Neil Hudson's silly season update, this is as good as it can get on this matter: http://neil-hudson.blogspot.co ... r-wtcc-2013-2014-and.html

It looks very possible to have a match with Citroën/Loeb vs Renault/RML/Muller in 2014...

Quote from TFalke55 :

"They've been talking for 4-5 months". Ok what has happened 5 months ago? Yes Chevy said they were going to leave...

It's no rocket science... If Chevy leaves, automatically the best touring car operation in the world, RML, is looking for a new customer...

Furthermore, new technical regulations are considered for 2014, so it makes sence to join right now.

Quote from TFalke55 :

Well... anything else known about what injuries Phillip Yau Wing-choi had? If it were neck injuries did he wear a HANS?

http://neil-hudson.blogspot.co ... ing-car-cup-incident.html

Quote :

As for the Macau Touring Car Cup, the accident is much more of an unexpected one. Touring car fatalities are rare these days to say the least, and there's certainly been no fatalities in any major championship in a Super 2000 specification car (first introduced in motorsport in 2002), if ever at all.

The circuit is the same as it's always been, Macau is Macau, and the car is one of the most advanced touring cars in the world, built by RML for the 2010 WTCC and raced by Jason Plato and Alex MacDowall in the 2011 BTCC season.

The medical officials did their best to get to Yau in time, but were hampered as the left-hand drive Chevrolet Cruze was lodged against the wall and they had to enter the car from an unusual angle. There is a general belief that saving time may not have helped too much in this case anyway. Although it hasn't been confirmed, there's speculation that Phillip Yau probably wasn't wearing a HANS device. It has been noticed in the paddock that the drivers taking part in the support events aren't wearing them, and it's not a mandatory requirement in China/Hong Kong/Macau, although they are mandatory in the FIA events this weekend, namely the Formula 3 Macau Grand Prix and the World Touring Car Championship.

Yau broke his neck when he went hard into Mandarin - crashing at Mandarin is a very common occurrence at the Macau circuit, the fastest corner on the track. For those reasons, Yau's death can very much be considered a freak accident, though if he wasn't wearing a HANS device, if he had, there's a fair probability that it might not have happened at all.

The fact he had not HANS on his neck is the only pragmatical reason for his death if you ask me. I don't believe he would die with HANS in this type of crash, ye of course it was a huge impact, but HANS would absorb side forces on his neck.

Also... are you also experiencing WTCC becoming somehow a playground again? It seems like times when we had only 3 manufactures are over.

Something I found on the German LFS forum about the death of Phillip Yau Wing-choi. The quote is already translated.

Quote from g3m3g :

The window net is not mandatory in the Chinese championshops.

Norbert Ockenga (Eurosport commentator) wrote on twitter:

"The touringcar driver yesterday hit the wall with his side at 200kph. Due to that his head broke through the side window and hit the railguards and slid some hundreds of meters along. That's the cause of his death"

No net and a seat with rails to adjust its position; the seat broke out of the rails at the impact.

Different rules in the chinese Touringcar scene, no mandatory window net, changes with the seats system allowed --> no problem with the technical inspection there.

That's really insane. So many circumstances had to be put together, yet it still happened.

To be honest - FIA Appendex J article 253(Safety Equipment) allows quick release systems aka seat rails. I've never seen that this has been banned somewhere in touring car regulations. Hopefully they will ban this soon. I've never liked this system. Especially for touring car which is competing in non-endurance race where only one driver races.

Quote from 253

Quote :

If quick release systems are used, they must capable of withstanding vertical and horizontal forces of 18000 N, applied non-simultaneously. If rails for adjusting the seat are used, they must be those originally supplied with the homologated car or with the seat.

But window net, hmm. I was quite sceptical on this one when I had to install this on my car. But then I saw pictures where hand went out of side window while car was rolling. After this I didn't doubted on window net. It's must have.

btw, doing a few more researches, there have been two fatal incidents at the Suzuka event as well. A spectator fell from the pit building and in the SuperTaikyu (a Japanese mixed classes series compareable to VLN) Osamu Nakajima died in a accident.

http://www.fiawtcc.com/videogallery/detail/id/724

Lukoil Racing to start cooperation with Lada for 2013 and to possibly add Lukoil's driver as Thompson's team mate.

Quote from Mysho :

http://www.fiawtcc.com/videogallery/detail/id/724

Lukoil Racing to start cooperation with Lada for 2013 and to possibly add Lukoil's driver as Thompson's team mate.

No surprise here.

The real information is that they do apparently plan to put Dudukalo in the second car.

http://www.fiawtcc.com/news/detail/id/559

James Nash to drive for bamboo. Who will be the second Ford driver? Could be that they're withdrawing one car?

Quote from Mysho :

http://www.fiawtcc.com/news/detail/id/559

James Nash to drive for bamboo. Who will be the second Ford driver? Could be that they're withdrawing one car?

Don't think so. It is not like that team have to worry much about money...

Kind of surprising news from the WMSC: Curitiba is dropped from the carlender. That means that we currently have "just" 11 events and a !!! 12 weeks !!! summer break

I've been always thinking it's already so huge, but hell yeah, now it's gonna be even bigger.

it is not the last word, the carlender could be rearanged or another venue could get into that spot (Argentina? or some other American country? or India?)

So happy that Slovakiaring is also in 2013 calendar. This year's event was one of my favorite of all times.

Quote from FIA.com :

‘More spectacular’ WTCC cars approved
The World Motor Sport Council yesterday gave approval in principle for FIA World Touring Car Championship vehicles to get a major makeover for the 2014 edition of the series.

http://www.fia.com/news/more-spectacular-wtcc-cars-approved

Quote from Mysho :

So happy that Slovakiaring is also in 2013 calendar. This year's event was one of my favorite of all times.

Great circuit and strong fanbase, what's not to like?

http://www.fiawtcc.com/videogallery/detail/id/725

quite funny

Michelisz and d'Aste parts :lovies3d:

http://www.fiawtcc.com/news/detail/id/573

Complete 2013 calendar.

Sign-Ups for the new season can be done from today on until Feb. 28th.
Full season sign-up costs 37,700€ per car, single event sign-up costs 5,170€ and a manufacturer sign-up costs 300,000€

On the other hand, some teams have not yet received their car. The shipping might take until mid-january, for most teams the true end of the 2012 season.

Edit: I'll be opening a 2013 Touring Car thread tonight

I wish they would come to limerock, i live so close to that track

Quote from Bmxtwins :

I wish they would come to limerock, i live so close to that track

Well, there's always the Continental Series for you.

Quote from TFalke55 :

Edit: I'll be opening a 2013 Touring Car thread tonight

Wanted to do so for a long time already but never could find the time for it since I wanted to make it big style. Will leave it to you, good news.

So Zengő binned BMW and rolls with a goddamn Honda next season. Surely it's good for the team since it's more competetive than the BMW, but I'm still disappointed.



E: wrong thread, nvm.

I think as it was with no factory backing from BMW, it was just a losers game to keep running with BMW.

but ban fwd

Understandable decision when BMW has no kind of support at all... But still, BMW versus this shit Honda... I guess most of people will understand, even I would sign something similar if I had big plans for the future... Hamilton's fault. It all started with BMW going for DTM. Their mistake. I don't think they have no money for WTCC... Just no addiction or something. In DTM it's like oh we beat audi and merc.. in WTCC it's like we beat... wait for it.. Honda.