Yvan Muller leads the WTCC going into this weekends race
Pau has been giving me a headache! I’ve been racing a good amount in Race Pro and it is one circuit that if you get it slightly wrong, your pretty much out of it! Check the video on the next page.
The fourth FIA World Touring Car Championship meeting is taking place this weekend on the historic urban circuit of the city of Pau, one of the most traditional venues of European motor racing. SEAT Sport will make it to the French meeting as leaders in the manufacturers’ classification with current World Champion Yvan Muller as the leading driver.
The Pau circuit is well-known for its narrow lay-out, which makes passing extremely difficult. Therefore the starting position will be crucial for getting good results, and the SEAT Sport drivers are determined to pay close attention to the settings during the practice sessions to ensure the best scores. Yvan Muller, SEAT’s driver who will be competing on home soil, knows perfectly well that this is the key to succeeding this weekend. ‘The Pau circuit is an urban track, so getting the pole position is essential, even more that at other venues’, said Muller. ‘Starting from pole position or somewhere from the front line means half the battle is won, considering that the first race has a rolling start. Besides, I think all the competitors are very evenly matched for this weekend’s event. Chevrolet showed what they’re made of in Marrakech and BMW have always raced well in Pau.’
Besides the five official SEAT Sport drivers, Jordi Gené, Yvan Muller, Tiago Monteiro, Rickard Rydell and Gabriele Tarquini, five other SEAT León TFSI units will be raced in Pau, three from the Sunred team (Tom Coronel, Tom Boardman and Eric Cayrolle), the private competitor Marin Colak and repeat performer Medhi Bennani from Morocco, who put on a great performance in Marrakech with Team Exagon’s car.
All the ballast weights have been recalculated after the race in Marrakech, based on the results of the last three meetings (Brazil, Mexico and Morocco). The SEAT León TDI has been used as the benchmark, but both the BMW 320si and the Chevrolet Cruze will get the same ballast weight of 40 kg. The other models (Lada 110, SEAT León WTCC and Zanardi’s BMW) will have their ballast reduced by 20 kg.
Race details:
Race: WTCC 2009, races 7 and8. Circuit: Pau, France. Length: 2.760 km. Two, 19-lap races
Schedule
Saturday, 16 May
9 – 9:30 a.m.: Free training session
11:15 – 11:45 a.m.: Free training session
3 – 3:50 p.m.: Qualifying session
Sunday, 17 May
9 – 9:15 a.m.: Warm-up
1:05 p.m.: 1st race. 19 laps, rolling start
3:20 p.m.: 2nd race. 19 laps, standing start
Weights and ballast of participating cars
SEAT León TDI: 1,170 kg + 40 kg ballast = 1,210 kg
SEAT petrol: 1,170 kg – 20 kg ballast = 1,150 kg
BMW: 1,155 kg + 40 kg ballast = 1,195 kg
Chevrolet Cruze: 1,170 kg + 40 kg = 1,210 kg
BMW (Privates): 1,155 kg
Lada: 1,170 kg – 20 kg ballast = 1,150 kg
(Due to a special authorisation by the FIA, the BMW ‘320Si’ are competing with 15 kg less than the SEAT León TDI)
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