WTCC Race of Argentina will be more important than ever for FIA World Touring Car Championship king José María López. Not only can the 33-year-old edge a step closer to his third WTCC title with a winning weekend in Termas de Río Hondo, he’ll also move ahead of legendary countryman Juan Manuel Fangio in terms of FIA world championship races won.

El Maestro, ranked as one of the greatest racing drivers of all time with five Formula One championships over a seven-year period in the 1950s, claimed 24 grands prix victories, plus three wins in the World Sportscar Championship. So far, López has notched up 27 WTCC triumphs including four on home soil, putting him level with his illustrious compatriot.

But it’s the significance of the occasion that will matter most to López. Having dominated the WTCC for the best part of three seasons, the Citroën driver has chosen the FIA Formula E Championship for his next motorsport challenge, meaning this year’s WTCC Race of Argentina could be his last, for the time being at least. He’s braced for an emotional weekend. “Every win is special but when you win in another country it’s only yourself and the team who is enjoying this,” said Pechito López. “In Argentina it’s yourself, the team and 40,000 people at the track enjoying the moment. It makes it much better, much nicer, much more emotional.”

López hails from Córdoba, 500 kilometres south of Termas. And having famously won on his WTCC debut at the venue in 2013, he’s a fan of the circuit, which also hosts his country’s MotoGP round: “It’s very wide, one of the best in Argentina and always great for me. I wouldn’t say it’s the circuit I know most in Argentina so I know the other drivers can also be quick here.”

Of those drivers, two in particular will hope to be suitably rapid. Honda’s Tiago Monteiro trails López by 101 points in the title chase and needs to build on his momentous home victory in Portugal last time out to erode his rival’s advantage, while WTCC newcomer Esteban Guerrieri will make it two Argentine drivers on the grid (see later). LADA’s Nicky Catsburg, Mehdi Bennani, Yvan Muller, Norbert Michelisz and Rob Huff are also well-placed in the standings.

BUSY WTCC STARS READY FOR MORE
It might have been more than a month since the World Touring Car Championship was on track in Vila Real, Portugal, but several drivers have been keeping busy in that time. Yvan Muller’s eponymous team has been in action in France and Austria. LADA spent three days testing in Spain with Nicky Catsburg and Gabriele Tarquini in its Vesta test car. Robert Dahlgren was on Scandinavian Touring Car Championship duty for Polestar at Falkenburg in Sweden. Tom Coronel will take part in the Buenos Aires 200 Kilometres from 30-31 July with Esteban Guerrieri also competing in the Súper TC2000 showcase. José María López will be in the Argentine capital too, but will swap steering wheel for microphone as an expert summariser. Catsburg will attempt to defend his Spa 24 Hours victory in Belgium (30-31 July), while Rob Huff will go back in time when he races a Ford Capri in the Silverstone Classic event over the same weekend.

ARGENTINIAN GUERRIERI GETS DREAM WTCC CHANCE
Esteban Guerrieri will follow in the wheel tracks of fellow Argentine José María López when he makes his World Touring Car Championship debut on home soil. Guerrieri, 31, will drive a Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 for Campos Racing in what he hopes will be the start of a long-term WTCC adventure. Buenos Aires-based Guerrieri will take inspiration from López, who scored a debut WTCC win on a one-off outing at Termas de Río Hondo as a privateer in 2013 before earning a factory Citroën drive. It was the catalyst for a dominant, record-breaking WTCC stint for López, which to date has included two world titles. Now Guerrieri, who like López shone in single-seater racing, has been handed a dream opportunity to race in the WTCC in his native Argentina with a full-time drive in the championship from 2017 his target.

FROM BELGIUM TO ARGENTINA VIA BRAZIL THANKS TO DHL
WTCC Race of Argentina is the first of five overseas races where all cars and equipment are transported from Europe by sea or airfreight as part of the championship’s long-standing agreement with DHL, the WTCC’s Official Logistics Partner. In total, 31 40ft shipping containers carrying 190 tonnes of cargo were shipped from Antwerp in Belgium on 7 July to Buenos Aires – via two scheduled stops in Brazil – where they arrived on 26 July. From the Argentine capital they are being transported by road in convoy to Termas where they are due to arrive on 31 July.

LÓPEZ TURNS TEAM PLAYER IN WTCC MAC3
José María López will be in the thick of the inter-marque action when Termas de Río Hondo hosts the Manufacturers Against the Clock team time trial on Saturday 6 August. New for 2016, the Tour de France-inspired competition puts squads from Citroën, Honda and LADA against the clock over two timed laps of the 4.806-kilometre course. The three makes (Polestar will participate when it enters a third car from 2017) nominate three drivers to take part in WTCC MAC3, which follows Qualifying Q3 once all cars have been refuelled and fitted with new tyres. Running in reverse Manufacturers’ championship order, as soon as a team’s three cars leave the grid side by side, the clock starts and stops once the last car completes two flying laps. Failure to get all three cars over the line – or if the second or third car doesn’t finish within a maximum of 15 seconds after the first car – means no points. And in what is a team-based competition, a mistake by one member can have serious consequences for the rest of the squad, which proved to be the case for LADA in Russia when a jumped-start by Gabriele Tarquini cancelled out victory. And the competition in WTCC MAC3 has been close – even too close to call. After Citroën won the inaugural event in France by 0.030s, the spectacle was raised even further when it tied on time with Honda in Slovakia, meaning both makes picked up 10 points towards their Manufacturers’ championship totals.

POLESTAR WTCC VOLVOS REMAIN LIGHT FOR ARGENTINA
Polestar Cyan Racing’s factory Volvo S60 Polestar TC1s will run without any success ballast at WTCC Race of Argentina. Under the compensation weight system designed to equalise performance in the WTCC through a lap time difference in seconds calculation, the Swedish machines will remain at their 1100-kilogram base weight for their first trip to Termas de Río Hondo. It’s the same story for the Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1s, the car local hero Esteban Guerrieri will use for his WTCC debut, with the British-built racers also running at their base weight. While the world championship-leading Citroën C-Elysée WTCCs will continue to carry 80 kilograms, the maximum permitted under FIA regulations, the LADA Vestas will undergo a weight reduction, shedding 20 kilograms to run at 50 kilograms in Argentina. Finally, the Honda Civic WTCCs will continue to run at 60 kilograms.

WHAT’S NEW FOR 2016
Hello Opening Race and Main Race!: Gone are Race 1 and Race 2 for 2016, in their place come Opening Race and Main Race with the reverse-grid now used for the first clash of the weekend and the grid for the second event based on the results of Qualifying. WTCC Premium TV: Bringing the WTCC’s video content to fans through mobile apps (iOS and Android) and online, WTCC TV Premium TV is a high-quality, interactive subscription service. Included in the package is the world feed plus a choice of 10 on-board cameras, no geo-blocking, video on demand, plus stats and facts. New partnerships: TAG Heuerand OSCARO are welcomed as Official Series Partners. JVCKENWOOD’s renewed commitment will bring team radio to TV, Polestar will provide the Official Safety Car, the Volvo V60 Polestar, while a new alliance with the Goodwood Festival of Speed brought WTCC ‘art cars’ to the annual motorsport extravaganza in late June. DHL, the WTCC’s Official Logistics Partner, will present the DHL Pole Position Award at every event. The new TAG Heuer Best Lap Trophy goes to the driver setting the weekend’s fastest race lap of all.

WHO’S ON TRACK IN 2016
Citroën: World champion José María López and Yvan Muller remain in factory C-Elysée WTCCs. Privateer squad Sébastien Loeb Racing expands to three cars with Tom Chilton and Grégoire Demoustier joining Mehdi Bennani. Honda:Independent champion Norbert Michelisz gets his big factory break, while Rob Huff joins from LADA. Tiago Monteiro stays put but there’s no drive for Gabriele Tarquini… LADA: Gabriele Tarquini continues in the WTCC at LADA after leaving Honda. Hugo Valente is handed a dream works ride after impressing as a privateer. Nicky Catsburg gets a full season. Polestar: Volvo’s performance brand begins its long-term WTCC campaign with two S60 Polestar TC1s for Scandinavian Touring Car aces Thed Björk and Robert Dahlgren. WTCC Trophy: Bennani, Chilton and Demoustier aside, Tom Coronel is back for WTCC season 12 in his privateer Chevrolet. John Filippi turned 21 in February and gets Yvan Muller as a driver coach. Argentine Esteban Guerrieri will partner Filippi at Campos Racing for his WTCC debut. John Bryant-Meisner crosses over from single-seater racing, while James Thompson deputises for René Münnich, who is busy with his World Rallycross duties, which he’s combining with his WTCC campaign. Zengő Motorsport will enter two Hondas for Hungarian youngsters Ferenc Ficza and Dániel Nagy.

FORM GUIDE
José María López might not have won in the WTCC since his crushing Nürburgring Nordschleife double in late May, but when it comes to winning at Termas de Río Hondo, the Citroën ace won his WTCC debut there in 2013, took both wins the following season and came home first in the season-opening event in 2015. Yvan Muller is the only other driver to have won at the track still competing in the championship, but wins have so-far eluded the four-time champion this year.

FACTS AND STATS
Race wins in 2016: López 6; Coronel and Monteiro 2; Bennani, Catsburg, Huff and Tarquini 1
Pole positions in 2016: López 4; Catsburg, Monteiro and Muller 1
Fastest laps in 2016: López 4; Huff 3; Bennani, Catsburg, Chilton, Ficza, Muller, Tarquini and Valente 1
Laps led in 2016: López 43; Huff 38; Coronel 28; Catsburg 24; Bennani 22; Monteiro 19; Tarquini 11; Valente 6; Muller 4
All-time race wins (top 5): Y Muller 47, Huff 28, López 27, Menu 23, Tarquini 21
All-time pole positions (top 5): Y Muller 29, López 18, Tarquini 17, Menu 15, Farfus and Huff 11
All-time fastest laps (top 5): Y Muller 38, Huff 27, López 25, Tarquini 23, Menu 20
All-time laps led (top 5): Y Muller 569, Huff 344, Menu 297, Tarquini 285, López 266

WTCC RACE OF ARGENTINA WINNERS
2015: Race 1: José María López (Citroën C-Elysée); Race 2: Sébastien Loeb (Citroën C-Elysée)
2014: R1: José María López (Citroën C-Elysée); R2: José María López (Citroën C-Elysée)
2013: R1: Yvan Muller (Chevrolet Cruze); R2: José María López (BMW 320)

WTCC RACE OF ARGENTINA VENUES
2013-Present: Circuito Termas de Río Hondo

DID YOU KNOW?
With a mainland area covering 2,780,400 kilometres squared, Argentina is the world’s eighth-largest, Latin America’s second biggest and the largest Spanish-speaking country. Meanwhile, the hottest and coldest temperatures in South America were recorded in Argentina. On 6 June 1907, Sarmiento in Patagonia recorded a temperature of minus 32.8 degrees centigrade. Thirteen years later, Villa de Maria in Córdoba experienced the highest recorded temperature at 49.1 degrees centigrade.

THE BIG WTCC NUMBER: 86
WTCC rookie Esteban Guerrieri will race with number 86 on his Campos Racing Chevrolet to celebrate the 30^th anniversary of the last time his native Argentina won the FIFA World Cup in Mexico in 1986.

THREE WTCC FIRSTS
1: José María López scored his first WTCC victory in Argentina in 2013 winning the second race on his debut weekend in the category at the wheel of a privateer Wiechers-Sport BMW.
2: Third place for Rob Huff at Termas de Río Hondo in 2014 marked LADA’s first WTCC podium.
3: Esteban Guerreri will be racing in the WTCC for the first time at Termas de Río Hondo, while Thed Björk, Nicky Catsburg, Robert Dahlgren, Ferenc Ficza and Dániel Nagy are all first-time visitors to the track.

HOW THEY STAND (after Round 14 of 24)*
Drivers: 1 López 244; 2 Monteiro 143; 3 Catsburg 139; 4 Bennani 134; 5 Muller 133; 6 Michelisz 127; etc. Manufacturers: 1 Citroën 609; 2 Honda 427; 3 LADA 367; 4 Volvo-Polestar 170. WTCC Trophy: 1 Bennani 128; 2 Chilton 101; 3 Coronel 73; 4 Filippi 56; 5 Demoustier 52; 6 Thompson 48; etc. WTCC Teams’ Trophy: 1 Sébastien Loeb Racing 219**; 2 ALL-INKL.COMMünnich Motorsport 72; 3 ROAL Motorsport 71; 4 Campos Racing 60; 5 Zengő Motorsport 30. *Full standings are available at http://media.fiawtcc.com/statistics; **Provisional champion

THEY SAID WHAT?
Nicky Catsburg (LADA Sport Rosneft): “One of the most anticipated races in the second half of the season is definitely WTCC Race of Argentina as it’s a new track for me. Last year it was the season opener and I joined LADA SPORT ROSNEFT only in Moscow. The layout looks very nice and flowing and I expect it to be good for the LADA Vesta. I have seen several on-board cameras and, of course, the team provided me with videos to prepare for the race. I really like the challenge! One of our main goals ahead of Argentina and the rest of the rounds is to find more pace with added ballast. We also need to improve our performance in dry conditions.”

Robert Dahlgren (Polestar Cyan Racing): Coming soon at media.fiawtcc.com.

Rob Huff (Castrol Honda World Touring Car Team): “Termas is one of the best circuits we go to. As a driver it’s a beautiful track. It’s very flowing, it creates a lot of fantastic racing with good overtaking. It’s relatively high-speed in the sense of carrying corner speed. It’s one of the nicest layouts we have because we don’t have all this run-off area. It’s a new track but with a traditional old style and if you run out really wide you’ve got a problem. If you go off you’re in the gravel or the grass and that’s how it should be. The limits of the track are the limits of the track. It’s a track that works and fits the championship very nicely.”

José María López (Citroën Total WTCC): “Every win is special but when you win in another country it’s only yourself and the team who is enjoying this. In Argentina it’s yourself, the team and 40,000 people at the track enjoying the moment. It makes it much better, much nicer, much more emotional and I have won in Termas for the last three years. It’s a circuit where you can find your lines. It’s very wide, a MotoGP track of course but it doesn’t have a big amount of grip. It’s a very interesting circuit, one of the best in Argentina, always great for me. I wouldn’t say it’s the circuit I know most in Argentina so I know the other drivers can also be quick here.”

Esteban Guerrieri (Campos Racing, WTCC Trophy): “It’s a great opportunity and to be part of an FIA world championship is not something that happens every day. I am very enthusiastic to have the chance to compete against the best. Many times in my career in Europe I had to jump into cars I never tested before and went straight to race weekends, and performed very well. These situations empower me even more. I love the track. I am proud of having such a circuit in Argentina. I know it very well, indeed we raced there with Súper TC2000 earlier this season so I have a fresh memory, which should be good and hopefully it plays in my favour.”

TRACK DETAILS
Name: Circuito Termas de Río Hondo (www.autodromotermas.com)
Location: Avenida Costanera Prolongacíon – Rincón De Atacama, 4220 Termas De Río Hondo, Santiago del Estero, Argentina
Length: 4.806 kilometres
Lap record (qualifying): José María López (Citroën C-Elysée) 1m43.766s (166.73kph), 02/08/14
Lap record (race): José María López (Citroën C-Elysée), 1m45.926s (163.34kph), 03/08/14
WTCC appearances: Three
Time zone: GMT -3 hours Sunrise/sunset: 07h41/08h17 (Sunday 7 August)
Average temperature: 7°C-19°C (August)
The venue: Circuito Termas de Río Hondo has hosted WTCC Race of Argentina for three years running and it’s an event that has been dominated by local hero and double world champion José María López, who won on his championship debut in 2013 and triumphed again as a factory Citroën driver in 2014 (twice) and 2015. Located in Argentina’s Santiago del Estero region, Circuito Termas de Río Hondo hosted the WTCC season opener last year but switches back to its traditional August slot for 2016 when thousands of fans are expected to watch López in his pursuit of yet more WTCC glory.
The timetable: 
Following Friday evening’s shakedown session, Saturday features two 30-minute Free Practice sessions, Qualifying and WTCC MAC3. Sunday’s Opening Race is due to begin at 14h05 over a distance of 13 laps with the Main Race following at 15h20 over 14 laps.

A LAP OF THE TRACK WITH JOSÉ MARÍA LÓPEZ
It’s the venue where José María López got his international career firmly back on track when he won on his WTCC debut in 2013. This is the Citroën-driving home hero’s guide to the 4.806-kilometre Circuit Termas de Río Hondo. “We start with one of the shortest main straights of the year but it’s very important to have a good exit from the last corner in order to have good speed.  Turn 1 is quite long, a bit open in the beginning but then it closes. Traction is very important here because you can experience understeer on the exit. We go to third gear and then fourth gear for Turn 2, a good place to overtake because you can change your line, take some kerb and go for it. Turn 3 is normally flat on new tyres and very important to get the right speed because we have a long straight after Turn 4. Sometimes you need to compromise your speed through Turn 3 to have a good exit speed for the long straight, which is a very good point for overtaking. Although the straight is long, it’s also a bit uphill so we don’t reach full speed. As with other corners on the circuit there is a lot of high-energy and deep braking and that’s certainly the case for Turn 5, where we go from sixth gear to second. You exit from Turn 5 and have the long Turn 6, which is flat normally before you brake downhill for Turn 7. Braking here is quite difficult because it’s downhill but you always think you can brake later, then you lose the car at the front. Getting good traction out of Turn 7 is very important. It’s a long corner, taken in third gear, and sometimes you can have understeer so plenty of front power is good. Following Turn 8, Turns 9, 10 and 11 are like a high-speed chicane with nice braking into Turn 9. It’s very easy to lose the rear of the car as we saw with some cars, especially in the first year of the WTCC race, losing the rear when they were trying to overtake. Turn 11 is very nice, not flat but a very high-speed corner and very difficult. You always run out of space on the exit, especially in qualifying when you are trying to find the limit. Turn 13 is another overtaking point because you exit from Turn 11, you go wide and you need to go a little bit wider to make a good line. It’s a very tempting place to go inside but the car on the outside will close the door at one point so you have to be careful before you get to Turn 14 and the finish line.” José María López’s perfect passing place: “Braking deep into Turn 5 and Turn 13 are both good places for overtaking.”

WTCC FLASHBACK 2015 (6-8 MARCH)
Sébastien Loeb and José María Lopéz claimed a victory apiece as the 2015 FIA World Touring Car Championship got off to a spectacular start with two action-packed races in Argentina. López, the national hero and reigning WTCC champion, triumphed in race one to the delight of the home crowd at a sun-drenched Autódromo Termas de Río Hondo. However, the 31-year-old was unable to prevent his Citroën team-mate Loeb from claiming top spot in the second event, which was punctuated by a safety car period to allow trackside marshals to clear debris from the track following a handful of early clashes. Yvan Muller finished second in race one following a first-corner bump with Lopéz as Loeb made it a Citroën podium lockout. Honda driver Tiago Monteiro completed the podium in race two, with second place for Lopéz – plus the five points he scored for claiming pole position for race one – helping the Argentine to a five-point championship lead over Loeb. Norbert Michelisz charged through from the back of the grid to win the Yokohama Drivers’ Trophy in race one with Mehdi Bennani taking the class laurels in the second counter, despite contact with Muller sending him into a spin. It was an incident-filled start to 2015 for LADA drivers Rob Huff and James Thompson, who both showed promise but were out of luck.