World Touring Car Championship
The World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) is an international Touring Car championship organized by the FIA.
The WTCC was first held in 1987 concurrent to the long-running European Touring Car Championship (ETCC) in a Group A format, with races held at Bathurst, Calder Park Raceway (using both the road course and the then newly constructed Thunderdome) and Mount Fuji. The championship was won by Roberto Ravaglia in a BMW M3. The series was not considered a success, due to the high costs involved, and lasted just a year.
In 1993, with the high popularity of the Supertouring category, the FIA hosted the Touring Car World Cup - an annual event for touring car drivers hailing from national championships all over the world. The 1993 race at Monza was won by Paul Radisich. The race was run for two more years, (won by Radisich again in 1994 at Donington Park, and Frank Biela in 1995 at Paul Ricard) before disappearing into obscurity. Until the end of 2005, when it made a return for national Super 2000 cars. The event was held at Vallelunga, and overall victory went to Richard Goransson, with Jason Plato (UK) and Alessandro Zanardi (ITA) taking race victories. The event is due to be run at the conclusion of the 2006 season.
In 2001, the ETCC was resumed with support from the FIA. At the request of interested manufacturers, it was changed to the current WTCC beginning with the 2005 season, and is now considered the third most important FIA championship after Formula One and the World Rally Championship.
With rounds at major prestigious circuits, the series is heavily supported by car manufacturers BMW, Alfa Romeo and SEAT. Ford, Chevrolet and Honda are also involved. It features compact and midsize cars based on Group N rules, yet modified to Super 2000 regulations, an intermediate level between the slightly modified Superproduction cars and the extinct Supertouring class.
Following the trend of recent FIA rules, cost control is a major theme in the technical regulation. Engines are limited to 2000 cc. Many technologies that have featured in production cars are not allowed, including variable valve timing, variable intake geometry, ABS brakes and traction control. Guernseyman Andy Priaulx won the 2005 championship for BMW, ahead of Dirk Müller and Fabrizio Giovanardi.
2006 Calendar
Each race weekend contains two races of 50 kilometres. First race starting grid is determined by qualifying and the second race grid by first race result with top eight reversed.
| Date | Country | Track | First race winner | Second race winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2 | Italy -- Italy | Monza | Andy Priaulx | Augusto Farfus |
| April 30 | France -- France | Magny-Cours | Dirk Müller | Andy Priaulx |
| May 21 | UK -- Great Britain | Brands Hatch | Yvan Muller | Alain Menu |
| June 4 | Germany -- Germany | Oschersleben | Andy Priaulx | Jörg Müller |
| July 2 | Brazil -- Brazil | Curitiba | Jordi Gené | Andy Priaulx |
| July 30 | Mexico -- Mexico | Puebla | Salvatore Tavano | Augusto Farfus |
| September 3 | Czech Republic -- Czech Republic | Brno | ||
| September 24 | Turkey -- Turkey | Istanbul | ||
| October 8 | Spain -- Spain | Valencia | ||
| November 19 | Macau -- Macau | Macau |
2006 Championship standings, after round 6 of 10
| Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Wins | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | UK -- James Thompson | SEAT Sport UK | SEAT León | 0 | 49 |
| 2 | UK -- Andy Priaulx | BMW Team UK | BMW 320si | 4 | 46 |
| 3 | Brazil -- Augusto Farfus | N. Technology | Alfa Romeo 156 | 2 | 46 |
| 4 | Sweden -- Rickard Rydell | SEAT Sport Sverige | SEAT León | 0 | 41 |
| 5 | Italy -- Gabriele Tarquini | SEAT Sport Italia | SEAT León | 0 | 41 |
| 6 | Germany -- Dirk Müller | BMW Team Germany | BMW 320si | 1 | 40 |
| 7 | France -- Yvan Muller | SEAT Sport France | SEAT León | 1 | 33 |
| 8 | Germany -- Peter Terting | SEAT Sport Deutschland | SEAT León | 0 | 32 |
| 9 | Germany -- Jörg Müller | BMW Team Germany | BMW 320si | 1 | 30 |
| 10 | Spain -- Jordi Gené | SEAT Sport España | SEAT León | 1 | 24 |
| 11 | Italy -- Gianni Morbidelli | N. Technology | Alfa Romeo 156 | 0 | 22 |
| 12 | Switzerland -- Alain Menu | Chevrolet | Chevrolet Lacetti | 1 | 18 |
| 13 | Italy -- Salvatore Tavano | N. Technology | Alfa Romeo 156 | 1 | 10 |
| 14 | Italy -- Alessandro Zanardi | BMW Team Italy-Spain | BMW 320si | 0 | 8 |
| 15 | Netherlands -- Tom Coronel | GR Asia | SEAT León | 0 | 8 |
| 16 | UK -- Ryan Sharp | JAS Motorsport | Honda Accord | 0 | 6 |
| 17 | UK -- Robert Huff | Chevrolet | Chevrolet Lacetti | 0 | 6 |
| 18 | Italy -- Alessandro Balzan | DB Motorsport | Alfa Romeo 156 | 0 | 5 |
| 19 | Italy -- Nicola Larini | Chevrolet | Chevrolet Lacetti | 0 | 3 |
Point system: 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 for top eight finishers.