WTCC welcomes Michel Vaillant @ Portugal already!





To be honest I like it more than original Cruze.

Also - J. Thompson with his Lada will show up in his last event, Lada announced they need to focus on developing the car so this is the last test session before their 2013 season entry.

PS. Sry for double post...

Race 1 results

EDIT: Please give Dudukalo some new glasses... He wrecked Weber on rejoining the track :bananadea

Michel Vaillant wins race 2 in Portimao!

EDIT: Something I found over at racedepartment.com forums. Maybe that would've been a way for Eurosport Live coverage http://www.youtube.com/watch?f ... bedded&v=lzvH6EZPlgo#!

Lada looks good, considering Thompson retired from 12th in R1. He was lapping in top pace in the beginning of R2, but probably ate his tyres too quickly. Hopefully they'll put more effort in this and stay in the game a bit longer, than previous 2 attempts.

Chevy ends its WTCC program!!!

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/100908

Yes! Finally.

Quote from banfwd :

Yes! Finally.

:thumbsdow

Hardly a good news. God knows for how long the privateers will afford going racing, with a calendar that has become so international.

Granted, 2013 suddently becomes the most open season in years, with no clear favorite, and a few top-class drivers on the markets. However, who will be afford to hire Muller, Huff and Menu in the current field. They might aswell hang up their helmet, or go race elsewhere. Hardly a positive sight, when this so called "world championship" is filled with gentlemen drivers.

WTCC might become the rich man's BTCC, minus the great car diversity. The idea might have sounded interresting on the paper at first, but with the drivers standards, potential car counts, and turn over issues BTCC is facing, is it the way to go, really?

Quote from GreyBull [CHA] :

:thumbsdow

Right, keep on watching Chevy 1-2-3.

Quote from banfwd :

Right, keep on watching Chevy 1-2-3.

Enjoy WTCC 2013 then. I guess it will always float your boat, aslong as Michelitz and Zengo take the checkered flag at the Hungaroring, no matter what the car count is, and no matter which scrubs they will have to compete with

BTW - If you want a championship with gentleman drivers and borderline caricatural engine equalisation, there's the BTCC already. Not taking a shot at it, it makes great racing too!

Lada ftw.

Quote from GreyBull [CHA] :

Enjoy WTCC 2013 then.

Thanks, will do. No one is interested in the Chevys making joke of the complete grid, winning by miles in cruising mode. That is just ridiculous. Without them the grid will be just fine, no doubt.

Quote from banfwd :

Right, keep on watching Chevy 1-2-3.

The Problem right now is that (among Other reasons) the shrinking number of manufactors in WTCC and S2000 in (Road Racing) general makes the category more and more expensive and thereby less and less affordable for privateers especially with the hybrid Update planned for 2015 by Lotti.

It Would have been a victory if there was a competitive competitor, now it is just a shame and a Big Problem for the Series. Lada and Honda are set and Ford is aswell, depending on how they further deal with Arena. However the ink has not dried yet. Without a true challenger they might reconsider it. I just remember the first programs of those three brands (ok, Honda was a private one back then)

Chevy said they would focus onother series. LeMans and IndyCar were mentioned in the press release, but a return of Opel to DTM was roumored quiet some time. If ITR and NASCAR/GrandAm get US-DTM going GM could just rebrand them.

I wonder where will Muller, Huff and Menu go... So far it looks like this: Ford, Lada, Honda, BMW, Seat and couple of private Cruzes next year?

Quote from GreyBull [CHA] :

Classiest overalls in motorsports?

Stefano does it again...





Yes - this is his Sonoma racing suit!

Quote from GreyBull [CHA] :

Stefano does it again...

Yes - this is his Sonoma racing suit!

Would be funny if he was able pull that hat over his helmet during the races

Tom Chilton clinches P2 in FP! Four different cars in top 5... why can't this be the race

Quote from Mysho :

Tedeschi's roll in practice session

That guy was already racing F3s in early 1980s according to Racing Database. Even took part in the 87 Macau GP. Talk about a blast from the past...

Muller - 315
Huff - 315
Menu - 267

This is gonna be fun. Shame the next race is 4 weeks away... Michelisz did great job and showed his pace. I think he is the fastest racer in BMW overall. Muller again pushed Engstler's BMW right to his rear bumper... His excuses are not something I like. He did a mistake, same as in Slovakiaring.

It was funny to see Michelisz who comes from a small private team pushing the factory Chevys down the road. Money is not everything.

And yeah, Muller is still a d**k.

btw what bothers me about this event - how uninterested the marshalls seemed, which was topped by forgetting the chequered flag. Great track very spectacular racing although there wasn't much passing, a bigger crowd then I had expected, but you saw how the drivers had to fight with the track which is awsome, you don't see something like that in Tilk-o-droms or on street circuits

10.03.2013 - Monza (Italy)
24.03.2013 - TBD (Spain)
07.04.2013 - Marrakech (Morocco)
28.04.2013 - Bratislava (Slovakia)
05.05.2013 - Budapest (Hungary)
19.05.2013 - Salzburg (Austria)
09.06.2013 - Moscow (Russia)
30.06.2013 - Porto (Portugal)
28.07.2013 - Curitiba (Brazil)
22.09.2013 - Sonoma (USA)
20.10.2013 - Suzuka (Japan)
03.11.2013 - Shanghai (China)
17.11.2013 - Macau (SAR Macau)

Quote from TFalke55 :

30.06.2013 - Porto (Portugal)
28.07.2013 - Curitiba (Brazil)
22.09.2013 - Sonoma (USA)
20.10.2013 - Suzuka (Japan)

I understand that they want to do a summer break and that shipping stuff over the ocean takes time, but this is as retarded as this year. How do they want to keep people interested in their series when they make gaps like this?

What I don't understand is the "why". This year it has made quiet some sense due to Olympic Games and UEFA Euro competitions against which they couldn't compete with. 2013 there isn't even the Rugby World Cup.

Citroen seriously considering its participation in WTCC 2014.

Sebastien Loeb in WTCC?