Three Honda drivers suffered from problems in the opening session of the Japanese Manufacturer’s home race weekend. Mehdi Bennani only performed an installation lap before withdrawing his Proteam Honda Civic WTCC from the Friday testing session in Suzuka, Japan. The Moroccan driver, fresh from his maiden win in the series at Shanghai, was hit by … More »
José María López was the only driver to lap below the 2’07 barrier in the first testing session at Suzuka, Japan. The championship leader took the lead away from Citroën team-mate Sébastien Loeb just under the flag, with Yvan Muller in third to complete a 1-2-3 for the French manufacturer. The session saw a few … More »
Suzuka is a special event for ROAL Motorsport’s Tom Coronel. The Dutchman has spent five years in Japan and has a lot of supporters in the Far East, making it a second home race for the Chevrolet driver. Coronel confirmed how special the weekend will be in an interview with TouringCarTimes. “The feeling is different … More »
Gabriele Tarquini will be one of the stars of the weekend as he drives a factory Honda Civic. The Italian rates Suzuka as his home race, with no Race of Italy this year, and in an interview with TouringCarTimes admitted that expectations are high for the Japanese Manufacturer’s home race. “I prepared for the race … More »
Mehdi Bennani has lived a dream ever since he crossed the line in Shanghai, Race 2, to take his first win in the World Touring Car Championship. The Moroccan has received a lot of recognition in his home country, but also in the motorsport world. In an interview with TouringCarTimes, the Proteam Racing driver touched … More »
ROAL Motorsport driver Tom Coronel collected 12 points in Shanghai, despite having lost his last run in qualifying due to a weight and ride height check. The Dutchman had been running in tenth for most of the session, but Proteam Racing’s Mehdi Bennani demoted him to eleventh in a last gasp attempt, leaving Coronel out … More »
José María López took a lights-to-flag win at Shanghai. The Argentinian came home ahead of team-mate Ma Qing Hua, with Citroën’s Yvan Muller completing the podium just a flash ahead of Sébastien Loeb, making it a Citroën 1-2-3-4. At the start López retained the lead from team-mates Ma and Muller. Norbert Michelisz managed to stay … More »
Zengő Motorsport’s Norbert Michelisz emerged as the highest-placed Honda Civic WTCC at Shanghai. The Hungarian was the only non-Citroën driver to make it to the final segment of the session, and beat Sébastien Loeb for fourth. Michelisz came fifth in Q2, just ahead of fellow Honda drivers Gabriele Tarquini and Tiago Monteiro. The Castrol Honda … More »
Yvan Muller led the way in Free Practice 1 at Shanghai. The Frenchman took the lead of the session early on and never left it. Gabriele Tarquini put his Honda Civic in second behind the Citroën C-Elysée, with championship leader José María López third. The session was basically smooth, with a few minor offs from … More »
Lada President Bo Andersson is a great supporter of the Russian manufacturer’s World Touring Car Championship team. The Swede, who was born in Falkenberg and worked at General Motors for many years, is the first non-Russian chief of Avtovaz, and believes that racing will be the key to improve the brand’s image, as well as … More »