Whilst the majority of entries in the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) appear at every race throughout the season, a small number of competitors chose to feature in only one race weekend, as guest teams.
Outfits such as the recently confirmed Volvo Olsbergs Green Racing team, which will make its WTCC debut at Brands Hatch on 26 and 27 July, face serious challenges by putting themselves against the world’s best. One of which is to adapt their car set-up to the Yokohama ADVANs, the WTCC’s official tyre choice.
Last year’s guest entry Colin Turkington, along with Team RAC, rose to the challenge and claimed a third and fourth place. The team prepare carefully however, as Yokohama Technical Consultant Ian Beveridge recalls.
“The teams are allowed to carry out a private test if they want,” said Ian. “That’s exactly what Team RAC opted to do. They booked time at Snetterton a month before the Brands Hatch rounds and contacted us for guidelines on the car setting.
“I attended the test and could see that they weren’t very far from a good WTCC set-up already. The settings were more about fine-tuning than major changes. Really, it’s part of a normal car set-up, you just need to take the new tyres into consideration.“
For regular WTCC entries, the championship’s three British drivers will be hoping for home support after various levels of success in earlier rounds. Reigning champion Andy Priaulx is currently fourth in the Drivers’ Standings, 15 points behind leader Gabriele Tarquini.
Robert Huff follows in fifth place, enjoying his best WTCC season so far, whilst James Thompson hopes for a better weekend than his team’s recent bad luck in Estoril, which prevented him from racing.
Brands Hatch track factsLength of circuit 3.703 kmNumber of corners 9Distance:turn ranking (1-10)* 4.09 (10th most demanding 2008 WTCC track)Race distance 51.842 km (14 laps x 3.703 km)Average speed of 2007 winner Menu, 132.68kph (weather/track: sun 18º/dry 20º)
* Where 10 is the 2008 WTCC circuit with the most turns/KM
Eurosport coverage
Qualifying Race One Race TwoWTCC Saturday 26 July
16:00 CET Live
Eurosport 2 & Asia Pacific Sunday 27 July
12:45 CET Live
Eurosport Int. & Asia Pacific Sunday 27 July
14:15 CET Live
Eurosport Int. & Asia PacificF.Master n/a Saturday 26 July
12:45 CET Live
Eurosport Int. and Asia Pacific Sunday 27 July
15:15 CET Live
Eurosport 2 & Asia Pacific
