WTCC: Race of China Goes to Shanghai.

WTCC RACE OF CHINA GOES TO SHANGHAI
The location of the penultimate event of the 2011 World Touring Car Championship has been moved from Zhaoqing to Shanghai; the date remains the same, November 6.
The first WTCC Race of China will also feature the final round of the China Touring Car Championship that has joined in this last minute change of venue.
WTCC promoter Marcello Lotti explained: "After everything had been arranged for racing at the Guangdong International Circuit, a couple of weeks ago we were told by the promoter of the China Touring Car Championship that it was not possible to carry on with the event as scheduled. For the time being, we are unable to share further details about the reasons for the cancellation. However we wish to thank the CTCC promoter for having managed to salvage the event by moving it to Shanghai."
It has not been decided yet whether the event will be hosted by the Shanghai International Circuit, home of the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix, or the Tianma International Circuit, a regular venue for CTCC.

The city of Shanghai will host WTCC's first event in China

2012 CALENDAR APPROVED BY FIA WMSC
The FIA World Motor Sport Council approved today the calendar of the 2012 World Touring Car Championship.
The main change compared to previous years is the concentration of all overseas events in the second part of the season, in order to reduce the transportation costs.
As for the venues, besides the inclusion of an event in the USA at the Infineon Raceway in California, are noteworthy the return of the Marrakech's street race and the addition of the Salzburgring that will receive WTCC's first ever visit to Austria.

11 March - Monza, Italy
1 April - Valencia, Spain
15 April - Donington Park, UK
29 April - Salzburgring, Austria
6 May- Budapest, Hungary
20 June - Marrakech, Morocco
10 June - Porto, Portugal
22 July - Curitiba, Brazil
23 September - Sonoma, USA
21 October - Suzuka, Japan
4 November - Shanghai, China
18 November - Macau

QUALIFYING AND GRID SYSTEMS CHANGE IN 2012
The FIA World Motor Sport Council has also approved a number of changes proposed by the Touring Car Commision to the WTCC sporting regulations that will become effective in the 2012 season.
The main changes concern qualifying session and starting grid systems.
QUALIFYING POINTS - In order to reward the fastest drivers in qualifying, points will be awarded to the top-five classified in Q2: 5 points to the 1^st, 4 to the 2^nd, 3, 2, 1.
GRID FOR RACE 2 - The starting grid for Race 2 will be determined by the results of Q2, with the ten fastest drivers in reverse order.
12 DRIVERS TO Q2 - To prevent drivers from trying to achieve a good starting position on the grid for the second race by qualifying 10^th or 9^th, twelve drivers will be admitted to Q2 but only the ten fastest will be reversed.

ANDRÉ COUTO AT MACAU IN A SUNRED CAR
Once again André Couto will take part in the WTCC finale at Macau. This will mark the sixth appearance of the local hero in the Guia Race that traditionally ends the World Championship's season.
Couto will be at the wheel of a SUNRED León 1.6T car, run by the SUNRED Engineering team. In the previous years he drove Alfa Romeo, Honda and SEAT cars, claiming his best results in 2008 with a seventh place.
Already victorious in the 2000 Macau Grand Prix, Couto is aiming to become the first F3 winner capable to clinch a WTCC triumph on the Guia street circuit.

André Couto will take part in the WTCC event at Macau once again

NYKJÆR TO RACE AT MANTORP PARK Michel Nykjær returns to the Scandinavian Touring Car Cup this weekend for the series' finale at Mantorp Park. The Dane will drive once again the third Chevrolet Cruze run by Chevrolet Motorsport Sweden, alongside the team's regular drivers Rickard Rydell and Viktor Hallrup. Nykjær's mission is supporting Rydell in the title fight; on the eve of the final race meeting Rydell lies only two points behind Volkswagen's Fredrik Ekblom. "I hope I can be competitive straight away and find that tenth of a second that I needed to be at the front in the previous event at Ring Knutstorp. The battle for the championship is tough. Ekblom's team will run four cars, but I am aiming for some clean racing without denting the car and hope Rickard will be crowned champion," Nykjær said. Fabio Ravaioli/ Media Delegate.