Shanghaï Tianma track stages penultimate round of the battle for Drivers’ title
The second and penultimate stop of the Asian tour will take the WTCC to China from 4th to 6th November, for an historic première. The Race of China, initially scheduled at Guangdong, will be hosted at the Tianma Circuit in the outskirts of Shanghaï, considered one of the most buoyant towns in the world.
This short 2.063 km twisty circuit is terra incognita for everybody in the WTCC, adding uncertainty to the excitement.
Chevrolet has already claimed the Manufacturers’ Title and only the three Chevrolet driversare in contention for the WTCC Drivers’ Title. The Suzuka results maintained the status quoin the standings, with Yvan Muller and Rob Huff now separated by 13 points and Alain Menuplaying the role of outsider, 73 points behind the leader.
A regular fixture in neighboring Macau, the WTCC – the world’s top touring car series – hasnever visited mainland China. There is a great deal of expectation and anticipation ahead ofthe event as motorsports is quickly gaining in popularity among Chinese fans.The Race of China is the penultimate WTCC event of the season, which will come to an endin Macau on 20th November.
• QUOTES
Yvan Muller: “Tianma is a new circuit for everyone, and one we know very little about. Ihope it will suitable for a WTCC event. I have gathered some info on it, but not much. Itdefinitely looks small and short, with many tight corners. This will mean very close gaps anddifficult overtaking, so it will be extremely important to stay very focused as from the firstminute. For the rest, not much to say with regard to the title battle; the objective is to stayahead of Rob.”
Rob Huff: “I was pleased with the results in Japan, where I reduced the gap with Yvan bythree points; that’s not much, but it’s a step in the right direction. The title battle is still longand is becoming more interesting, as the decisive moment approaches and the pressuregrows. I am very excited to go to China; it’s a circuit that is new for everybody and given itstypology, I’m confident that my experience in club racing in the UK can be useful! Theweather may play a role as this is a region where conditions can change very quickly, fromhot and humid to stormy. I must say that I wouldn’t mind wet races!”
Alain Menu: “I have never been to Shanghaï, so I am quite excited and eager to discover anew city and a new circuit. From the map and the pictures I have seen, it seems a short,twisty and slow circuit, I wonder whether we will go over 180 km/h as top speed. It remindsme of Croix-en-Ternois in France, which brings me back to the early years of my career, butwe will see once we are there and, in any case, the circuit is the same for everybody. Mygoal is to keep the form I had in Suzuka and finish the season as high as I can.”
Ron Hartvelt: “Three events overseas, far from the team’s base, is always a challenge interms of logistics and time available for repreparing the cars, and this time it is even moreso, as the next stop, Tianma, is a completely new venue for the WTCC and was changed atvery short notice. But we’ll be ready. The boys had six hours to work on the cars after theSuzuka races and were busy almost all night loading the cars and the equipment into thecontainers that will bring everything by sea to China. This means that we will have roughly afull day’s work on the cars. Luckily, there were no damages in Japan and from now on, wewill also have a spare car, the fourth Cruze driven by (Japanese driver Toshi) Arai inSuzuka.Tianma is unknown to everybody, but I am less concerned about that than about thelogistics. We could get some track data from other categories that have raced there, andhave done the basic simulations that allow us to calculate gear ratios and all the initialparameters from where to start working. The track appears to be short and narrow, almost amickey-mouse track, where it will be difficult to reach top speed. Hence the importance to bein the front in qualifying and ensure the best possible grid positions for Race 1. Qualifying forRace 2 is a different exercise, as we know, and that’s where you can possibly gain or losesome crucial points. This will be particularly important with regard to the title fight among ourthree drivers, so I expect a very strategic session. As we saw in Japan, as the battleadvances, it is more and more important for each contender to finish races, so qualifying isbecoming really decisive.”
Eric Nève: “We are very excited about this first WTCC visit to China, a market tremendouslyimportant and a country with a fast growing interest for motorsports. This event coincideswith the production of the one-millionth Cruze since the launch of the model in 2009.Additionally, it is the Centennial year for Chevrolet, as the company was established on 3rdNovember 1911. This special moment will be underlined by a commemorative sticker on thecars, and I hope we can contribute to the celebrations with one or even better, two wins!”
TIANMA RACE SCHEDULE (Local time: CET +7 hours)
Friday, 4th November 201114.00-14.30 (07.00-07.30 CET) Testing
Saturday, 5th November 201109.10-09.40 (02.10-02.40 CET) Free Practice 112.00-12.30 (05.00-05.30 CET) Free Practice 215.10-15.20 (08.10-08.20 CET) Qualifying 115.35-15.45 (08.35-08.45 CET) Qualifying 2 (Top Ten)
Sunday, 6th November 201109.30-09.45 (02.30-02.45 CET) Warm up14.35-15.05 (07.35-08.05 CET) Race 1 (Rolling start)15.50-16.20 (08.50-09.15 CET) Race 2 (Standing start)
TIANMA WTCC ON TVIn Europe, qualifying, warm up and the races are be broadcasted live on EurosportInternational.
DRIVERS STANDINGS AFTER RACE 20 OF 24:1. Y Muller (Chevrolet), 363 points; 2. R Huff (Chevrolet), 350: 3. A Menu (Chevrolet),290; 4. T Coronel (BMW), 183; 5. G Tarquini (SEAT), 159; etc.
MANUFACTURERS STANDINGS AFTER RACE 20 OF 24:1. Chevrolet, 810 points; 2. BMW, 485; 3. SEAT, 435; 4. Volvo, 138.
