Rivals out to catch CitroĂŤn ace LĂłpez in title chase
Tiago Monteiro to join the WTCC 200 ClubÂ
First start for new LADA recruit Lapierre
Motegi is third of five new venues on 2015 schedule
The FIA World Touring Car Championship is back from its summer break and back with a bang as the season-closing tour of Asia and the Middle East kicks off in Japan next week when Twin Ring Motegi hosts the all-action WTCC for the first time from 11-13 September.
With the championship fight still a three-way tussle between CitroĂŤn trio JosĂŠ MarĂa LĂłpez, the current WTCC pacesetter, Yvan Muller and SĂŠbastien Loeb, JVC KENWOOD WTCC Race of Japan is set to be another highlight of the 2015 campaign when six different drivers have tasted the victory champagne and 11 have stepped onto the podium.
While the bulk of the grid racing in Japan will be familiar to WTCC fans around the world, Nicolas Lapierre will be starting his WTCC adventure at Twin Ring Motegi, which is located 150 kilometres north of the capital Tokyo. The Frenchman will bring his considerable expertise and pedigree from single-seater and sportscar racing to LADA Sport Rosneft where he will link up with 2012 WTCC champion Rob Huff from the UK and Dutchman Nicky Catsburg.
For Tiago Monteiro, JVC KENWOOD WTCC Race of Japan takes on added significance: not only is it his Castrol Honda World Touring Car Teamâs home event at a track owned by the motor giant, race one on Sunday 13 September will mark WTCC start number 200 for the talented Portuguese. Gabriele Tarquini (Italy) and Hungaryâs Norbert Michelisz also form part of the Honda attack.
Hugo Valente is racing in memory of his late friend, ex-Formula One driver Jules Bianchi and has vowed to do all he can to land the podium finish that eluded him in the closing stages of race one in Japan in 2014. Like Michelisz, Frenchman Valente is chasing points in the Yokohama Driversâ Trophy for independent racers, while trying to break into top five overall in his Campos Chevrolet RML Cruze. John Filippi completes the Campos line-up while Stefano DâAste, once a team-mate of Valentino Rossi in motorbike racing, will welcome some good fortune following a luckless Portugal weekend in his ALL-INKL.com MĂźnnich Chevrolet.
GrĂŠgoire Demoustier (Craft Bamboo Chevrolet) and ROAL Motorsport duo Tom Chilton and Tom Coronel will also be in action at Twin Ring Motegi. Briton Chilton will be aiming to maintain his place in the championship top 10, while Dutchman Coronel has more WTCC wins in Japan to his name than any other driver having triumphed on three occasions. Ma Qing Hua, from China, won last time out in Portugal where fellow CitroĂŤn driver Mehdi Bennani was also in action.
Following testing on Friday 11 September, the WTCC drivers will take part in two Free Practice sessions and Qualifying on Saturday ahead of a pair of 13-lap races on Sunday from 14h15hrs local time.
Japanâs rich WTCC heritage
A WTCC mainstay since 2008, Japan is home to long-term partners Honda, JVC KENWOOD and Yokohama, which celebrates 10 years as the WTCCâs official tyre supplier in 2015. After four successful seasons at Suzuka, the WTCC is switching to Twin Ring Motegi, a popular MotoGP venue within easy reach of Tokyo.
Q&A: GABRIELE TARQUINI
As an established member of the Castrol Honda World Touring Car Team, Italian Gabriele Tarquini is about as close as it gets to a âhomeâ driver for JVC KENWOOD WTCC Race of Japan. The popular and vastly experienced racer looks back on his season so far and his hopes for success at Twin Ring Motegi.
Like most WTCC drivers youâve probably never driven at Motegi before, right? âNo, I drove a Honda Super GT car during a Honda thanks day with my team-mate Tiago [Monteiro]. We did seven or eight laps.â
From that short test do you have an idea of what it will be like when you race your Honda Civic WTCC at Motegi? âIt matches very well with the characteristic of WTCC and I think the races can be much more exciting than Suzuka. Suzuka is one of the best tracks in the world to drive but itâs very difficult to overtake the car in front of you in these cars. Itâs quite a shame because normally our race is a fight race so I hope in Motegi the show will be different than last yearâs races in Suzuka.â
Itâs obviously closer to Tokyo than Suzuka. Does that make it more important for Honda? âI donât have an Italian WTCC race so for me itâs the home race. Last year I had a chance to win the second race in Suzuka so it was a great event for me and for Honda. This year itâs really important because Motegi, like Suzuka, is owned by Honda. Itâs a Honda base for R&D, very close to Tokyo so for us itâs a very important event.â
Is it perhaps even more important because this season hasnât been so successful for Honda? âWe are quite far from the CitroĂŤn pace, especially in qualifying. For me the first part of the season wasnât really good, not in terms of performance but in terms of the result. I will be focused to do a great race in Motegi.â
As a driver is it tough to cope with the fact the success isnât coming as regularly as it used to, particularly given your past record? âNo because my target is to come back to the pace. I push and Honda and JAS push to develop an engine and chassis to be close to CitroĂŤn. But itâs not easy. We tested a lot last winter and during the summer. Our target is to close the gap to CitroĂŤn and not accept this status quo and fight for the fourth and fifth place on the grid. We are focused to close the gap, to come back to win the first races.â
How much more competitive will the car be based on the work you have done during the summer? âFor sure the speed will not be very important in Motegi and at the moment our car is far away from the top speed of CitroĂŤn and Chevrolet and the acceleration is also not very good. The best for our car is the twisty track. Motegi is not very fast but not very twisty with medium speed corners so I think we can be competitive.â
Turning back to Japan, whatâs special about the country? âItâs my favourite food, the sashimi, sushi, teppanyaki. I like the attitude and education of the Japanese people. They respect the law much better than other countries. Itâs also a country with a long history in motorsport, especially Honda. They want to be on the top again in F1 and other categories and I am sure with their technology and the engineers they will be back.â
And the fans are pretty special too⌠âThey love motorsport. The attitude they have is very similar to the Italian fans with the passion. They make a lot of effort to follow motorsport very closely. Even though they only have one race in Japan, they know everything about WTCC and my long career.â
You raced in four Japanese grands prix â what was better, racing in Japan in F1 or in the WTCC? âMy best memory of Japan is the WTCC. In Formula One I was fighting to place my car on the grid so I donât have great memories of that. But one of my best memories was in Japan last year when I won in front of the Japanese fans. And winning in a Honda made it even more special.â
TRACK FACTS
Name: Twin Ring Motegi
Location: 120-1 Hiyama, Motegi-machi, Haga-gun, Tochigi Pref. 321-3597, Japan
Website: www.twinring.jp
Length: 4.801 kilometres
Race distance: 2 x 13 laps
Lap record (qualifying): To be established
Lap record (race): To be established
WTCC appearances: None but Japan has hosted the WTCC on seven previous occasions
Time zone: GMT +9 hours
Sunrise/sunset: 05h22/17h53 (Sunday 13 September)
Average temperature: 20°C-26°C (for September)
DID YOU KNOW?
Japan holds a special place in the heart of CitroĂŤnâs JosĂŠ MarĂa LĂłpez, who won the FIA World Touring Car Championship at Suzuka last season. While the Argentine canât make it back-to-back crowns in Japan this year, CitroĂŤn will move a step closer to a second makesâ title with a strong showing at Twin Ring Motegi.
THE BIG WTCC NUMBER: 37
A container ship carrying some 200 tonnes of WTCC cargo spent 37 days at sea from leaving Antwerp in Belgium to arriving in Tokyo, Japan. DHL, the WTCCâs logistics partner, organised the sea and air transportation of all WTCC cars and equipment from Europe to the Far East.
WHATâS IN A NAME?
Twin Ring Motegiâs name comes from it having two race tracks â a 2.49-kilometre oval and the 4.801-kilometre road course the WTCC drivers will race on.
FOUR WTCC FIRSTS
1 First time Twin Ring Motegi has hosted WTCC Race of Japan
2Â First of four WTCC season-closing races in Asia and the Middle East
3 First appearance in the WTCC for Nicolas Lapierre
4 First winner of a WTCC race in Japan was Rickard Rydell in 2008
COMPENSATION WEIGHT CHECK
While the CitroĂŤn C-ElysĂŠe WTCCs will continue to run with the full 60 kilograms of success ballast due to their standout success in this yearâs championship, the Honda Civics WTCCs and LADA Vestas wonât carry any additional weight at Motegi although the Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1s will carry 10kgs.
