Japan excites the FIA WTCR Series

Japan excites the FIA WTCR series

The weekend’s Touring Car racing during the FIA WTCR series, which has YOKOHAMA as Official Tyre supplier did not disappoint the multitude of fans that flocked in their thousands to the Japanese circuit of Suzuka. They were able to enjoy top level competitive motorsports in its unique figure-of-eight layout and presenting a considerable challenge for drivers due to its huge variety of corners. The YOKOHAMA Motorsports support team was well represented at what is considered its home race, with expert support staff and engineers at hand to offer the necessary technical expertise as required by this premium FIA racing series, to ensure safety and high performance.

However the Italian veteran Gabrielle Tarquini, was not going to be overcome by the difficulties of the track or lose the opportunity and his performance on the Hyundai-powered BRC Racing Team was solid with a victory in race 3, placing himself at the very top of the contenders to win the inaugural WTCR crown.

Before that however, another veteran, the Briton Rob Huff also delighted his supporters with a win in race 2, and valuable points placing him in an overall 9th position. For his part, the young Italian driver Kevin Ceccon also scored a fantastic race 1 win, which together with his pole position for Race 3 earned him confidence and points.

Other notable performances at Suzuka, came from Esteban Guerrieri, who took his ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Honda Civic Type R TCR to fourth in Race 1 ahead of Bennani and Jean-Karl Vernay (Audi Sport Leopard Lukoil Team). Norbert Michelisz returned to the podium with third in Race 2 for BRC Racing Team, the Hungarian finishing one place ahead of Panis, for whom fourth place was a season-best result, and two ahead of team-mate Tarquini.

Another notable highlight of the racing weekend was the comeback of the Portuguese 42 year old, Tiago Monteiro, who finished in credible positions to the delight of his team, family and friends and motorsport fans around the world. Monteiro had been away from competitive race tracks for 415 days, after a serious crash during a driving test in Barcelona last year.

With a string of veteran drivers at the top of the overall standings, Gabrielle Tarquini currently on 291 points leads the pack ahead of the French driver Yvan Muller on second place with 252 points.  They will go to the legendary Macau Guia street circuit, knowing that the Championship could be theirs. Close by in third place, the Swedish Thed Björk (last Champion of the former WTCC Championship) will also have something to say as he is on 238  points.

With three races pending on a challenging street circuit and 87 points up for grabs, the final race weekend in the FIA World Touring Car Cup will be held in Macau from the 15-18 November and it promises to be a real cracker.

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