NEWS ARCHIVE

The Marriott hotel group has renewed its sponsorship agreement with the FIA World Touring Car Championship for 2010, with an option for the 2011 season. This loyal sponsorship deal, which was first signed in 2007, will see Marriott continue as Official Hotel Partner of the WTCC and receive increased visibility as part of this endorsement, including event title sponsorship of the Race of UK at Brands Hatch (18 July), on-track signage at all events and on the website.

Last Monday at the Zandvoort Circuit Park, WTCC Independent champion Tom Coronel launched his own autobiography called “20 years to the limit”. The book, written with the assistance of Dutch journalists Coo Dijkman and Rick Winkelmann, tells the story of Coronel’s first twenty years in motorsport, from the 1990 Easter Monday Trophy at Zandvoort, when he made his debut in the Dutch Citroën AX GT Cup, until last year’s victory in the FIA World Touring Car Championship’s Independents’ Trophy.

Rob Huff scored three sensational race wins out of three in the Ginetta G50 Cup at Thruxton circuit, as he delivered a class act in the Dynojet team guest car. The Chevrolet driver was invited by Ginetta Cars to race at Thruxton. Having not raced at the ultra-fast Hampshire circuit for seven years, Rob jumped at the chance of racing in front of the British motor racing fans – something he only gets to do once a year in WTCC.

The Chevrolet Cruze racing car that takes part in the FIA World Touring Car Championship is currently being exhibited for the first time to the USA public. The white-and-blue machine is placed in the centre of the stage of the Chevrolet stand at the New York International Autoshow that opened on Thursday, April 2nd at the Jacob Javits Convention Center on the 11th Avenue, Manhattan. The show will go on until Sunday, April 11th.

Reigning FIA European Super 2000 Cup champion James Thompson emerged on top after 2010 opening event in Braga on Sunday. At the wheel of his Hartmann Racing Honda Accord, the Briton won the first race and grabbed a podium result in the second one to take a slim point lead in the series. Thompson had to work hard to defend himself from BMW drivers César Campaniço – who scored a dominant victory in Race 2 – and Kristian Poulsen who are second and third in the Drivers’ classification.

The Chevrolet team spent two further days of testing in Pembrey, on Wednesday and Thursday, with Alain Menu at the wheel of the Cruze. The Swiss driver completed the two-day session without any major trouble, though the rainy weather forced the team to re-think their working programme.

Following the cancellation of the season’s second event in Mexico the FIA WTCC is looking forward to resume in Marrakech on May 3rd. However, fans’ interest for touring car racing is kept alive by the FIA European Touring Car Cup that starts this weekend in Braga, Portugal. The Cup inaugurates its new format. After being held at a single event for the past five years, the ETCC switches to a three event series and will visit Austria and Italy after Portugal.

Kristian Poulsen’s racing season will start this weekend in Braga, where the Danish driver will take part in the opening event of the FIA European Touring Car Cup, at the wheel of his Poulsen Motorsport BMW 320si car. Poulsen will use the Portuguese event to prepare himself and his own team for their commitment to the FIA World Touring Car Championship that they will join from the race meeting at Monza in May.

The FIA World Touring Car Championship have demonstrated their support for improving global road safety with the rebranding of its Safety car that from the season opening meeting in Curitiba runs with liveries displaying the Make Roads Safe campaign logo and the web site address for more information on the UN backed road safety initiative. The Make Roads Safe campaign is an initiative of the Commission for Global Road Safety and has been spearheaded by the FIA Foundation.