20kg permanent weight penalty for SUNRED cars

The two SUNRED Leóns of Tiago Monteiro and Andrea Barlesi won’t lose their 20kg of ballast as was originally scheduled from the next round in the Slovak Republic, with the FIA ruling that the team’s cars will have to carry their 20kg all season.

SUNRED began the year with the SEAT TDI for Monteiro and Barlesi, with only Pepe Oriola equipped with the new 1.6 litre turbo-petrol engine. The team decided to make the switch back to their own engine at Valencia instead of continue to run the diesel, and as a result were given a 20kg weight penalty for changing their specification of the car within the season.

This penalty was removed ahead of Morocco but substituted with a permanent 20kg penalty by the FIA Touring Car Committee, which will remain in place for the rest of the 2012 season, or until they’re able to switch to the new SEAT engine. As a result the SUNRED Leóns will run at a standard weight of 1,170kg though could lose up to 20kg of that if the car is significantly slower than the fastest cars over the previous two weekends.

Monteiro and Barlesi are at the back of the queue for the new SEAT engine, as is team-mate Fernando Monje when he returns to the WTCC after the conclusion of the ETC Cup.

Special Tuning Racing driver Tom Boardman is expected to be the next driver to receive the new engine, though the engine could be as late as Portugal, the final round of the European season in June.