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Powered byMARCH 2009 • issue 16

The FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) kicked-off the 2009 season in Curitiba, Brazil, on Sunday,

and it was Manufacturers’ Champion SEAT who dominated the field. The Spanish car constructor took the win in both rounds, putting SEAT straight to the top of the leader board.Yvan Muller secured the first WTCC pole of the year, his team-mates Jordi Géne, Gabriele Tarquini, Tiago Monteiro and Rickard Rydell close behind, to fill the top five spots on the grid. Y. Muller led for the entirety of race one; Géne crossed the finish line in second place, with Rydell third and Tarquini fourth. Chevrolet’s Nicola Larini drove a strong race to finish fifth, but was later given a 30-second penalty for overtaking Augusto Farfus at the restart after a safety car period. Farfus finished sixth with 2008 Yokohama Independents’ Trophy winner Sergio Hernández in seventh, both later promoted to fifth and sixth respectively. Tiago Monteiro finished eighth, but faced the same fate as Larini, putting highest-placing Yokohama Independents’ driver Félix Porteiro on pole for race two with Andy Priaulx alongside. Violent thunderstorms flooded the track before the second race; Italian Tarquini utilised his wet Yokohama ADVAN tyres to take the win. After starting fifth, he soon made his way to the front of the field, weaving through the BMWs. Rydell, Géne and Y. Muller followed him through to complete the top four positions. Jörg Müller, who started the race from 19th, claimed fifth place, with Farfus in sixth and top

Independent Porteiro in seventh. SUNRED’s Tom Coronel rounded-off the top eight places. Tarquini and current champion Yvan Muller are tied at the top of the Drivers’ standings with 15 points apiece.

SEAT STORMS INTO AN EARLY LEAD

For the third consecutive year, the WTCC has provided aid to

the starving people of Brazil. Fans were offered free race tickets

in exchange for two kilograms of food. The donated food was

given to the charity Instituto Pró-Cidadania de Curitiba, which will

distribute it to starving people throughout Brazil. In 2008, 52

tons of food was donated as part of the initiative.

WTCC HELPS THE STARVING

WHAT’S THE POINTRACE 1 RESULT

1. Yvan MULLER SEAT León TDI

2. Jordi GENÉ SEAT León TDI

3. Rickard RYDELL SEAT León TDI

4. Gabriele TARQUINI SEAT León TDI

5. Nicola LARINI Chevrolet Cruze LT

6. Augusto FARFUS BMW 320si

7. Sergio HERNÁNDEZ BMW 320si

8. Tiago MONTEIRO SEAT León TDI

RACE 2 RESULT

1. Gabriele TARQUINI SEAT León TDI

2. Rickard RYDELL SEAT León TDI

3. Jordi GENÉ SEAT León TDI

4. Yvan MULLER SEAT León TDI

5. Jörg MÜLLER BMW 320si

6. Augusto FARFUS BMW 320si

7. Félix PORTEIRO BMW 320si

8. Tom CORONEL SEAT León 2.0 TFSI

CHAmPIoNSHIP PoINTS

1. Gabriele TARQUINI 15

2. Yvan MULLER 15

3. Rickard RYDELL 14

4. Jordi GENÉ 14

5. Augusto FARFUS 7

6. Jörg MÜLLER 4

7. Sergio HERNÁNDEZ 3

8. Félix PORTEIRO 2

FASTEST LAP

Yvan MULLER Qualifying 1:24.196

Yvan MULLER Race 1:25.662 (Race 1)

Curitiba, BrazilCuritiba, BrazilCuritiba, Brazil

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1 . 4 0 . 8 0 8

PUEBLA PREVIEWWith the WTCC moving to Puebla for rounds three and four, Yokohama Technical Consultant Ian Beveridge discusses the tracks impact on the Yokohama ADVAN. “Puebla is actually an easier circuit on tyres than it looks, because grip levels are around the lowest on

the WTCC calendar, and the average speed of the circuit is moddest. There is however a greater emphasis on the lateral stability of the tyre, as the tyre moves from side-to-side under cornering. To counteract the increased lateral forces, we advise teams to increase the pressure of the tyres.”

CIRCUIT INFOPUEBLA:

WTCC Lap Record:

Race: 07 Apr 2008 Qualifying: 06 Apr 2008 1:41.067/114.72 kph 1:40.808/115.70 kph Tiago monteiro Jordi Gené SEAT León TDI SEAT León TDI

WTCC Race Winners:

YoKoHAmA INDEPENDENTS’ TRoPHYSpaniard Félix Porteiro secured the Yokohama Independents’ podium on Saturday, setting a fastest lap of 1:25.377 to put him 12th on the grid. Now driving for Scuderia Proteam Motorsport, having parted company with BMW Team Italy-Spain after last season, Porteiro climbed two places in race one for an Independents’ win and 10th overall finish. However, with two of the top-eight drivers penalized, Porteiro was promoted to pole for race two. He managed to hold his own in the BMW 320si for four laps before the works drivers demoted him to a seventh-place finish. Closest competitor and second-place Independents’ driver Tom Coronel finished eighth overall whilst Frank Engstler completed the Independents’ podium after crossing the line 16th.

Race 1:Jordi Gené,

SEAT León TDI

Race 2:Tiago Monteiro,SEAT León TDI

Race 1:Salvatore Tavano, Alfa Romeo 156

Race 2:Augusto Farfus,

Alfa Romeo 156

Autódromo Miguel E. Abed, Puebla-AmozacLap distance: 3,420mRace distance: 2 x 16Location: 30 km East of Puebla, along the Carretera Federál to Tehuacan

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After claiming his first world title in 2008, SEAT’s Yvan

Muller shows no sign of slowing down this season. The 39-year-old secured the first pole and win of the season, and is looking forward to another challenging year at the sharp-end of motorsport. The Frenchman tells us of his preparations for 2009. “We have completed some testing over winter, but we had a lot of bad weather, which has cost us a bit of time, so I do not feel that we are prepared enough! This year I hope to be at the

level to fight for the title again. Like last year, my team mate Gabriele Tarquini will be a tough challenge, but we will still work together, as our aim is to win the Manufacturers’ title again for SEAT.“We are very pleased with the Yokohama ADVANs; the tyres complement both the front-wheel and rear-wheel drive cars. All the tyres are very consistent; there is little variation between sets, so overall we are very happy with them.”

Peugeot UK’s Kris Meeke won the Curitiba Rally, Brazil, held 6-7 March. The Irishman claimed all

seven stages on day one, and remained consistent on day two to create a 26.2 second lead over runner-up Nicolas Vouilloz. Abarth’s Giandomenico Basso secured third place after battling hard with the Peugeot of Vouilloz. However, it’s Belgian Freddy Loix who is now leading the championship; his fourth-place finish this weekend,

following his second-place at Monaco, has created a 13-point lead from Meeke, Sebastien Ogier and Basso, who are all tied in second place with 10 points.

As IFM’s Series Manager, Alessandro Alunni Bravi

has a busy season ahead. With the Series supporting Formula One at two of the eight meetings scheduled for 2009, it is continuing to grow from strength-to-strength.“2009 is a crucial year for IFM;

we have had two strong years and we will be moving another step-up to support Formula One. It shows that we have a strong package and are considered to be

an important feeder series to GP2.“IFM will be able to compete thanks to the strong commitment and support of Yokohama. With the high specification of the uniquely designed and developed ADVAN, we have excellent performance, which is a key part of the IFM package. “At the first test this season the updated car was able to perform well by using the tyres even more efficiently; we hope that the developed car will be over a second faster than last year.

At the first official International Formula Master (IFM)

test, held on 1-2 March, Fabio Leimer broke the Circuit

de la Comunitat Valenciana Ricardo lap record with a

best time of 1:26.136.

LEImER FASTEST

AT FIRST TEST

CHAmPoRNER

YVAN MULLER

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Hernández makes successful leap to BMW Team Italy-Spain

Chevrolet struggled amid the

competition

SEATs start at the front for race one

SEAT celebrate a succesful weekend

Difficult conditions after downpour

IRC Champion Nicolas Vouilloz takes Yvan Muller for a spin

Tarquini claims the win in race two

Yokohama’s technicians check the

WTCC ADVANs

Yokohama dominated at the first official Japanese GT test, held at Okayama, Japan, on 7-8 March. Team His ADVAN Kondo GT-R secured fastest lap of the GT500 class on day one, whilst day two saw nine Yokohama-supported teams in the top ten of the GT300 class.

YoKoHAmA FASTEST AT oKAYAmA

Russian team ArtLine Racing will contest in the 2009 ATS German Formula 3 Cup. With 11 years racing experience, competing within Russia, the team is looking for a new challenge. Drivers Victor Shaitar and Ivan Samarin will compete in the ArtTech F24 Opel single-seaters. Team Manager Shota Abkhazava said, “The fastest German single-seater series represents true virgin soil for us. We know neither the environment nor the circuits, but I’m convinced that we have what it takes to get along.”

ARTLINE RACING To mAKE DEBUT

The optimum working

temperature for a

dry WTCC Yokohama

ADVAN is 100 - 110℃FA

CT