*Big chance for young promise Yann Ehrlacher, Yvan Muller’s nephew
*Second Vesta registered for full season with pro-driver to be revealed at later stage
*Excitement grows with new WTCC season less than a month away
RC Motorsport will rely on Vesta power when it makes its debut in the FIA World Touring Car Championship this season.
Based at Magny-Cours in France, RC Motorsport utilises WTCC race-winning technology and personnel and has signed young French promise Yann Ehrlacher – the nephew of four-time WTCC champion Yvan Muller – on the back of several impressive testing performances.
Ehrlacher, 20, was testing at Magny-Cours earlier today (Friday) and is highly rated after claiming two national championships in France and a class win in the European Le Mans Series last season driving for his uncle’s team, Yvan Muller Racing.
“This is such an amazing opportunity for me and I really can’t believe it’s happening,” said Ehrlacher, whose mother Cathy was a successful single-seater racer in the 1980s. “I’ve been really impressed with the car in testing and the team is working really hard too. Obviously there is a lot for me to learn and understand, but I know the team has valuable WTCC experience.”
François Ribeiro, Head of Eurosport Events, the WTCC promoter, said: “While we’re pleased a solution has been found for the race-winning Vestas to continue competing in the WTCC, we’re also very excited at the prospect of welcoming another talented rookie in Yann Ehrlacher, who has been trained by Yvan Muller, no less, and has been really fast in testing. Along with Aurélien Panis, the WTCC has two more young drivers with big potential and it will be interesting to watch their progress and performances in 2017 when I am sure they will both make their mark on the championship.”
Ehrlacher will carry the number 68 on his car, the same number used by Yvan Muller in the WTCC in 2015 and 2016. Meanwhile, RC Motorsport will reveal the identity of its second driver in the coming weeks.
Jost Files took no prisoners at Bahrain International Circuit: with an authoritative double win at the wheel of the Lap57 Honda Civic, he secured the first edition of the TCR Middle East Series’s title. The Brit also becomes the first driver to have two different TCR titles under this belt, adding this one to that of TCR Germany won last year.
Liqui Moly Team Enstler took the Teams’ honours, but there was some disappointment among the German team’s members, as Brandon Gdovic missed the title by only 5 points. The American collected two nice second positions, but it was not enough. Luca Engstler, who also was in contention to win the tile, was third in Race 1, but had to retire in Race 2 with a broken driveshaft.
Italy’s 16-year-old Giacomo Altoè continued his steady learning process and took good results (one fourth and one third) at the wheel of Team Engstler’s third Volkswagen Golf. The Mulsanne Racing Alfa Romeo Giulietta of Davit Kajaia also proved fast, but lacked reliability and could not finish in any of the races.
The Bahrain event was a successful ending to the first edition of the TCR Middle Series, which has attracted great interest in the region.
Race 1 – Files’ win paves the way to exciting finale
The first edition of the TCR Middle East Series will live this afternoon a breath-taking Race 2, as three drivers will go into it fighting for the title and being split by only 5 points.
By clinching an authoritative win in Race 1, Josh Files, at the wheel of the Lap57 Honda Civic, has reduced to 2 points his gap from the series leader Brandon Gdovic, who took a last-lap second place from his Liqui Moly Team Engstler’s teammate Luca Engstler, now third in the standings, but only 5 points behind Gdovic.
Race 1: in an unusually cloudy morning at Bahrain International Circuit, delivered a first big surprise even before the start, as the Mulsanne Racing Alfa Romeo Giulietta of Davit Kajaia, had to pull out from the first row of the grid with a broken driveshaft.
Files took the lead from the start and built progressively a sufficient gap, although his race was far from easy: “It was a very hard race on the tyres”, explained the Brit,“there is nothing left of them and in the final laps, I had no grip, no traction, no nothing.”
Luca Engstler led the charge of the Golf cars for the entire race, but his efforts took a toll on his tyres; in the last lap, Brandon Gdovic, who had adopted a more conservative approach with regard to tyre consumption, was able to pass the young German for second. Both drivers admitted there was nothing to do against the Honda in this first race of the day.
Giacomo Altoè, on the third car of Liqui Moly Team Engstler, had to stop in the penultimate lap after a sudden drop of power, which ruined an otherwise consistent race.
Race 2 – Files secures title with another win
Josh Files was crowned the first TCR Middle East Series champion. The British driver of the Lap 57 Honda Civic left no chances to his opponents by winning also an eventful Race 2.
Both Luca Engstler (Liqui Moly Team Engstler Volkswagen Golf) and Davit Kajaia (Mulsanne Racing Alfa Romeo Giulietta) tried hard to challenge Josh, but both had to retire, leaving the podium to the other pair of Liqui Moly Team Engstler drivers, Brandon Gdovic and Giacomo Altoè, who ran together the entire race, and secured the Teams’ title for the German squad.
Altoè, pole sitter on the reversed grid, almost stalled at the start, which saw some drops of rain, and Files overtook everybody before first corner to take the lead, with Kajaia keeping second only for a few corners, as he got passed by Engstler before the end of first lap. The group remained quite compact until Engstler suddenly slowed down (lap 4) and had to stop on the straight, prompting the safety car to be deployed.
The race resumed on lap 8, becoming a double battle between Files and Kajaia on one hand and Gdovic and Altoè on the other, but progressively, Files managed to pull away up to the chequered flag, while Kajaia stopped in the pits on lap 19, with severe understeer. Gdovic and Altoè finished their duel in the same order to complete the podium.
Quotes from the podium finishers in both races:
Josh Files (1st in both races): “It’s great to take the championship with a double win. Things may look easy from the outside, but they were not. The entire weekend was about tyres, and I am very happy that we took the decision to save new tyres for the races. In both, the tyres were completely dead at the end. Otherwise, the car performed very well, although we could never solve the misfiring problem we had throughout the weekend.”
Brandon Gdovic (2nd in both races): “It has been a frustrating weekend for me. We were able to improve the behaviour of the car and I am happy of the way I managed the tyres, but the Honda was absolutely unreachable.”
Lucas Engstler (3rd in Race 1): “I am quite disappointed. Not only there was nothing we could do against the Honda, but I also had twice a broken driveshaft, in Qualifying and in Race 2 and this also penalized me a lot.”
Giacomo Altoè (3rd in Race 2): “It was a positive weekend and I learnt a lot. I am relatively satisfied with my performance and of having being able to keep the pace of my team mate Gdovic in both races. It’s just a pity I made such a silly mistake at the start of Race 2, when I released to quickly the clutch and almost stalled.”
Two men. Two British motor racing legends who both died on this day, yet fourteen years apart.
John Surtees and Barry Sheene.
The former was born in 1934 and went on to become a world champion on both two and four wheels, the only racer to have ever done so. The latter was a double 500cc world champion and was the first British 125cc champion.
Their lives were completely separate, both different characters in their own right but held in high regard by racing fans for their achievements.
In 1951, a year after Barry Sheene was born, John Surtees was hitting the headlines after challenging Geoff Duke at Thruxton. It would be four years last that he would get his first factory ride on a Norton where he again challenged Duke and beat him on two occasions at Silverstone and Brands. Surtees was quickly becoming a name and attracting the attention of other factory teams. He joined MV Augusta.
Barry Sheene was still six years old and far away from the world of motorcycle racing.
Surtees earned the nickname figlio del vento, or son of the wind.
The following year he won the 500cc World Championship and gave MV Augusta their first title win in the senior class.
It was in 1960 that the motor racing world was taken by surprise at the switch from two wheels to four wheels as John Surtees entered the world of Formula One. He was 26 years of age and made his F1 debut for Lotus at Monaco. Barry Sheene was still only 10 years old and was eight years away from competitive racing.
(c) Alchetron
After spending a few years driving for Reg Parnell, Surtees joined Ferrari in 1963 and would take the Formula One world title the following year. He walked away from Ferrari in 1966 after being left out of the team to drive at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The reason given was that the Ferrari team boss felt that Surtees was not fully fit after his horrific crash testing a Lola T70 sports car at the Mosport Circuit the previous year. He finished second that year to Jack Brabham, driving a Cooper-Maserati.
In 1966, with Barry Sheene just 16 years of age, Surtees signed for Honda and after some technical issues he went on to win the Italian Grand Prix.
In 1968 Barry Sheene was racing 125’s and 250’s, winning his first races at Brands Hatch before becoming the first British 125cc champion in 1970, the same year in which John Surtees set up his own racing team.
(c) Dunlop
John Surtees retired from driving in 1972, the same year in which Barry Sheene was signed by Yamaha to ride in the 250cc World Championship. Although it was a works Yamaha, there was no factory team in the championship and Sheene, being the outspoken person that he was, would voice his opinion on this case.
Sheene suffered a broken collarbone and would not see action on the track again until the summer, at which time he did receive factory backing for his Yamaha. At John Surtees’ team, Mike Hailwood won the European Formula 2 Championship.
Sheene signed for Suzuki and won the Formula 750 championship for them in 1973.
As the 1970s rolled on and John Surtees set up a motorcycle shop and Honda dealership, bringing an end to his racing career, Barry Sheene was just getting started. However, a massive crash at Daytona in 1975 nearly finished Sheene’s racing adventure.
It was in 1976, twenty years after Surtees, in which Barry Sheene brought home the 500cc World Championship and then retained it the following season, partnered by Steve Parrish.
In what a lot of motorcycle racing fans call one of the greatest Grand Prix’s of all time, Sheene battled with Kenny Roberts at the 1979 British Grand Prix. The following season he would leave Suzuki and race on a privateer Yamaha. There would be no more titles for the fun loving Londoner. He would retire from the sport in 1984 taking up residence in Australia.
In contrast, John Surtees would still be involved in motorsport, becoming chairman for the A1 Grand Prix series.
In 1996 John Surtees was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall Of Fame. Barry Sheene died of cancer in 2002, a year after the FIM named him a Grand Prix Legend. He was awareded an MBE. In 2003 John Surtees would receive the same honour of being named a Grand Prix Legend by the FIM. He attained the honours of MBE, OBE and CBE.
To this day John Surtees is the only person to have ever won world championships on two and four wheels and Barry Sheene is the only British double world champion in the premier motorcycle racing class. Surtees also won 6 Isle Of Man TT races.
You could say that both men were worlds apart. The gentleman, soft persona of John Surtees against the cheeky, hard drinking and hard smoking Barry Sheene.
The two men share some things in common. They both have parts of Brands Hatch named after them, they were both 500c World Champions and sadly they both died on 10th March.
They were legends in their sports and loved by the fans for the way they raced and the emotion they put into their passion of racing.
I grew up learning about John Surtees and was completely captured by his story and what he had achieved long before I had been born. I grew up watching Barry Sheene hurtle his way fearlessly around the track, regardless of the many injuries he suffered.
In my eyes they were just two heroes who I admired. I never met Barry Sheene. I wish I had, he seemed like a fun person to be around. I did meet John Surtees on two occasions, he was such a lovely man with so much time for racing fans.
Both dearly missed by friends and family, the news of John Surtees death today and the anniversary of Barry Sheene’s passing tinged this day with sadness, but somewhere on a race circuit in the sky I’m sure Barry Sheene was sitting on the starting grid waiting for John Surtees to arrive so they could have that race they were never destined to have.
Two men with racing in their blood. One the son of the wind and the other a maverick, but both total legends in the eyes of any racing fan.
As a racing fan I’ll savour the past and thank both men for the enjoyment they gave me.
Rounds 5 & 6 – Bahrain International Circuit – 10 / 11 March 2017
QUALIFYING REPORT
Josh Files takes hard-fought pole position
Josh Files conquered the pole at Bahrain International Circuit after an intense and hard-fought battle for pole. The British driver of the Lap 57 Honda Civic beat Davit Kajaia, with the Mulsanne Racing Alfa Romeo Giulietta, by only 68 thousandths of a second, with third-fastest Luca Engstler (Liqui Moly Team Engstler Volkswagen Golf) conceding only 101 thousandths to the poleman, in a result that saw three different car brands represented in the top three and promises a fierce battle in tomorrow’s races.
In a warm afternoon, the session saw an early domination by Engstler (1.09.660) before Files took P1 with a lap time of 1.09.689. Shortly after mid-session; then the qualifying turned into a very tactical session, as all drivers stopped to preserve their tyres.
In the closing minutes, a raging battle delivered the final result, with Files holding narrowly the pole ahead of Kajaia and Engstler. They were followed by the other Liqui Moly Team Engstler Volkswagen Golf cars of Brandon Gdovic and Giacomo Altoè. The US driver was happier with the behavior of his car but regretted not having been able to get his best sector times in a sequence, while the young Italian deliberately kept a set of front tyres for the races tomorrow.
In the title fight, gaps have been closed, with Gdovic leading by 5 and 9 points ahead of Engstler and Files respectively.
Race 1 will kick-off at 12:02 local time (10:02 in Central Europe), while Race 2 is scheduled at 15:45 (13:45 CET). They will be streamed live on the internet atwww.middleeast.tcr-series.com and www.tcr-series.tv .
Driver quotes after Bahrain Qualifying
Josh Files (pole position): “It has been a very close and exciting session, and it’s nice to win a pole like this! The car felt much better, we changed a lot of things in the set-up and it worked well. Even in excess, as from a lot of understeer we went to some oversteer. The only thing we haven’t been able to solve is this tedious misfiring on the main straight, which costs me a hundredth of a second every time it occurs.”
Davit Kajaia (2nd fastest): “It was a good qualifying, but I am obviously a little bit disappointed about missing the pole for so little. Still, we were able to improve much the set-up of the car an tomorrow, I’ll push hard and I’ll go for the win.”
Luca Engstler (3rd fastest): “It was a nice battle and Josh won it on his own merits. I did some little mistakes on my fast laps and in the best of those my driveshaft suddenly broke, with a big bang. Despite all that, the result is very close and I think it will be a nice battle tomorrow.”
For more news on the Middle East TCR Series visit the website here:
CORONEL Tom (ned) Chevrolet Cruze RML team Roal motorsport portrait ambiance during the 2016 FIA WTCC World Touring Car Race of Argentina at Termas de Rio Hondo, Argentina on August 6 to 7 – Photo Jean Michel Le Meur / DPPI
*Dutchman to race privateer Chevrolet in world championship
*Continuity factor key as several components go unaltered for 2017
*More outright wins the target for highly-motivated privateer
Tom Coronel will race on in the FIA World Touring Car Championship, embarking on WTCC season number 13 in the same ROAL Motorsport Chevrolet he used to win two races outright in 2016.
Coronel, the ever-charismatic, ever-popular and ever-enterprising Dutchman, has been part of the WTCC since 2005, notching up six wins from 268 starts as well as claiming the prestigious independent title on two occasions. He joined ROAL Motorsport, the team co-owned by inaugural WTCC champion Roberto Ravaglia, in 2011 and has driven for the Italian squad ever since.
09 CORONEL Tom (ned) Chevrolet Cruze team Roal motorsport action during the 2016 FIA WTCC World Touring Car Race of Morocco at Marrakech, from May 6 to 8 2016 – Photo Francois Flamand / DPPI
“I am really proud that I have managed to be on the grid for the upcoming WTCC season,” said Coronel, 44. “This is a nice basis for my 2017 racing campaign. Many things remain the same. The car, ROAL Motorsport with Roberto Ravaglia and Aldo Preo for the seventh year in a row, my regular crew of mechanics led by Pietro, the many loyal sponsors and the characteristic yellow, red and black livery on my car that comes with it, even my starting number remains the same. Technically, there won’t be too many changes on the car, but we all know that the world champions from the previous years will no longer be on the grid as a works team. That will certainly make the championship different. More exciting? I think so, and therefore I hope to do even better than the results I scored in 2016. The sign ‘Eat my dust’ on the rear bumper of my car remains in place and let’s hope that many opponents will get to see this in 2017.”
CORONEL Tom (ned) Chevrolet Cruze team Roal motorsport portrait ambiance during the 2016 FIA WTCC World Touring Car Race of Morocco at Marrakech, from May 6 to 8 2016 – Photo Francois Flamand / DPPI
ROAL Team Principal Roberto Ravaglia, whose WTCC title triumph came 30 years ago this year, said: “I haven’t had such a long relationship with any other driver. As to Tom, it almost seems as if he is part of the ROAL inventory. It is a question of mutual trust and confidence. Last year, we managed to win two races, so for this year, three wins is our goal. Every year, we think that we can’t do any better, yet we manage to do so every time, hence this ambitious goal.”
François Ribeiro, Head of Eurosport Events, the WTCC promoter, said: “Tom is a big character both on-track and off it and very active on social media and sponsorship. Although he has been part of WTCC from day one, he’s never one to sit still, always trying to improve himself and his car or coming up with the latest marketing trick or online video. It’s great to have him in the WTCC and we’d like to think there are more wins to come from him and his ROAL Motorsport team.”
09 CORONEL Tom (ned) Chevrolet Cruze team Roal motorsport action during the 2016 FIA WTCC World Touring Car Championship race of Portugal, Vila Real from July 24 to 26 – Photo Jorge Cunha / DPPI
The 2017 WTCC season gets underway at FIA WTCC AFRIQUIA Race of Morocco in Marrakech from 7-9 April. Coronel claimed the Opening Race laurels on the semi-permanent street track last season, never cracking under pressure from world champion José María López to win at the wheel of his Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1.
Stuttgart. The Porsche GT Team campaigns two 510 hp Porsche 911 RSR in the GT class of the FIA World Endurance Championship, which has been given world championship status in 2017 for the first time. After a year of development in 2016, the 2015 FIA WEC title winners return with a works entry to the world’s most important GT competition.
The 911 RSR with the starting number 91 can be recognised by the red Porsche lettering on a black windscreen banner and on the rear wing as well as red wing mirrors. The vehicle is driven by the 2015 WEC Champion Richard Lietz (Austria) as well as Frédéric Makowiecki (France). Tackling the series in the number 92 vehicle are Michael Christensen (Denmark) and Kévin Estre (France). In contrast to the sister car, their 911 RSR features a white background on the windscreen and the rear wing as well as white wing mirrors.
Both 911 RSR, which were designed from scratch for the 2017 season featuring a four-litre flat-six engine mounted in front of the rear axle, will take part in the official WEC Prologue tests on 1-2 April in Monza. Silverstone (Great Britain) hosts the first race of the season on 16 April.
“In the fight for the maiden GT World Championship title in the FIA WEC we’ve put together two strong driver pairings. And all four pilots come from the world’s best GT hotbed of talent, Porsche’s one-make race series,” says Head of Porsche Motorsport Dr Frank-Steffen Walliser.
The 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship races
16 April: 6 Hours of Silverstone (Great Britain)
6 May: 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium)
17/18 June: 24 Hours of Le Mans (France)
16 July: 6 Hours of Nürburgring (Germany)
3 September: 6 Hours of Mexico (Mexico)
16 September: 6 Hours of Austin (USA)
15 October: 6 Hours of Fuji (Japan)
5 November: 6 Hours of Shanghai (China)
18 November: 6 Hours of Bahrain (Bahrain)
CORONEL Tom (ned) Chevrolet Cruze team Roal motorsport portrait ambiance during the 2016 FIA WTCC World Touring Car Race of Morocco at Marrakech, from May 6 to 8 2016 – Photo Francois Flamand / DPPI
AFRIQUIA RENEWS ITS SUPPORT OF WTCC WITH RACE OF MOROCCO EVENT PRESENTING PARTNER AGREEMENT
*Prestigious season opener backed by Morocco’s leading fuel station operator
*Home fans primed to cheer local hero and WTCC title contender Mehdi Bennani
*Live domestic and international TV coverage for Marrakech street spectacular
during the 2016 FIA WTCC World Touring Car Race of Morocco at Marrakech, from May 6 to 8 2016 – Photo Jean Michel Le Meur / DPPI.
AFRIQUIA, Morocco’s leading fuel station operator, will continue its support of the country’s FIA World Touring Car Championship race weekend by renewing as the Event Presenting Partner of WTCC Race of Morocco from 7-9 April. Part of the Akwa Group, AFRIQUIA will benefit from significant trackside branding, inclusion of its name in the official event title, plus numerous promotional opportunities – such as live national and international television coverage – when the Circuit Moulay El Hassan in Marrakech hosts the prestigious WTCC season-opening event.
CHILTON Tom (gbr) Citroen C Elysee team Sebastien Loeb racing portrait ambiance CORONEL Tom (ned) Chevrolet Cruze RML team Roal motorsport portrait ambiance BENNANI Mehdi (mar) Citroen C Elysee team Sebastien Loeb racing portrait ambiance during the 2016 FIA WTCC World Touring Car Race of Morocco at Marrakech, from May 6 to 8 2016 – Photo Jean Michel Le Meur / DPPI.
In what is a significant year for Moroccan motorsport with celebrations due to take place to mark 60 years since the country’s first Formula One grand prix in 1957, FIA WTCC AFRIQUIA Race of Morocco has the honour of hosting the opening event of the new season when local hero Mehdi Bennani is expected to be one of several title contenders in his Sébastien Loeb Racing Citroën CElysée WTCC. François Ribeiro, Head of Eurosport Events, the WTCC promoter, said: “We are delighted that AFRIQUIA has renewed as Event Presenting Partner of WTCC Race of Morocco. The Marrakech weekend is hugely popular with all grandstand seats selling out last year and a cumulative audience of 62.361 million watching live on TV around the world. There’s always a strong attendance by local media and, in Mehdi Bennani, there’s a genuine chance of a home winner for the Moroccan fans to cheer.”
AMBIANCE during the 2016 FIA WTCC World Touring Car Race of Morocco at Marrakech, from May 6 to 8 2016 – Photo Jean Michel Le Meur / DPPI.
WTCC AFRIQUIA Race of Morocco is the first of 10 World Touring Car Championship race weekends in 2017 with visits to Europe, South America, Asia and the Middle East scheduled between April and December. Mehdi Bennani won the WTCC Trophy title for independent racers last season and claimed his maiden Main Race triumph at the final event of 2016 in Qatar.
WTCC LEGEND MULLER SIGNS FOR POLESTAR FACTORY TEAM
*Four-time world champion joins Cyan Racing as development driver and senior advisor
*Muller to pilot Volvo S60 Polestar TC1 during official Monza testing next week
Yvan Muller, the four-time winner of the FIA World Touring Car Championship, will continue his WTCC adventure after all following his appointment as Cyan Racing’s development driver and senior advisor.
Frenchman Muller retired from full-time driving after last November’s WTCC DHL Race of Qatar where he secured the runner-up spot in the final standings behind then Citroën team-mate José María López.
Since joining the Swedish organisation on 1 January, Muller has attended all pre-season tests, working closely with factory drivers Thed Björk, Nicky Catsburg and Néstor Girolami, as well as with the team on other areas of development.
“I am really glad and proud to have recruited Yvan to Cyan Racing,” said Christian Dahl, CEO of Cyan Racing. “There is no other touring car driver as experienced as him in the world and he is a vital asset to the team. We can already see the progress made, even though our cooperation is still quite new. The plan for the moment is that he is not going to race for us, but rather focus on testing and development.”
Muller is the most successful driver in WTCC history with more titles (four), wins (48), pole positions (29), fastest laps (38) and laps led (571) than any of his rivals. For the past 10 seasons, he has not finished outside of the top three in the final standings.
“To start a cooperation with Cyan Racing is something that I am very pleased with,” said the 47-year-old. “They developed strongly last year for their first season and we have made interesting progress during the winter testing. I look forward to continuing to work with them and developing the car, as well as the team.”
François Ribeiro, Head of Eurosport Events, the WTCC promoter, added: “You don’t become the most successful driver in WTCC history by chance and Cyan Racing has pulled off something of a coup by recruiting such a valuable asset. Yvan has made no secret of the enjoyment and satisfaction he gets from developing cars into race winners and without him, I doubt Citroën would have progressed so fast and achieved so much success so quickly. He brought a huge amount to that team and I have no doubt he will make an important contribution as Polestar Cyan Racing aims to win the World Touring Car Championship for Drivers and Manufacturers this season. Maybe there might be an opportunity for Yvan to do a one-off WTCC race – I know the fans would love to see him back racing again.”
Muller will be in action during the official WTCC test at Monza in Italy on 14 March and will continue behind the wheel during the following day’s running at the Italian track.
BENNANI BECOMES LATEST WTCC TITLE CONTENDER
*Moroccan re-signs for Sébastien Loeb Racing
*WTCC Trophy winner has what it takes to go one better in 2017
*Championship challenge begins on home soil next month
BENNANI Mehdi (mar) Citroen C Elysee team Sebastien Loeb racing portrait ambiance during the 2016 FIA WTCC World Touring Car Championship at Shanghai, China, September 23 to 25 – Photo Jean Michel Le Meur / DPPI
The FIA World Touring Car Championship has yet another title contender after Moroccan racer Mehdi Bennani confirmed his 2017 campaign.
Bennani, 33, will embark on his third season with Sébastien Loeb Racing, armed once again with a Citroën C-Elysée WTCC.
In his eighth full campaign in the all-action world championship, Bennani is among eight drivers being earmarked as genuine title challengers in what is expected to be the most open WTCC season for almost a decade.
His status stems from the outright wins he scored in Hungary and Qatar on his way to a career-high fifth in the overall standings last season, plus his capture of the prestigious WTCC Trophy crown for independent racers in the same year.
Podium of race 1. BENNANI Mehdi (mar) Citroen C Elysee team Sebastien Loeb racing during the 2016 FIA WTCC World Touring Car Race of Hungary at hungaroring, Budapest from April 22 to 24, 2016 – Photo Florent Gooden / DPPI
“I am very pleased to continue this collaboration with Sébastien Loeb Racing,” said Bennani. “To me, stability is an important aspect to prioritise, especially considering how much we’ve learnt together these past two years. We all know how competitive the Citroën C-Elysée is and the team knows exactly how to make it perform to its best.
“I’m starting this new season with yet more confidence than the two previous ones. Of course, we’ll have to wait until the first race to have a true idea of the hierarchy, but I hope we’ll see in our results the improvements drawn from 2015 and 2016. Finally, I am overjoyed to welcome Afriquia as a new sponsor. It is particularly meaningful to me that they are a Moroccan company and I will do my utmost for our association to be rewarded with victory!”
Sébastien Loeb, ex-WTCC racer and co-founder of the Alsace-based team, said: “Mehdi has proven himself to be a key element for our team over these past two years. Keeping him with us was essential. He has integrated into the team perfectly, while at the same time gaining greater knowledge and control of his C-Elysée.
Start of race 1. 25 BENNANI Mehdi (mar) Citroen C Elysee team Sebastien Loeb racing action during the 2016 FIA WTCC World Touring Car Race of Hungary at hungaroring, Budapest from April 22 to 24, 2016 – Photo Florent Gooden / DPPI
“He has the capacities needed to reach podium places even more often this season. We have prepared for this with two test drives in Navarra, as well as in Monteblanco, in Spain. I am delighted to conclude that with Mehdi, Tom Chilton and John Filippi our WTCC group is once again looking strong.”
“Mehdi was very solid and consistent across the season last year as his results clearly show,” said François Ribeiro, Head of Eurosport Events, the WTCC promoter. “He finished high in the overall standings, won the WTCC Trophy and led Sébastien Loeb Racing last year. There are world title expectations around him this year, and I’m certain his team is also able to support him on that significant step.”
Bennani, who became the first Arabic driver to win an FIA world championship motor race in Shanghai in 2014, has made 170 WTCC starts to date and has three wins, one pole and two fastest laps to his name. He’s also led 86 laps so far and looks set to add to that tally in 2017.
The 2017 WTCC season gets underway at WTCC Race of Morocco in Marrakech from 7-9 April.
25 BENNANI Mehdi (mar) Citroen C Elysee team Sebastien Loeb racing action during the 2016 FIA WTCC World Touring Car Championship race at Losail from November 23 to 25 Qatar – Photo Clement Marin / DPPI
Five Mehdi moments
1: Makes WTCC debut on home soil in Morocco in 2009, qualifies P14 and takes a pair of ninths, plus top independent laurels in race one.
2: Scores first outright WTCC win, crossing the finishing line first in Shanghai in 2014.
3: Joins Sébastien Loeb Racing for 2015, narrowly misses out on WTCC Trophy title.
4: Makes light of the Hungarian rain to land his second outright victory in April 2016.
5: Scores first Main Race triumph from his first outright pole in Qatar having wrapped up the WTCC Trophy title spoils at the previous event in China.
After rising through the single seater ranks to the heights of GP2 and most recently winning races in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series, Tio Ellinas (Larnaca, Cyprus) is making the switch to sports car racing for 2017 with the Porsche Carrera Cup GB and JTR.
Echoing the team’s own move for 2017, Ellinas will be competing a 911 GT3 Cup for the first time as part of a three-car line up for JTR in their debut sports car season. Along with team mates Dino Zamparelli and Lewis Plato, Ellinas is a significant addition to an already strong field of Pro category drivers who now account for a half of the total grid.
Ellinas won races with JTR in the 2010 British Formula Ford championship, before going on to win races in Formula Renault 2.0, GP3 and Formula Renault 3.5. Despite a Formula One test and points-scoring GP2 debut, Ellinas is realistic about the season ahead:
“It will be a completely new challenge for me as I begin my first season in sports cars. I had a really positive test with Porsche at Silverstone in November which is what started things moving, and now I just can’t wait to get back in a car.
“I know the competition will be tough, but I also know from past experience with JTR that the guys will provide me with a great car – so perhaps I can fight for wins and possibly challenge for the championship later in the year. Why not!?
Porsche Carrera Cup Silverstone Taster day 2016
“This is a big move for me that I hope will lead to a long career in the sport. I want to thank the team, and also personally Nick Tandy, for believing in my abilities and putting me in the car for this season.”
Team Principal, Nick Tandy, has every confidence in his new signing and the strength of the team going into the season:
“We’ve known Tio a long time and we’re delighted to welcome him back to the team. He’s won a lot of races and has an enviable track record in single seaters, but we’re all ‘eyes open’ to the challenge as he adapts to a completely different style of car.
“The first official test isn’t far away, but back in November Tio proved he didn’t need long to get up to a really good pace in the car. Along with Dino and Lewis, we couldn’t have hoped for a stronger line up in our first season of sports cars.”
Porsche Silverstone Taster day 2016
James MacNaughton, Motorsport Manager, Porsche Cars GB, commented:
“To have a driver of Tio’s experience and with his track record join the Porsche Carrera Cup GB is a proud moment for us. We’ve worked hard to make sure the championship appeals to all our competitors in every category, and it’s something which can be a difficult balance to achieve.
“Looking at the strength of our Pro drivers, along with the continued support of our Pro-Am1 and Pro-Am2 competitors, we must be getting it right. The field for our 15th season looks fiercely competitive and we can’t wait to get going.”
Porsche Carrera Cup Silverstone Taster day 2016
Ellinas is the 10th confirmed Pro category driver so far, and will be joining Tom Wrigley (IN2 Racing), Jamie Orton (Redline Racing) and Matt Telling (Welch Motorsport) in the Rookie championship.
Neil Simmons
Twitter: @world_racing
Images courtesy of and with permission by Porsche Carrera Cup GB
Confirmations and announcements for the 15th season of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB
An unprecedented level of early registrations following the 2016 season saw the majority of the grid confirmed before the year’s end, but the 2017 pre-season still has a few surprises of its own.
Drivers and Teams
Heading to the championship from the BTCC is Welch Motorsport. In parallel to any BTCC activities, the team will be supporting Matt Telling as he takes on his first season competing in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB. Entered in both Pro-Am2 and Rookie categories, Telling has some experience of the ‘Type 991’ 911 GT3 Cup from endurance races, but he and Welch Motorsport will be making the most of pre-season testing.
After four seasons and seven wins, front-runner Stephen Jelley recently announced a return to the British Touring Car Championship after moving from the BTCC to Porsche Carrera Cup GB in 2010. Jelley will be trading places with Alex Martin, who returns to Porsche Carrera Cup GB alongside father Rupert at Team Parker Racing. Alex had his first taste of the championship driving a ‘Type 997’ 911 GT3 Cup back in 2009, but he and father Rupert, himself a veteran of two seasons, have never raced in the championship together.
Porsche Carrera Cup Rounds 15 & 16, Brands Hatch GP, 30th Sept – 2nd October 2016 Photo: James Lipman / jameslipman.com (c) porsche.co.uk
Alex explains: “After two memorable but frustrating seasons in the BTCC, I’m genuinely happy to be returning to the Porsche Carrera Cup GB. I never quite adapted to the front-wheel drive Focus and felt unable to push myself and the car to the edge required in such a competitive championship. So onwards and upwards to Porsche!“
For 2017, company director Alex will compete in the Pro-Am1 category, while Rupert stays in Pro-Am2. Alex continues: “I drove my dad’s car after the end of last season and loved it straight away. So much so that at the end of a long day in the car I got out, smiling from ear to ear, and Stuart Parker [team manager] said, “there are 10 minutes left before the circuit shuts”, so rather than calling it a day I jumped straight back in to do a few more laps – what a machine!
“2017 for me is about rediscovering my love for racing. It’s easy to get caught up in all the hype and media, but at the end of the day I race for three reasons: the love of competition, the cars and, most of all, fun! I can’t wait to get stuck in as 2017 is going to be a lot of fun.”
Indications are that there will be more to come before the first race weekend at Brands Hatch on 1 / 2 April.
2017 Photographer
(c) Dan Bathie
Porsche Carrera Cup GB is pleased to announce that Dan Bathie, the Renault MSA Young Photographer of the Year 2016, will be covering the championship at all the core rounds as well as at special events. Bathie, aged 25 from Derbyshire, scooped the award after his entry impressed the panel of judges through a combination of technical excellence with artistry that showcased a variety of motorsport disciplines at both national and international levels.
Bathie said of the appointment: “It’s a huge honour to be working with such a prestigious manufacturer and championship. When I was just getting into photography, the Porsche Carrera Cup GB was actually one of the first races I took my camera to, so to be their photographer is a huge career goal for me.
“I’m just excited to get started now, the calendar goes to some fantastic UK circuits as well as the iconic Circuit de la Sarthe, which is always a special track to photograph. I hope to show the championship, the drivers and teams at their best.”
James MacNaughton, Motorsport Manager, Porsche Cars GB, commented: “We always have a focus on supporting our teams, drivers and partners with the best photography we can. Over the years we’re fortunate to have worked with some amazing photographers, so we’re delighted to have Dan on board to carry that forward.
“His record already speaks for itself, but the fact he’s a similar age to many of our drivers this season could result in an interesting re-interpretation of what we produce. The championship has such a diverse and evolving range of requirements for imagery that sometimes it’s good to take a fresh look.”
Bathie’s first event with the championship will be at the Media Day.
Media Day
The first official event of 2017 will be Media Day, held at Silverstone’s National circuit on Monday 13 March. All full grid of teams and drivers will take part in a day of testing, interviews, filming and photography. Full details including a timetable will be sent ahead, with 2017 information packs available on the day or in advance by request. Please contact rob.durrant@porsche.co.uk if you wish to be added to the mailing list or would like further information.
Today MJP Racing unveils its excitingly aggressive liveries for 2017 World Rallycross Championship. We also caught up with our team boss Max Pucher for a Q&A ahead of the 2017 FIA World Rallycrosss Championship season.
7 questions for Max J. Pucher from MJP Racing Team Austria.
The heat is on in the World Rallycross Championship. In its third year the World Championship Rallycross team founded by Max Pucher changed its name to MJP Racing Team Austria and signed the drivers Timo Scheider und Kevin Eriksson for 2017. Rumour had it that Max Pucher’s 2015 team mate Manfred Stohl might reenter World RX for 2017. To everyone’s surprise he did so with Team Austria’s 2016 drivers Timerzyanov und Baumanis.
So we wanted to know more from Max Pucher about his plans with Team Austria.
Why did you change the team name for 2017?
The main reason is the much broader activity of MJP Racing as a motorsport company and our growth. MJP Racing is the only force now behind the team and this made sense to be reflected. I founded MJP Racing in 2013 and today it is already the largest motorsport company in Austria with our own design department and a fully equipped production facility. We have invested in high-tech design and production. We do not want to buy from abroad when we have the best and creative engineers in Austria. I can utilize my software and management background perfectly to grow this. You will hear more about it in 2017.
How do you see the re-entry of Stohl into World RX?
I see everything that moves the RX sport forward as positive. From a media perspective it is a pity that Stohl is not driving but I understand his decision. Two Austrian teams in World RX are fantastic as we compete with the Nordic countries once again. There is thus no ‘war’ between Stohl and me as some like to interpret. Things just worked out differently than expected. I financed Team Austria by 80% in 2015 and when Stohl could not find any sponsors for 2016 he pulled out. I could not get the engineering and logistics support needed from Stohl and had to do it all with my own team as I already had signed contracts with Timerzyanov and Baumanis.
Your 2016 cars were also built by Stohl?
We had the slightly improved 2015 cars and one identical new build but the serious problems with the chassis, the steering and weight balance were not solved. The Fiesta’s were not competitive at the start of the season. So I did what I always do and hired people who are better than me. In this case race engineers and designers with circuit experience. We laser scanned the car and calculated an optimal suspension to find how far we could go with what we had. We changed the geometry as far as possible within the R5 limitations; finally got proper RX dampers and the necessary stabilisers and from Lydden Hill on we were in business. Timerzyanov is a driver who was really great to work with to improve the car. He can tell you exactly what is going on. Just the M-Sport R5 steering we could not change during the season and it cost us around 50 championship points. I had to invest substantially because the pay drivers would have been unable to finance this. But I always stand by my word and we pulled it off.
Why did then Baumanis and Timerzyanov switch to Stohl?
My proposal was to invest together more for 2017 with me covering the necessary development but they wanted to spend less. My loyalty and investment was not honoured but that is racing and competition and I never carry a grudge. I see it as another investment into the sport.
Obviously Stohl had a strong interest to get them and thus access to our 2016 learning investment. I then had to decide whether to make this a development year or to drive a full season. My team sponsors wanted to see their investment in use and demanded top drivers for a full WRX engagement.
How about Alex Wurz? You had him test the car last year.
My sponsors offered Alex Wurz a fully paid World RX seat. Despite his strong desire he was unable to match it with his career priorities. We also talked to other Austrian race drivers, but there are right now no young Supercar talents to invest in. But we keep looking!
Timo Scheider showed in 2016 that he feels at home in RX and Kevin Eriksson is one of the great young talents of this sport. Also Andrew Jordan is much more than just a media magnet. We had discussions with eight drivers and in the end more interest than seats. Our choice with Timo und Kevin satisfied our sponsors who did not want to have their 2016 investment dormant.
What investments are you referring to?
Clearly there is a brand value that was created for the sponsors. For MJP Racing it was the learning experience and development of a new chassis in 2016. We currently use it under the name LionRX1 as a test car. I will most likely drive it at the start of the season. For World RX we have the all-new LionRX2 and from summer a completely new homologated LionRX3 frame that departs from the R5 chassis. The investment in the team, facilities and engineering has been substantial to manage a season on our own. I was also lucky to have Jürgen Weiß as a team manager at my side to pull this off. Today I have a full management team for design, logistics, factory, and marketing,
How do your rate the odds for MJP Racing Team Austria in WRX 2017?
I am very positive that we will manage this steep entry curve into 2017 with new cars and new drivers well because we have now the resources for continuous improvement. The trick will be to create a harmony between team, drivers and cars. But yes, there is a strong component of luck that comes with racing. In addition we must be realistic when factory supported teams sport multiples of our budget.
The season is not far away as World Rallycross visits Barcelona for the first round on 31st March. Here at The Pit Crew Online we will be bringing you all the news from WRX during the course of the season.
RC Motorsport will rely on Vesta power when it makes its debut in the FIA World Touring Car Championship this season.
Two men. Two British motor racing legends who both died on this day, yet fourteen years apart.
It was in 1976, twenty years after Surtees, in which Barry Sheene brought home the 500cc World Championship and then retained it the following season, partnered by Steve Parrish.
To this day John Surtees is the only person to have ever won world championships on two and four wheels and Barry Sheene is the only British double world champion in the premier motorcycle racing class. Surtees also won 6 Isle Of Man TT races.
I grew up learning about John Surtees and was completely captured by his story and what he had achieved long before I had been born. I grew up watching Barry Sheene hurtle his way fearlessly around the track, regardless of the many injuries he suffered.
PRESS RELEASE FROM MJP RACING
