Münnich Motorsport reaffirms WTCC commitment

German outfit Münnich Motorsport, the reigning FIA GT1 World Championship winning team, has confirmed its intentions to be on the grid with three SEAT León WTCCs for the 2013 FIA World Touring Car Championship season.

Team Principal Réne Münnich sampled the WTCC last year, driving Special Tuning Racing’s second SEAT León at Suzuka. The team also took part in the Dubai 24 Hours last weekend to gain experience of a front-wheel drive touring car, finishing second in the A3T class.

“We built a SEAT León Supercopa LR, which is very similar to the WTCC SEAT,” said Team Manager and driver Marc Basseng.

“We used the opportunity in Dubai also to get used to the front wheel drive. And the whole team,including a few new members, had to get used to how to handle the new car under the terms of this competition.”

Basseng will drive one of the team’s three cars, as will co-champion Markus Winkelhock, who has touring car experience from competing in the DTM, alongside Rallycross driver Réne Münnich.

“After our successful ending of the GT1 project we will now spend time on a new challenge at the Touring Car World championships,” said Münnich. “SEAT is the logical partner for us. The car promises absolute reliability and has always been competitive.”

The team have purchased three cars, two of which are the cars driven by Aleksei Dudukalo and Gabriele Tarquini in the 2012 season raced under the banner of Lukoil Racing, and are expected to take delivery of the cars within the next few weeks. Following that, they will follow up with tests in Spain ahead of the Championship opener at Monza on March 24th.