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Event preview: FIA WTCR Race of Germany

  • gb
24.09.20

The action doesn’t stop in the WTCR − FIA World Touring Car Cup. Less than two weeks after the season-opener in Belgium, the battle continues at the one of the toughest tracks on the planet, the 25.378-kilometre Nürburgring Nordschleife, September 24-26.

Germany has hosted the WTCR since the series began in 2018 and was a regular on the FIA World Touring Car Championship schedule beforehand.

From 2015, the legendary Nürburgring Nordschleife, located in the Eifel mountains, has challenged the World Touring Car stars to the extreme with its 64 heart-stopping corners, long straights, dips, climbs and fast sweeps providing motorsport’s equivalent of a high-speed rollercoaster.

A racing circuit for the brave − changeable weather can also be factor − it’s the ultimate thrill seeker’s paradise with the 20 all-season WTCR drivers taking to the ‘Green Hell’ for two practice sessions, a single qualifying and two races over three laps in Goodyear-equipped TCR cars from Alfa Romeo, Audi, CUPRA, Honda, Lynk & Co and Renault.

As well as the chase for the overall placings, WTCR Rookie Driver and WTCR Trophy points will be up for grabs at the Nürburgring Nordschleife with live coverage in six continents as part of the WTCR’s biggest broadcast distribution ever.  

Home interest comes in the shape of ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport and the satellite ALL.INKL.DE Münnich Motorsport squad.

 

EVENT ESSENTIALS

What? 2020 WTCR − FIA World Touring Car Cup, Rounds 3 and 4 of 16

When? September 24-26, 2020

Where? Nürburgring Nordschleife, Germany

Track length: 25.378 kilometres

Race 1 distance: 3 laps (76.134 kilometres)

Race 2 distance: 3 laps (76.134 kilometres)

WTCR qualifying lap record: Thed Björk (Hyundai i30 N TCR) 8m55.085s (170.7kph), 11/05/18

WTCR race lap record: Frédéric Vervisch (Audi RS 3 LMS) 8m59.076s (169.4kph), 12/05/18

 

HOW THEY STAND

After two rounds, Yann Ehrlacher is the Goodyear #FollowTheLeader. Here’s a reminder of how he and the chasing pack stand:

 

1 Yann Ehrlacher (FRA) 43 points

2 Néstor Girolami (ARG) 36

3 Yvan Muller (FRA) 31

4 Santiago Urrutia (URY) 28

5 Gilles Magnus (BEL) 25

6 Thed Björk (SWE) 24

7 Tom Coronel (NLD) 24

8 Jean-Karl Vernay (FRA) 20

9 Attila Tassi (HUN) 17

10 Nathanaël Berthon (FRA) 15

 

WEEKEND DIARY

Thursday September 24

Qualifying: 19h00-19h40

Friday September 25

Race 1: 16h40 (3 laps)

Saturday September 26

Race 2: 10h00 (3 laps)

All timings are shown in CET, are provisional and subject to change

 

KEY NUMBERS

43: WTCR points scored by Yann Ehrlacher to make him the Goodyear #FollowTheLeader

75: Length in metres of the Goodyear Blimp that will fly over the Nordschleife on September 26

4: FIA World Touring Car race wins scored by Yvan Muller in Germany

1927: The year the Nürburgring opened for business following two years under construction

24: WTCR Race of Germany is part of the ADAC TOTAL 24h-Rennen weekend, the venue’s famous twice-round-the-clock event

 

WTCR RACE OF GERMANY QUALIFYING: HOW IT WORKS?

While one three-phase qualifying session is the norm at most events, the long track length (25.378 kilometres) at WTCR Race of Germany requires a single uninterrupted session of 40 minutes.

 

WTCR RACE OF GERMANY GRIDS: HOW ARE THEY FORMED?

The Race 1 grid is decided by the final qualifying classification with positions 1-10 lining up in reverse order. The Race 2 grid is decided by the final qualifying order with the fastest driver in qualifying taking the DHL Pole Position.

 

WTCR RACE OF GERMANY: HOW THEY SCORE?

*The fastest five drivers in Qualifying score points as follows: 10-8-6-4-2

*The top 15 classified finishers score in each race as follows: 25-20-16-13-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1

*The same scoring system apples to the WTCR − FIA World Touring Car Cup for Teams and the WTCR Rookie Driver classification. WTCR Trophy drivers score as follows: 10-8-5-3-1, 1 point for the fastest qualifying lap, 1 point for the fastest lap in each race

 

WTCR RACE OF GERMANY: RECENT WINNERS

2019:
Race 1: 
Norbert Michelisz (HUN) Hyundai i30 N TCR
Race 2: Johan Kristoffersson (SWE) Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR
Race 3: Benjamin Leuchter (DEU) Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR
2018:
Race 1: 
Yvan Muller (FRA) Hyundai i30 N TCR
Race 2: Esteban Guerrieri (ARG) Honda Civic Type R TCR
Race 3: Thed Björk (SWE) Hyundai i30 N TCR

 

WTCR DRIVERS ON WHY THEY LOVE THE NORDSCHLEIFE

Thed Björk (Cyan Performance Lynk & Co): “When you get to Schwalbenschwanz it’s not so far to go and you say to yourself ‘keep pushing, keep pushing’. And then comes my favourite part when you go into the compression at Tiergarten and you brake as late as you can, 260kph, and when you do that then you are done with your lap and hopefully it’s a good lap.”

Tom Coronel (Comtoyou DHL Team Audi Sport): “There’s nothing even close to the Nürburgring Nordschleife, it’s every track multiplied by 10, the most legendary there is. There’s a myth associated with the track and all the manufacturers want to have lap records there. I’ve held the road car record with the Dodge Viper, I’ve done a lot of 24 hours there but you never know the track because it’s never the same from one part to another but you have to trust it. As a race car driver, it’s one of those things you need every year to satisfy yourself. It’s mega cool.”

Yann Ehrlacher (Cyan Racing Lynk & Co): “The part between the Karussel and the Döttinger Höhe because is like a single corner as you don’t once have the steering straight. You are in the flow going left, right, quick corners, a bit slower corners, even at the end at Marshal’s Post 174 you are jumping the four wheels, that’s the most insane part of the track because you are in the flow just letting the car roll. But it’s also the best part of the track and the part of the track you most enjoy.”

Esteban Guerrieri (ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport): “Adenauer Forst is like a compression, you get compressed really bad at 250kph and then you come up like hell all of a sudden and you have to shift down a gear and get over a kerb on the left but you just keep coming up and shifting down from sixth to second in a sequence of quick ‘esses’. This was the corner that impressed me the most when I arrived for the first time and it’s the one that still generates the most adrenalin.”

Gábor Kismarty-Lechner (Zengő Motorsport): “This will be something very difficult for me because it’s a very long track and very difficult. That’s why it’s called the Green Hell, I guess. It won’t be very easy but I will do my best.”

Attila Tassi (ALL-INKL.DE Münnich Motorsport): “Last year was the first time for me at the Nürburgring Nordschleife. I really liked it and before it was a dream to race on it in real life. I’m really positive, we had a test there in the summer. We will push as hard as we can to get the best out of the car.”

Jean-Karl Vernay (Team Mulsanne): “I didn’t know the track before I came there with WTCR and even though I am a resident of Luxembourg, which is only one hour, I didn’t have so much interest. But when you drive there for the first time you immediately fall in love with the place because it’s so impressive. It’s completely different to a normal track and you are missing some pace at first because you don’t have the experience you need. Last year I was unlucky with the Code 60 warnings in qualifying, they really ruined my races. But I finished fourth from 15th on the grid in Race 3 so at least I ended the weekend on a high. Now I look forward to going back because you have so much pleasure and it’s super-cool.”

Jack Young (Vuković Motorsport): “I did some laps in a road car and it was unbelievable. I want to go back, actually I want to move out there! I said to my Dad, ‘I’m moving to Germany!’ I love it so much, the atmosphere is amazing and the track is like nothing else and I can’t wait to race on it.”

 

DID YOU KNOW?

Double FIA World Rallycross champion Johan Kristoffersson scored his breakthrough WTCR win at the Nürburgring Nordschleife last season.