Photo: WTCC Media

Barth confirmed to complete six car SUNRED team

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Fredy Barth has been confirmed as a driver for SUNRED for the 2011 WTCC season, as the SEAT running squad will compete for the Yokohama Independents’ Trophy this year.

“We are very happy to race six cars once again,” said Team Principal Joan Orús.

“It will be an interesting season and I am sure that all our drivers have the necessary skill to succeed. We will fight for both the WTCC Championship and the Yokohama Trophy.”

The team will run under three seperate identities, with 2009 champion Gabriele Tarquini paired with championship newcomer Aleksei Dudukalo at Lukoil-SUNRED.

SUNRED Engineering will field Tiago Monteiro, Michel Nykjaer & Pepe Oriola, whilst Fredy Barth will run under the name ‘SEAT Swiss Racing by SUNRED’ again.

Oriola & Dudukalo effectively replace Tom Coronel, who has moved to ROAL Motorsport, and Jordi Gené, who is now managing the European Production Championship which will support a number of WTCC events this season.

SUNRED will also be eligible for the independents’ trophy again. After switching to the TDI engine last season, both SUNRED & Zengo Motorsport were ruled out of the category as they would have dominated with the double-championship winning engine. This year, with the 1.6 litre turbo becoming the engine of choice, and with the majority of the team’s independent BMW rivals using this unit, that restriction has been removed by the FIA.