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MARCH 2011 • issue 41
What’s the point Race 1 Result
SUCCESSFUL START FOR CHEVROLET
T
he 2011 FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) kicked-off in Curitiba, Brazil, on 18-20 March 2011 with Chevrolet showing its determination to defend the 2010 Manufacturers’ Championship after claiming victory in both races on Sunday. The weekend started well for the team on Saturday when Rob Huff secured pole for race one after lapping the Brazilian circuit in 1:21.758, 0.61 seconds ahead of team-mate and current WTCC Champion Yvan Muller, who completed the front row. Fellow Chevrolet driver Brazilian Carlos Bueno qualified third after setting a fastest lap time of 1:22.503. From pole Huff had a strong start in round one and led the race until the finish to claim his first win of the season. Behind the British driver, Muller and Bueno were fighting for second place, with Muller eventually crossing the line three seconds ahead of his Brazilian team-mate. Race two was again dominated by Chevrolet, with Alain Menu claiming victory. The Swiss driver took the lead from ROAL Motorsport driver Tom Coronel on lap ten, and despite pressure from the Dutchman, kept the lead to secure another victory for Chevrolet. Coronel had to settle for a second-place finish, followed by Muller in third. After the first two rounds of the season Huff leads the Drivers’ Standings with 37 points, followed by team-mates Menu and Muller, both in second position with 33. Coronel follows the Chevrolet trio with 30 points. Chevrolet also leads the Teams’ Standings with 83 points, followed by BMW Customer Racing Team second with 53 and SR Customer Racing third with 40. Rounds three and four of the WTCC will take place at Zolder, Belgium, on 22-24 April 2011.
1 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
Rob Huff Yvan Muller Carlos Bueno Tom Coronel Kristian Poulsen Alain Menu Gabriele Tarquini Michel Nykjær
Race 2 Result 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
Alain Menu Tom Coronel Yvan Muller Rob Huff Carlos Bueno Gabriele Tarquini Tiago Monteiro Javier Villa
Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T BMW 320 TC BMW 320 TC Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T SEAT León 2.0 TDI SEAT León 2.0 TDI
Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T BMW 320 TC Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T SEAT León 2.0 TDI SEAT León 2.0 TDI BMW 320 TC
Championship Points
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
Rob Huff (GBR) Alain Menu (SUI) Yvan Muller (FRA) Tom Coronel (NED) Carlos Bueno (BRA) Gabriele Tarquini (ITA) Kristian Poulsen (DEN) Tiago Monteiro (POR)
Monroe Performer Fastest Lap Trophy Race One Race Two
WTCC Jay-Ten
Rob Huff Rob Huff
1. Pepe Oriola (ESP) 2. Aleksei Dudukalo (RUS) 3. Michel Nykjær (DEN)
37 33 33 30 25 14 10 6
1:22.890 1:22.943
18 11 10
Zolder, Belgium
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Lap distance: 4,108 km Race distance: 2 x 13 laps
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YOKOHAMA INDEPENDENTS’ TROPHY: POULSEN WINS THE FIRST RACE OF THE SEASON
WTCC Race Lap Record: Andy Priaulx 20 June 2010 1:33.980 BMW 320si 2010 WTCC Race Winners: Race 1: Gabriele Tarquini SEAT León TDI Race 2: Andy Priaulx BMW 320si
K
ristian Poulsen secured the first YOKOHAMA Independents’ Trophy win of the 2011 season in round one of the FIA World Touring Championship (WTCC), held in Curitiba, Brazil, on 18-20 March 2011. After qualifying second in the YOKOHAMA Independents’ category and fifth overall on Saturday behind fellow countryman Michel Nykjær, who claimed the Independents’ pole after setting a fastest lap time of 1:23.180, Poulsen had a strong start and managed to pass Nykjær to claim the race one victory. Behind Poulsen, Nykjær and Franz Engstler fought for third place, with Nykjær eventually finishing ahead of the German driver. At his first race weekend in the WTCC, Javier Villa claimed victory in the second round of the weekend. Behind the wheel of his BMW 320 TC, the young Spanish driver took advantage of an incident that forced Poulsen to retire and managed to keep the lead until the chequered flag. Villa was followed by Engstler, who secured his second podium of the weekend, and Pepe Oriola, who crossed the finish line third. Despite retiring in race two, Poulsen currently leads the YOKOHAMA Independents’ Trophy Standings with 15 points, followed by Engstler second with 14 points and Villa third with 13 points.
WTCC STAR DRIVER To read about YOKOHAMA’s WTCC star driver from Curitiba, Rob Huff, please visit www.yokohama-online.com
YOKOHAMA SUPPLIES TYRES TO THE NEW EP-SERIES
Y
OKOHAMA has been announced as the official tyre supplier of the new European Production Series (EP-Series), which will make its debut at the second round of the WTCC, held in Zolder, Belgium, on 22-24 April 2011. The series, created by the organisers of the Spanish Endurance Championship, WTCC driver Jordi Gené and experienced motorsport engineer Ian Planas, will include four different categories: D1 will be open to the SEAT Léon LR, Ginetta GSO and Solution F; in the D2 class the BMW M3, Nissan 350Z and SEAT Léon Supercopa will be admitted; eligible for the D3 category will be cars from the Renault Clio Cup, MINI Challenge, Fiat Abarth 500 Trofeo and SEAT Ibiza Cup, while the D4 will be contested by the Ford Fiesta, Honda Civic and Peugeot 207. YOKOHAMA will provide four different tyre specifications and sizes for the series: the YOKOHAMA ADVAN A005 250/650R18 will be supplied for D1 competitors, ADVAN A005 N2052 210/650R18 for the D2 class, D3 entrants will contest on the ADVAN A005 N2202 210/610R17, while the D4 entrants will be equipped with the ADVAN A005 N2358 190/ 580R15. 2011 EUROPEAN PRODUCTION SERIES CALENDAR DATE LOCATION EVENT 24 April 2011 Zolder, Belgium FIA WTCC 15 May 2011 Monza, Italy FIA WTCC 19 June 2011 Brno, Czech Republic FIA WTCC 17 July 2011 Donington Park, UK FIA WTCC 31 July 2011 Oschersleben, Germany FIA WTCC 4 September 2011 Valencia, Spain FIA WTCC
uring the first race weekend in Curitiba the WTCC and YOKOHAMA paid tribute to the tragic events that happened in Japan. Eurosport and WTCC driver Yukinori Taniguchi promoted a campaign called ‘Save Japan – Help To Disaster Area From Motorsport’ to show thoughts are with those affected. Before the start of the first WTCC race a minute
of silence was observed and Eurosport together with the WTCC supported the initiative by adding the ‘Save Japan’ campaign’s logo to all competing race cars. As part of its support of the rescue and restoration efforts, YOKOHAMA has donated 50,000,000 Yen to help with the reconstruction of the areas devastated by the earthquake.
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D
A WORD WITH TANIGUCHI
J
apanese WTCC driver Yukinori Taniguchi promoted a cause close to his heart in Curitiba, helping to raise funds for Japan following its devastating earthquake and tsunami. Taniguchi displayed the ‘Save Japan’ logo prominently on his car and thanks to Eurosport it was also displayed on all other competing cars. After hearing about the tragedy, Taniguchi had decided not to participate at the race weekend in Brazil, but his family and friends pushed him to attend. “When I told this to my Japanese friends they thought otherwise and pushed me to come and show the world that our country is blessed but still alive and not giving up,” explained Taniguchi. “Then I had the idea to launch a campaign for raising funds to help the population of the region hit by the earthquake and tsunami and that is under the nuclear threat.”
In the evening the WTCC drivers joined the Secretary for Sport of Curitiba, Mr Marcelo Richa, and promoter of the WTCC, Marcello Lotti for a media greeting at the WYN Club.Two Chevrolet racing cars were exhibited in front of the building: Carlos Bueno’s WTCC Cruze and Max Wilson’s Stock Car. The WTCC drivers met race fans in Curitiba on 17 March 2011 before taking to the track for the first race weekend of the season. The day started with the drivers visiting the city centre onboard a double-decker bus, followed by a crowded autograph session in the centre of Boca Maldita.
2011 YOKOHAMA’S MOTORSPORT INVOLVEMENT DHL has been named the Official Logistics Partner of the WTCC. The logistics company will now be responsible for all the overseas transportation of the racing cars, spare parts and equipment to Asia and South America. “We look forward to supporting one of the fastest growing and most spectacular motorsport series with our know-how in transport and logistics,” explained Thomas Nieszner, CEO of DHL Europe Global Forwarding. “As an international racing series the FIA WTCC requires core characteristics such as speed, precision and teamwork. These values also boost our performance at DHL,” continued Nieszner.
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WTCC AND YOKOHAMA PAY TRIBUTE TO JAPAN
B
eyond being the sole tyre supplier for the WTCC and the new EP-Series, YOKOHAMA will also support many series during the 2011 season. The Japanese tyre manufacturer will continue its support of a range of different touring car championships, including the European Touring Car Cup (ETCC), the Scandinavian Touring Car Championship (STCC), the Russian Touring Car Championship (RTCC) and the Chinese Touring Car Championship (CTCC). YOKOHAMA has also increased its involvement in Formula 3 this season, supporting new series: together with the International Formula 3 Grand Prix Macau and the ATS German Formula 3, the tyre manufacturer will also provide tyres to the Japanese Formula 3 series and the International Formula 3 Grand Prix de Pau.
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The WTCC sh ows its though ts are with Japan
Chevrolet secures the second win of the day
the u crosses Alain Men race two finish line in
The WTCC 20 11 season kick s-off in Brazil
YOKOHAMA has been announced as official tyre supplier for the Japanese Formula 3 championship. The series, which starts in Suzuka, Japan, on 16-17 April 2011, will travel to seven Japanese circuits throughout the season, such as the Fuji International Speedway and the Okayama International Circuit.
AMA rst YOKOH fi e th s te lebra the season Poulsen ce phy win of ro T ’ ts n e d Indepen
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field leads the Rob Huff Muller team-mate
Keep up-to-date with the latest YOKOHAMA motorsport action with Track News...the next issue will be available on 26 April 2011.