BRC Racing Team’s fight for WTCR glory continues in China
Only seven days after the last race, China will host the eighth round of the FIA World Touring Car Cup 2018 (WTCR). After Ningbo, the city track of Wuhan will be the venue for the latest chapter of the fight for the season’s title, which will be held on October 6th and 7th.
Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province, is located on the banks of the Yangtze River, 900 kilometers east of Shanghai. As a centre of the country’s automotive industry it is an important transportation and industrial center.
The challenging city circuit is a regular date on the Chinese Touring Championship calendar. However, at only 2.984 meters long, the track offers few overtaking possibilities and is new to almost all the WTCR drivers, including the BRC Racing Team duo, Gabriele Tarquini and Norbert Michelisz.
The Hyundai i30 N TCR was one of the fastest cars throughout the previous weekend in Ningbo, but the Wuhan street circuit will be a fresh challenge for the car, drivers and team. The tight confines of the track mean the qualifying sessions will be particularly crucial to the weekend’s strategies and results. The three race format of the WTCR weekend will put a premium on avoiding damage, something especially important for the BRC Racing Team drivers in their battle for the championship.
WTCR points’ leader Gabriele Tarquini declares: "The circuit is new for everyone and we do not know exactly what awaits us for the weekend. Only one WTCR driver has raced here before, but the circuit has been resurfaced and modified for this season, so it is a new challenge for everyone. I hope to have three good races and to collect important points for the championship. However, it will be very challenging, given the incredibly competitive nature of series”.
Norbert Michelisz says: "Wuhan will be a special place to race at, since it is a completely new circuit for most of us. Because of that it is difficult to have clear expectations, but I expect close racing and an exciting challenge. It will be crucial to finish every race to gather as many points as possible, since from now on every result will have a big effect on the championship. My goal as always is to score the most points available".
Round 8 WTCR Race of China 2018 – Wuhan International Street Track
Timetable
All times local (GMT +08:00)
FRIDAY 5th OCTOBER
13.00 – 13.30 Free Practices 1 (30 minutes)
15.30 – 16.00 Free Practices 2 (30 minutes)
SATURDAY 6th OCTOBER
10.30 – 11.10 Qualifying (40 minutes)
16.00 – 16.30 Race 1 (18 laps)
SUNDAY 7th OCTOBER
9.00 – 9.30 Qualifying Q1 (30 minutes)
9.35 – 9.50 Qualifying Q2 (15 minutes)
10.00 (start first car) Qualifying Q3
15.45 – 16.15 Race 2 (18 giri)
17.05 – 17.40 Race 3 (21 giri)
OVERALL RANKINGS - DRIVERS
1 – #30 Gabriele Tarquini ITA - BRC Racing Team - HYUNDAI - pt. 241
2 – #11 Thed Björk SWE - MRacing - HYUNDAI - pt. 233
3 – #48 Yvan Muller FRA - MRacing - HYUNDAI - pt. 232
4 – #5 Norbert Michelisz HUN - BRC Racing Team - HYUNDAI - pt. 195
5 – #68 Yann Ehrlacher FRA - ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport - HONDA - pt. 178
6 – #86 Esteban Guerrieri ARG - ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport - HONDA - pt.174
7 – #69 Jean-Karl Vernay FRA - Audi Sport Leopard Lukoil Team - AUDI - pt. 166
8 – #74 Pepe Oriola ESP – Campos Racing - CUPRA - pt.165
9 – #12 Rob Huff GBR - Sébastien Loeb Racing - VOLKSWAGEN - pt. 161
10 – #22 Frédéric Vervisch BEL – Audi Sport Team Comtoyon - AUDI - pt. 143
OVERALL RANKINGS - TEAMS
1 – MRacing - HYUNDAI - pt. 477
2 – BRC Racing Team - HYUNDAI - pt. 443
3 – ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport - HONDA - pt. 358
4 – Sébastien Loeb Racing - VOLKSWAGEN - pt. 269
5 – Audi Sport Leopard Lukoil Team - AUDI - pt. 250
6 – Campos Racing - CUPRA - pt. 191
7 – Audi Sport Team Comtoyou - AUDI - pt. 187
8 – DG Sport Competition - PEUGEOT - pt.148
9 – Boutsen Ginion Racing - HONDA - pt. 79
10 – ComtoyouRacing - AUDI - pt. 61
11 – Mulsanne Srl - CUPRA - pt. 35
12 – Zengo Motorsport - CUPRA - pt. 29