ROUTE TO: BRNO, CZECH REPUBLIC
The 11h and 12h rounds of the FIA WTCC will take place next week in the
Czech Republic, at Brno's Masaryk Circuit.
This is a traditional meeting for the championship, as Brno hosted the
European Touring Car Championship from 2002 to 2004, and then the World
Touring Car Championship from 2006.
BMW notched up eight victories out of the twelve races; only Alfa Romeo
(Fabrizio Giovanardi's double win in 2002), Chevrolet (Robert Huff won
Race 2 in 2006) and SEAT last year have managed to break the German cars'
supremacy.
The 2008 meeting saw BMW Team Italy-Spain's Alessandro Zanardi claiming
pole position and dominating the first race from lights to flag. The
second race was one of the most exciting ever in WTCC; Gabriele Tarquini
was able to resist Zanardi's attempt to achieve double victory by a very
narrow margin at the wheel of his SEAT Leon TDI.
Their breathtaking fight was one of the highlights of WTCC's past season.
The fight between Tarquini and Zanardi in last year's Race 2 at Brno
24 HOURS FOR MONTEIRO AND CORONEL
Tiago Monteiro and Tom Coronel face a busy weekend as they will take part
in the Le Mans 24 Hours.
Monteiro will share an Oreca 01 AIM prototype with Brazilian youngster
Bruno Senna and Stephane Ortelli from Monaco; the car, run by the Team
Oreca Matmut AIM, competes in the top LMP1 category against the likes of
Audi, Peugeot and Aston Martin.
Immediately before heading to Le Mans the team spent three days of
testing at the Paul Ricard circuit: "It was useful to gain confidence.
Driving at 300 kmh at night is not easy and requires specific practice.
It is demanding but gives you a unique feeling. We know we won't be on
par with the diesel cars and our aim is to take the chequered flag with
both cars. It is a realistic aim on my come back to Le Mans," Monteiro
commented.
Coronel will compete for the LMGT2 category at the wheel of a Spyker C8
car run by the Snoras Spyker Squadron. His team mates will be his fellow
Dutchman Jeroen Bleekemolen and Jarek Janis from the Czech Republic.
During the current season Coronel has already raced the Spyker at the Spa
1000 Km where he and Peter Dumbreck achieved a brilliant fourth position
in the LMGT2 class.
After Thursday's last qualifying sessions, the Oreca 01 of
Monteiro-Senna-Ortelli achieved the 15th position on the starting grid,
while Coronel-Bleekemolen-Janis placed their Spyker 11th in class.
-credit: wtcc
