Two hundred thousand fans were in attendance when the FIA World Touring Car Championship visited the legendary Nürburgring Nordschleife earlier this month (14-16 May) – while television coverage of the action-packed WTCC races was broadcast in 188 countries.
The spectator figure, released by the event organisers ADAC Nordrhein, demonstrates the popularity of the ADAC Zurich 24h-Rennen race weekend, which included the WTCC on the bill for the first time. In addition, 97 different channels – including 62 free-to-air stations – reaching 188 countries worldwide, televised the races with pan-regional broadcasters such as Eurosport, Eurosport Asia, Fox Sports Latin America, Fox Sports Asia and Velocity and Turbo in Latin America broadcasting the three-lap contests either live or on a delayed basis.
François Ribeiro, the WTCC General Manager, said: “We always said we would only bring the WTCC back to Germany if we could find the right circuit, the right promoter and the right event. Partnering with ADAC Nordrhein has more than vindicated our decision to take the WTCC to one of the most famous race tracks in the world for one of the biggest motorsport events in the world and we are very pleased that 200,000 fans were present for two spectacular races.
“While we thank Mirco Hansen and his team at ADAC Nordrhein and the DMSB German federation for making this special weekend possible, it was a great privilege to give fans around the world a rare opportunity to enjoy extensive television coverage from such an iconic venue. We would like to think our spectacular coverage, produced in partnership with WIGE and made possible through the use of 68 TV signals including 32 trackside cameras, 24 onboard cameras and two helicopter-mounted Cineflex cameras, showed off the track and the stunning countryside in all their glory.”
Yvan Muller, who won the second WTCC Race of Germany by a slender margin of 0.173 seconds ahead of opening race winner and reigning world champion José María López, added: “For sure it was a very important moment at a mythical circuit. There was a lot of interest from journalists.”
This year’s WTCC Race of Germany formed rounds seven and eight of the 2015 season. It was the first world championship motor race to take place on the famous Nürburgring Nordschleife since 1983. It was also noteworthy for the fact that Sabine Schmitz became the first female to score a WTCC point since the championship’s revival in 2005 when she finished 10th in race one.
The WTCC will return to the Nürburgring Nordschleife next season (26-28 May 2016) as part of the current three-year deal between ADAC Nordrhein and WTCC promoter Eurosport Events.
