Week 52, 23 - 31 December 2006
The stock car market
The 2006 NASCAR Busch series was one to remember, with exceptional racing, its fair share of controversy and the debut of Juan Pablo Montoya in American stock cars. Kevin Harvick took the title with four races to go and ended the season with a massive points margin of 824, the largest in the history of the series. The 42-round season took the teams and drivers the length and breadth of the USA and Harvick netted himself over $1Million in prize money. Motors TV has a two-part review of the 2006 season.
2006 NASCAR Busch series, Season Review
Saturday 23 December 20.00
GT Fore
The 2006 FIA GT Championship visited ten circuits around the world, including some of the most famous locations in motorsport, such as Spa, Paul Ricard and Dubai. The Vitaphone Racing team set the pace in the Maserati MC12 in the GT1 category, giving the pairing of Michael Bartels and Andrea Bertolini the drivers’ championship, with Jaime Melo taking GT2. However, Aston Martin took the GT1 Manufacturers’ Cup, thanks to a much wider adoption of the marque for racers and hence, points haul. Motors TV has a full review of the 2006 season, as it traversed the globe.
2006 FIA GT Championship, Season Review
Sunday 24 December 21.00
Long-running series
This year’s Le Mans Series was a demonstration of supremacy by the French Pescarolo team, winning its class and every race outright. However, its dominance belied the action taking place throughout the four classes. Grids of more than 40 cars were commonplace for the five 1000Km races and the season took the teams around Europe for exceptional racing. There were new teams and new drivers in all four classes, producing a classic season of competition. Motors TV highlights the season in two parts.
2006 Le Mans Series, Season Review
Monday 25 December 23.00
Touring de force
The 2006 British Touring Car Championship was a vintage year for fans of saloon car racing. One of the world’s most important series, the 30-round championship saw both the drivers’ and manufacturers’ titles go down to the final weekend at Silverstone. As it transpired, Matt Neal took his second consecutive title, the first driver to do so since the late 1980s while SEAT took the coveted Manufacturer’s crown from Vauxhall for the first time. The season saw record girds and some of the closest, sometimes too close, racing action in the UK. Motors TV has a two-part review for the full season across two days.
2006 British Touring Car Championship, Season Review, Part 1
Tuesday 26 December 13.00
2006 British Touring Car Championship, Season Review, Part 2
Wednesday 27 December 13.00
The trophy race
Round three of the Andros Trophy takes place at Alpe D’Huez and the championship is gathering pace. This week, it’s the turn of France, in the resort located just outside Grenoble. The racing takes place on a circuit in the centre of the resort so the atmosphere is likely to be electric. Sitting 1900m above sea level, the resort faces south, so the reception will be as warm as the sunshine while the drivers remain as cool as the circuit. Motors TV will be showing highlights of both the car and moto classes.
2006 Andros Trophy, Round 3, Alpe d’Huez
Wednesday 27 December 18.00
On their bikes
This year’s World SuperBike Championship was a classic and was dominated by Australian Troy Bayliss from the off. Bayliss took an outstanding dozen race wins through the course for the season, including the final race at Magny Cours in France. British rider James Toseland gave Bayliss the closest run for his money but was unable to bring any real pressure to bear. Motors TV has a two part review of the season, covering all the action from the series.
2006 World SuperBike Championship, Season Review
Thursday 28 December 17.00
Supercars and superstars
The Australian V8 Supercar series always delivers fantastic action and 2006 was no exception. The series visited the Middle East for the first time, at the Bahrain International Circuit and also ran at the iconic Mount Panorama for the famous Bathurst race. But the real action took place towards the end of the season. Craig Lowndes and Rick Kelly were separated by the narrowest of margins as the series headed for its finale at the Phillip Island circuit, Australia’s spiritual home of motorsport. Motors TV has a two-part season review of all the action.
2006 V8 Supercars, Season Review
Saturday 30 December 20.00
