into the third section of the three-part qualifying. With Martin Tomczyk starting from second place, Mattias Ekström from position four, Tom Kristensen from fifth, and Timo Scheider from sixth place, all of the latest-generation Audi A4 DTM cars will start the race from the first three rows – and, what is more, on a circuit on which Audi has never won before.

Rookie Paul di Resta (JAWA4U.de AMG Mercedes C-Class) will start from the second row. The 2006 Formula 3 Euro Series Champion set a time of 1:34.449 with the 2005 C-Class and missed the front row by three thousandths of a second. Mika Häkkinen (AMG Mercedes C-Class) qualified seventh (1:34.774). Daniel la Rosa (TrekStor AMG Mercedes C-Class) was among the top-eight qualifiers for the second time after the 2006 season finale; however, due to a problem with the power steering he was not able to complete a timed lap. Bruno Spengler’s pole position time and Mika Häkkinen’s time in seventh place were within 0.405sec.

A large representative of sponsors, partners, manufacturers, sport marketing experts and press gathered in Munich’s Marriott Hotel for the launch of the 2007 European phase of the FIA WTCC that will start in Zandvoort on May 6th. A two-hour workshop was devoted to supply general information, benchmarks and an overview on the series’ new partners.

The 2007 DTM's first day of practice has given spectators a foretaste of what to expect in the season opener at Hockenheim: extremely close results and a colourful mix of all vehicle generations.

April 21, 2007 - Ford Performance Racing (FPR) has continued the blue oval
team's strong form in
New Zealand with round Pole-setter Mark Winterbottom racing his Orrcon Ford
Credit FPR Falcon to second place after a race long battle with Holden rival
Garth Tander. Castrol FPR Falcon driver Steve Richards finished 5th, capping
off a highly competitive day for the Prodrive team at Pukekohe Park Raceway.

The 43 lap race started with Tander gaining the early race lead ahead of
Winterbottom and Richards until an early Safety Car period before the end of
the first lap bunched up the field. This was caused by Dean Canto running
off the circuit at turn one and becoming stuck in the sand trap. By lap four
the race was re-started at a frantic pace with Tander, Winterbottom and
Richards swapping fastest lap times all the way to the first round of pit
stops on lap 15.

Winterbottom was among the first to pit and after a sensational effort by
the FPR pit crew, he leap-frogged Tander for the lead by the time the whole
field had completed their compulsory pit stops.(Lap 22). From this point he
enjoyed a two second lead to Tander with Richards a strong third at 2.6
seconds behind, holding off the persistent advances of Holden rival Rick
Kelly throughout the race.

Winterbottom, who finished second overall at this round last season, held on
to the race lead until lap 39 when tyre wear slowed his pace, allowing
Tander to make his way past in a car which was clearly faster during the
closing stages of the race. Richards' determined top three drive was
thwarted when Rick Kelly and Jamie Whincup made their way past relegating
him to 5th where he remained until the chequered flag. A deflating rear tyre
was found to be the cause of his drop in speed during the closing stages of
the race.

Winterbottom finished the race 1.2 seconds behind Tander, with Richards 6
seconds behind in 5th.
26 out of the 30 starters finished this first of three New Zealand sprint
races which was held in clear and mild conditions.

#5 Mark Winterbottom - "A good race - particularly starting from Pole
position for the first time. The only down side to the race was the tyre
life. When the tyres are good we have a fantastic car, but when the tyres
wear our performance deteriorates drastically. I am disappointed that Garth
got through towards the end after we led the race for some twenty laps
starting off with a good two second gap.
We will work on getting on top of our tyre life problems and I am sure that
when we do we will have a car that will be unbeatable. I'll take second
place as a worst case scenario any day. The team did a great job to get me
back out in front after the pit stop."

#6 Steve Richards - "A good start to our weekend with both cars in the top
five and it was a great day for FPR in qualifying as well. During the second
half of today's race I had a deflating right rear tyre in which the team is
confident was the cause of our handling problems during the closing stages.
The first half of the race was fantastic, the car was as competitive as
anyone out there. We have a very strong car for the two races ahead of us."

FPR Motorsport Director, Tim Edwards - "A Fantastic start to our weekend, as
in past rounds we have had good car speed in the races but we didn't put it
all together in qualifying. Today we did that and have gained two strong
finishes, placing us in a strong position for the two remaining races
tomorrow."

FPR returns to Pukekohe Park Raceway at 9:30am and 12:55pm (EST) for races
two and three tomorrow. Australian television coverage of these races
commences at 12:00pm on the Seven Network.

April 21, 2007 - Ford Performance Racing (FPR) V8 Supercar team drivers Mark
Winterbottom and Steve Richards have made their blue oval intentions clear
for Round 3 of the Championship by setting a blistering pace in qualifying
ahead of the weekend's first of three sprint races to be held at Auckland's
Pukekohe Raceway today.

New Zealand - Practice Recaps
FPR
WPS/WOW
Caltex

British driver Adam Carroll makes his debut this weekend in one of the toughest motor sport championships in the world – DTM. The 24 year old from Portadown in Northern Ireland, heads to Hockenheim in Germany where over 100,000 people will watch the opening round of the series. Adam will be racing in the 2005 Audi A4 in the colours of sponsor Ethos Organics and Castrol-Edge.

April 14, 2007 - Ford Performance Racing (FPR) welcomes back a familiar face
to the Prodrive team for this year's Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000 endurance
races. Highly experienced V8 Supercar racer Owen Kelly returns after having
last competed with the team during its debut season in 2003.

In one of the first developments of its kind the FIA World Touring Car Championship (FIA WTCC) is set to run on bio-fuel from 2009 after the FIA World Motor Sport Council gave unanimous support for the initiative.

Four Audi DTM stars got the opportunity to test the 650 hp Audi R10 TDI just before the 2007 DTM season opens at Hockenheim on 22 April. Mattias Ekström (28), Lucas Luhr (27), Alexandre Prémat (25) and Mike Rockenfeller (23) completed approximately 1,400 test kilometres with the revolutionary Diesel sportscar from AUDI AG during a development test for the 24 Hours of Le Mans held at the "High Tech Test Track” at Paul Ricard (South of France).

The three Audi factory teams Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline, Phoenix and Rosberg enter the 2007 DTM season, which starts on 22 April at Hockenheim, with strong partners. The Audi A4 DTM cars can be seen sporting their new designs for the first time in public at the DTM test days at the Motorsportarena Oschersleben from Tuesday to Friday this week. The official presentation to open the season is held on Sunday on the "Kö” in Dusseldorf.

DTM: The first ‘clash of the titans’ occurs at the Motorsportarena Oschersleben less than 14 days before the DTM season starts at Hockenheim on 22 April. The only official pre-season 2007 DTM test days are held from Tuesday to Friday at the East German race track close to Magdeburg. The latest generation Audi A4 DTM meets the new Mercedes-Benz C-Class for the first time. All four Audi teams and all Audi drivers are in action. Tom Kristensen will have his mobile phone permanently at his side: The Dane and his partner Hanne are expecting an addition to the family.

The FIA Touring Car Bureau took four different decisions to adjust the cars' weight for the next WTCC race meeting in Zandvoort:

Motorbase Performance made a points-scoring start to the 2007 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship at Brands Hatch, with both drivers gaining two top ten finishes in Sunday’s races.

DuPont Refinish has been appointed as official supplier to the RML Group. This association will see DuPont Refinish providing advanced product and technical support across a range of RML motorsport and automotive projects including the Chevrolet World Touring programme and the MG Lola Le Mans 24 Hour project.

A-Tech Motorsport drivers David Pinkney and Richard Marsh say they have taken many positives from today’s opening round of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship after getting to grips with their brand-new Alfa Romeo 156 racing cars for the first time under race conditions.

Results: BTCC from Brands Hatch

Northern Irishman Colin Turkington has taken pole position for tomorrow's opening round of the 2007 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship at the Brands Hatch circuit in Kent.

A-Tech Motorsport drivers David Pinkney and Richard Marsh will line up in 17th and 26th places respectively on the grid for tomorrow’s first Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) race at Brands Hatch after this afternoon’s qualifying session at the Kent circuit.

Line-up with two new drivers: Like last year, the 2007 Mercedes-Benz team comprises one female and nine male drivers. Bernd Schneider, five-times and reigning champion, is scheduled to head the line-up. The Newcomer is Paul di Resta, 2006 Formula 3 Euro Series Champion with a Dallara Mercedes, who gets his chance in the Mercedes-Benz support programme of young talent and who is the youngest driver in the field at 20 years old. Gary Paffett is well known as the 2005 DTM champion and Formula One test driver for Vodafone McLaren Mercedes.

For the first time ever a Russian racing team will take part in an FIA World Championship.

March 30, 2007 - Defending Sandown 500 Champion team Ford Performance Racing (FPR) is pleased to announce that highly experienced New Zealand driver Matt Halliday will be re-joining Ford's major V8 Supercar team at both 2007 V8 Supercar endurance races.

Mike Rockenfeller could have forged a career at his former employer as well, however – just as team mate Lucas Luhr – he decided to switch to Audi. "Everything that Audi has ever tackled in motorsport during the last years was a success,” knows the youngster, who is impressed by the Audi brand and its products. "Ground breaking technology, beautiful workmanship and a sporting, dynamic design,” he says spontaneously. "I was like a child with a new toy at Christmas when I got the keys to my new RS4 company car.”

Munich, 26th March 2007. The four BMW national team drivers had little time to catch their breath following their successful start to the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) in Curitiba, Brazil. Andy Priaulx (GBR), Jörg Müller (Germany), Augusto Farfus (BRA) and Félix Porteiro (ESP) were back in action once again from 18th to 23rd March, this time for a "fitness and teambuilding week" in Munich.

It’s ‘all systems go’ as the Motorbase Performance team heads to Brands Hatch this weekend for the opening rounds of the 2007 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.

Perth - Ford Team Reports
Caltex
Ford Performance Racing
WPS

March 25, 2007 - Castrol FPR Falcon driver Steve Richards has been handed a 23 second post race penalty following yesterday's opening 50 lap V8 Supercar race at Perth's Barbagallo Raceway.

Caltex Ambassador Craig Lowndes has secured fourth place in race one of the BigPond 400, round two of the 2007 V8 Supercar Championship Series, at Perth’s Barbagallo Raceway in Western Australia today.

In December 2006 the possibility of Gary’s DTM comeback first arose. However, at that time the four HWA factory cars had been already allocated to DTM record champion Bernd Schneider (42), double Formula One World Champion Mika Häkkinen (38), 2006 DTM runner-up Bruno Spengler (23) and Jamie Green (24), 2004 Formula 3 Euro Series Champion.

Andy Priaulx, Jörg Müller and Augusto Farfus are in joint lead of the Drivers' Championship as well as on top of the handicap weight list for the FIA WTCC's next meeting that will take place at Zandvoort's, Netherlands, on May 6th. The three BMW men will carry 35 extra kg apiece on board their cars.

WPS Racing drivers Max Wilson and Jason Bargwanna have made a steady start to proceedings for the BigPond 400 at Barbagallo Raceway near Perth, Western Australia today.

Caltex Ambassador Craig Lowndes has led the charge for the Caltex drivers during practice for the BigPond 400, round two of the 2007 V8 Supercar Championship, at Perth’s Barbagallo Raceway today.

March 23, 2007 - Orrcon Ford Credit FPR Falcon driver Mark Winterbottom has
started his Round two campaign across the Nullabor in fine style by posting
the second fastest lap of Friday's opening practice session.

The new DTM season will start in exactly one month – on April 22 – at Hockenheim. A total of ten Audi A4 DTM cars will compete in the series. Four of them will be of the latest generation, entered by Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline and raced by Mattias Ekström (Sweden), Tom Kristensen (Denmark), Timo Scheider (Germany) and Martin Tomczyk (Germany).

With the new-for-2007 V8 Supercar points system only awarding points to the top 15 finishers, WPS Racing drivers Max Wilson and Jason Bargwanna believe that the new elimination-style qualifying session on Saturday will be crucial for teams at this weekend’s BigPond 400 at Barbagallo Raceway near Perth, Western Australia this weekend.

After a strong showing at the opening round of the 2007 V8 Supercar Championship Series at the Clipsal 500 three weeks ago Caltex drivers are aiming to continue that form at the BigPond 400 at Barbagallo Raceway in Perth, Western Australia this weekend.

Lucas Luhr has a dream: "I want to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans. And I believe that at Audi I'm in exactly the right place." The young German, who has recently moved from Monte Carlo to Lake Constance in Switzerland, originates from the Porsche staircase of talent. With the Swabians he has won everything that there was to win more recently the American Le Mans Series LM P2 class title.

March 20, 2007 - Ford Performance Racing (FPR) V8 Supercar team drivers
Steve Richards and Mark Winterbottom are planning a major blue oval assault
on the second round of the V8 Supercar Championship Series being held at
Perth's Barbagallo Raceway this weekend.

WPS Racing's relationship with DaimlerChrysler Australia/Pacific has grown again with the V8 Supercar team taking delivery of a new Freightliner Argosy Evolution prime mover.

CURITIBA (RACE 1 & 2), 11 March 2007 – Rob Huff scored Chevrolet’s first points with a fifth place in the first race in Curitiba, Brazil, today. It was the high point of the weekend, as both Alain Menu and Nicola Larini were victim of race incidents in the first race, while Rob suffered the same bad luck in the second. In the drivers’ championship, Huff is seventh with four points, while Chevrolet is third in the manufacturer’s standings with nine points. The next race of the 2007 World Touring Car Championship takes place in Zandvoort, Holland on 6 May.

The A-Tech team has taken delivery of its first Super 2000-specification race car, as well as its show car. The second brand-new car will arrive from Italy next week.

RESULTS - WTCC From Brazil (Rounds 1 and 2) - BMW Untouchable

Curitiba (Brazil), 11th March 2007. The 2007 FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) started exactly in the same way as last year's season ended: Jörg Müller (GER) of BMW Team Germany claimed victory in the first race of the year. In front of 33,000 spectators at the "Autódromo Internacional de Curitiba" he made perfect use of his pole position, thus repeating his triumph in the 2006 season finale in Macau (CHN).

SEAT Sport achieved the best result possible at Curitiba, by scoring points in both opening rounds of the 2007 FIA World Touring Car Championship. The SEAT León was consistently the top front-wheel drive car racing in Brazil this weekend, but the current regulations enabled BMW to dominate by scoring a 1-2-3 result in both races. SEAT Sport drivers - Gabriele Tarquini in Race 1 and Yvan Muller in Race 2 – finished next-best in 4th position both times. It was a particularly good weekend for Gabriele, as he finished 5th in Race 2 as well, to leave Brazil with nine points and 4th in the Championship.

Gold Coast driver David Besnard has rocketed back into contention for the NZV8 Championship courtesy of an impressive victory in last weekend’s penultimate round of the championship at Invercargill.

Jörg Müller of BMW Team Germany claimed the first pole position of the season.Qualifying became the battle of the BMW men for top spot. Jörg Müller occupied provisional pole for the majority of the session before Andy Priaulx stole it on his last lap.

BMW driver Jörg Müller claims pole for WTCC curtain-raiser in Curitiba.
Curitiba (Brazil), 10th March 2007. The BMW national teams celebrated an excellent
start to the 2007 FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC). In the first
qualifying session of the season at the 'Autódromo Internacional de Curitiba', Jörg

The hard work SEAT Sport did pre-season paid dividends in Brazil today, when the works León proved to be the fastest front-wheel drive car during qualifying for the opening race of the 2007 FIA World Touring Car Championship at Curitiba. Gabriele Tarquini was the fastest SEAT driver, but instead of challenging for pole position, he qualified 5th, 0.349 seconds off pole, as the rear-wheel drive BMWs filled the first four places.

The new FIA World Touring Car Championship season starts this Sunday with Britain’s back-to-back WTCC champion, Andy Priaulx, looking to rewrite motorsport history. The 32-year-old racer, who was crowned European Touring Car Champion in 2004 and World Touring Car Champion in 2005 and 2006, is hoping to become the first ever British racing driver to win three consecutive FIA world titles.

For unusual activities, Mattias Ekström is always game. So the Audi factory driver did not hesitate for even a second when the icehockey pros of ERC Ingolstadt invited him to a trial practice at the Saturn Arena. "Panthers” John Tripp, Yannic Seidenberg and Michael Waginger were guests at the presentation of the Audi Motorsport Programme in Munich last Monday. "Puck meets horsepower” was the fitting way to describe how the Swede and the icehockey stars made friends with each other after the official part of the event, and spontaneously arranged a meeting.

This weekend, the 2007 World Touring Car Championship will kick off in the southern hemisphere, when teams and drivers reconvene for rounds one and two in Curitiba , Brazil . There will be plenty of new faces, new tracks and new rules for the teams to get under their belts. One of the novelties will be the rolling start for the first of the weekend’s two races, thus doing away with the relative advantage rear wheel drive cars had at standing starts. For the second race the standing start and the inverted grid remain as before.

Independent drivers secure top-spec Alfa Romeo machinery for 2007 BTCC campaign

More than 300 invited guests from media and society attended the world premiere of the technically re-worked Audi R10 TDI sporting its new design only two weeks before the 12 Hours of Sebring – the opening race of the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) on 18 March. At the same time Audi unveiled the Audi A4 DTM – the first race car for the 2007 DTM season.

Munich, 05 March 2007. This weekend Brazil's "Autódromo Internacional de Curitiba "provides the setting for rounds 1 and 2 of the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC). Once again the drivers of the BMW national teams will be joining the line-up in the BMW 320si WTCC - the car that helped Andy Priaulx (GBR) of BMW Team UK to victory in the driver's championship last year as well as earning BMW the manufacturers' title.

Frenchman Alexandre Prémat new Audi factory driver
Lucas Luhr and Mike Rockenfeller also new to DTM
Timo Scheider gets new Audi A4 DTM for the first time

It was a day of frustration caused by others for the WPS Racing and WOW Racing Falcons in the second heat of the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide today – and it only took turns for the rot to set in!

Caltex drivers have made a positive start to the 2007 V8 Supercar Championship Series with three Caltex-backed Ford Falcons in the top five of the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide today.

March 4, 2007 - Ford Performance Racing (FPR) has gained another top ten
finish in today's second Clipsal 500 race, with Castrol FPR Falcon driver
Steve Richards racing to his 18th consecutive Clipsal 500 race finish in 8th
place. Orrcon Ford Credit FPR Falcon driver Mark Winterbottom's race ended
abruptly while in contention for a podium finish due to an engine failure at
three quarter race distance.

WPS Racing’s Jason Bargwanna opened his V8 Supercar Championship Series points account when he finished 15th in the opening leg of the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide today.

21 drivers from 11 countries and representing four different car Manufacturers – Alfa Romeo, BMW, Chevrolet and SEAT – will compete next week in the season’s opening event of the 2007 FIA World Touring Car Championship, the WTCC HSBC Race of Brazil at Curitiba.Among the newcomers are Mexican ace Michel Jourdain (SEAT Sport) and two young Spaniards coming from the GP2 Championship: Félix Porteiro (BMW Team Italy-Spain), who impressed on his maiden race with the team during the the 2006 FIA European Touring Car Cup at Estoril, and Sergio Hernández (Proteam Motorsport).

The seventh race meeting of the 2007 FIA WTCC, that was scheduled on July 28th and 29th at the Istanbulpark, Turkey, will take place instead at Anderstorp, Sweden, on the same weekend.Anderstorp's 4.0 km Scandinavian Raceway is not a new venue for the FIA Touring Cars, as it hosted rounds of the FIA European Touring car Championship in 2002 and 2003.

Caltex drivers James Courtney and Jamie Whincup have both earned podium finishes in the opening race of the season at the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide today.

March 2, 2007 - Ford Performance Racing (FPR) driver Mark Winterbottom has led the blue oval team's Clipsal 500 challenge by qualifying 4th with a lap time of 1:22.59s after today's new format one hour qualifying session at the Adelaide Parklands Street Circuit.

Munich, 27th February 2007. There are now less than two weeks until the 2007 season of the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) kicks off with two races in Curitiba, Brazil. When the "Autódromo Internacional" becomes the venue for World Championship point chasers for the first time this year on 11th March, it will also mark the start of the next chase to catch BMW and Andy Priaulx (GBR). Just like last year, the BMW Team UK driver starts the season as defending champion, and BMW is hoping to making it three wins in a row in the Manufacturers' Championship.

Caltex-backed drivers kick off the 2007 V8 Supercar Championship Series this weekend with young gun Jamie Whincup leading the charge into the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide this weekend.

WPS Racing’s Jason Bargwanna believes the carnage seen at last year’s V8 Supercar season opener at the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide will be nothing compared to this year’s event if the predicted extreme weather conditions arrive this weekend.

Chicago Pneumatic (CP) and RML have today announced a sponsorship programme which will see CP as an official supplier of pneumatic and battery powered tools to RML.

February 20, 2007 - The Ford Performance Racing (FPR) V8 Supercar team has
completed a comprehensive two days of pre-season testing at Victoria's
Winton Raceway today.

Gold Coast driver David Besnard remains in contention for the 2006/2007 New Zealand V8 Championship with a pair of top five finishes from the three races contested during in round four at Manfield race circuit this weekend.

Today in Madrid SEAT introduced his team which is going to participate the third WTCC season with a renewed sense of purpose and the aim of finishing this year in the top spot: while the team finished third in the manufacturers’ rankings in 2005 and achieved second place in 2006, all the Spanish brand’s hopes are pinned on achieving the crown in 2007.

WTCC News for 17 February
- James Thompson
- BMW
- SEAT Testing

February 16, 2007 - One of the world's giants in automotive lubricant
engineering and manufacturing, Castrol, has joined forces with leading blue
oval V8 Supercar team Ford Performance Racing (FPR) in a multi-year major
naming rights sponsorship agreement.

Former Australian Touring Car Champion, John Bowe, and former rugby league star Jack Elsegood will join with team owner Chris Delfsma in the WPS Bathurst 12-Hour Showroom Enduro at Mount Panorama on April 8.

The Championship will be run over eight weekends this summer with a challenging mix of sprint and endurance events on four distinctly different tracks. Additionally, the Championship has made good on it’s promise to increase sponsorship value for competitors and partners by moving into new markets and adding the Grand Prix of Toronto as it’s marquee event.

Caltex Racing’s V8 Supercar driver Russell Ingall has taken advice virtually from the horse’s mouth as he prepares for a worthwhile visit to the Toowoomba Turf Club for a twilight meeting this Saturday.

Dunlop Tyres has announced a bonus fund to reward drivers competing in the inaugural BARC / Dunlop Sport Maxx Cup, a genuine stepping stone to the Dunlop BTCC and a star of the 2007 Dunlop Great & British Festivals.

FIA WTCC news from the first week of February.

Following an impressive debut season in the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series last year, Gold Coast based Optima Sport have hit the crossroads with the team unable to find the necessary funding to mount a campaign in 2007.

David Besnard celebrated his 30th birthday with a race win in the 20-lap feature race at Round 3 of the NZ V8 Championship during the Taupo A1GP event on the North Island of New Zealand today.

WPS Racing and team principal Mark Larkham have ended their relationship as part of a total restructure of the Gold Coast-based V8 Supercar team.

The 2006 DTM season was an exicting one and here are some of the pictures to remember this season. On a different note, FeedMeSportscars is going though a building phase and we thank-you for your patience during this phase. I'm sure you have seen some of our changes. There will still be more to come. But in the meantime we hope you enjoy these changes, all of our regular news and views and of course, the photos...

Dunlop will be unveiling the latest contender in the inaugural BARC/Dunlop Sport Maxx Cup on their stand 9560 at the Autosport International Show, NEC, Birmingham.on Thursday.

Lovers of console-based racing games will have their chance to go head-to-head with one of the stars of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship at Autosport International in Birmingham this week.

January 1, 2007 - Ford Performance Racing (FPR) is delighted to formally announce that highly experienced V8 Supercar driver Steve Richards will return to Ford in 2007 and has signed a long term contract to drive for the Prodrive team.