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FIA World Touring Car Championship promoter Eurosport Events has broken with tradition by awarding the prestigious WTCC Nürburgring Nordschleife Best Driver Trophy to not one but two drivers after Polestar Cyan Racing’s factory duo, Thed Björk and Nicky Catsburg, tamed planet earth’s toughest race track in spectacular fashion back in May.

Recently crowned FIA World Touring Car champion Björk won the Opening Race on the 25.378-kilometre Nürburgring Nordschleife with Catsburg following suit in the Main Race, which took place in front of an estimated 200,000 spectators during the 24h-Rennen weekend.

Catsburg’s victory gave him a two-point world championship lead at the time, while the Dutchman also picked up the TAG Heuer Best Lap Trophy for the fastest race lap of all. Björk, Catsburg and Girolami combined to win the Manufacturers Against the Clock time trial for Team Volvo Polestar as the make out-scored rival Honda by 30 points in what would prove to be a pivotal moment in the race to win the FIA World Touring Car Championship for Manufacturers*.

“It was an amazing race to win, such a demanding track,” said Swede Björk. “The car worked really well so I could keep pushing and slipstreaming on the straight. I was really happy to win at the time and for Nicky and myself to receive this recognition is fantastic, seven days after our world title double in Qatar.”

Catsburg, who received the trophy from the WTCC’s Eric Nève, added: “The Main Race was the focus so it was important to get the perfect set-up in the Opening Race and not do any damage."

"It was awesome racing in front of all those fans. Winning at such an awesome track as the Nordschleife meant a lot and taking the lead of the championship was the goal so it was a very satisfying weekend.”

Alexander Murdzevski Schedvin, Head of Motorsport at Polestar, said: “The Nürburgring Nordschleife is the ultimate test of car and driver and the setting of a significant event for Polestar after we established a new lap record with the Volvo S60 Polestar road car in 2016."

"For our drivers to receive this award is fantastic and testament to all the brilliant work behind the scenes. It completes an amazing seven days, which began with a double FIA World Touring Car title triumph in Qatar.”

Thed Björk and Nicky Catsburg follow José María López (2016) and Hugo Valente (2015) as winners of WTCC Nürburgring Nordschleife Best Driver Trophy.

The striking bronze trophy, which was presented to Catsburg on the ADAC stand on the final Friday (8 December) of the Essen Motor Show will be put on display at Cyan Racing’s headquarters in Gothenburg, Sweden.

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From next season, the FIA World Touring Car Championship will be renamed the FIA World Touring Car Cup and abbreviated to WTCR. It will run to the TCR technical regulations under a two-year licensing agreement between the FIA, WTCR promoter Eurosport Events Limited (EEL) and WSC, owner of the TCR concept and trademark.

As part of the agreement, the TCR International Series will be discontinued while the FIA European Touring Car Cup will no longer run.

In an exciting change to the existing WTCC race weekend format, each event will consist of three races – an increase from the current two. One qualifying session and one race will take place on the opening day, with the second day more in keeping with the current WTCC set-up: namely a three-phase qualifying session and two races with the first race utilising a reverse grid.

A maximum of 26 entries will be accepted with priority given to existing TCR International and WTCC teams. Two further wildcard entries will be permitted at each event at the discretion of EEL and the FIA. Entries can be lodged with the FIA from 15 December until 30 January 2018.

The new name, WTCR, has been introduced to reflect the switch from TC1 to the TCR technical regulations. Meanwhile, the change of status from world championship to world cup signals the start of an exciting new era for international touring car racing when it is hoped that more affordable technical regulations will trigger a flurry of competitor interest, while building on the existing fan and media following enjoyed by the WTCC.

​François Ribeiro (Head of Eurosport Events): “The combination of the TCR technical regulations, the expertise and neutrality of the FIA and its stringent sporting rules and procedures, plus the promotional strength of Eurosport Events gained since 2005 will deliver a highly competitive grid, exciting racing and a fan-friendly format that can only drive success.”

Marcello Lotti (Chief Executive, WSC): “We are very proud of this agreement that fully respects the very spirit of TCR. The association with such an experienced promoter as Eurosport Events together with the FIA label on the WTCR represent the ultimate recognition for the TCR concept that we launched three years ago and hasn’t stopped growing since.”

Sporting
Regulated by the FIA and backed up by an experienced race management team, WTCR events will be run to the highest organisational standards possible.

Technical
The TCR technical regulations will be licensed by WSC to EEL/FIA as the FIA WTCR regulations and frozen until the end of 2019. Only TCR cars homologated by WSC and assigned with the FIA WTCR passport issued by the FIA will be eligible. The FIA and TCR technical departments will determine the balance of performance (BOP) at each event, while success ballast will be allocated per driver. The FIA will be responsible for technical management in consultation with TCR representatives.

Promotion
WTCR promoter Eurosport Events will provide a level of promotional resource similar to that enjoyed by the WTCC to ensure that WTCR benefits from live coverage on Eurosport and more than 50 networks around the world, the expertise of Eurosport Events’ promotional and marketing personnel and a comprehensive social media campaign.

Calendar
The calendar will consist of 30 races over 10 events in four continents and will be announced shortly.

Weekend format 
Day one:
Free Practice 1 (30 minutes); Free Practice 2 (30 minutes); Qualifying (30 minutes), 
Race 1 (top 10 classified finishers score points as follows: 27-20-17-14-12-10-8-6-4-2)

Day two:

Qualifying Q1 (25 minutes)
, Qualifying Q2 (10 minutes)
, Qualifying Q3 (top-five shootout)
; Race 2 (top 10 positions reversed after Q2, top 10 classified finishers score points as follows: 25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1); Race 3 (grid as per combined order after Q3, top 10 classified finishers score points as follows: 30-23-19-16-13-10-7-4-2-1)

TCR regulations explained


The TCR technical regulations cater for front-wheel-drive, four/five-door saloons or hatchbacks using turbocharged production engines with a capacity of between 1750-2000cc and with a maximum power output of 350bhp.

No fewer than 19 TCR-based championships or series exist around the world while several manufacturers have, or are in the process, of homologating TCR cars including Alfa Romeo, Audi, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, KIA, LADA, Opel, Peugeot, Renault, SEAT, Subaru and Volkswagen. To date, more than 600 TCR racing cars have been built and sold to customer teams.

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Thed Björk will be crowned FIA World Touring Car champion for 2017 at the FIA Prize Giving in Paris this evening. Here are some facts about Polestar Cyan Racing’s swift Swede.

1: Thed Björk, 36, became FIA World Touring Car champion for the first time in 2017, winning the title in a six-way showdown in Qatar on 1 December.

2: In doing so he became Sweden’s first motor racing world champion.

3: A four-time Scandinavian Touring Car champion, 2017 was Björk’s second full season in the WTCC with the factory Volvo team, Polestar Cyan Racing.

4: He scored two wins (at Monza and Nürburgring Nordschleife), one pole and three fastest laps during his title-winning campaign, making it through to the top-five qualifying shootout six times and helping Volvo Polestar to win the FIA World Touring Car Championship for Manufacturers.

5: Björk has 44 WTCC starts to his name, his first coming at Shanghai in 2013, which was also the venue for his maiden win in the category in 2016.

6: Born in the village of Vretstorp in Örebro County, Thed is the oldest of three brothers and although his younger siblings have raced, only Thed has done so at a high level.

7: He lives near Gothenburg, Sweden, and is married with one daughter and one son, Thor who was born on the night after FIA WTCC Race of Hungary in April 2016 (Thed cycled from the paddock to a waiting airport transfer for a flight back to Sweden in time for the birth).

8: Thed’s motorsport adventure began aged three when his father bought him a motorbike. “I did it every day but I crashed too much”.

9: He got two more wheels aged 11 when a go-kart was purchased: “I was very happy with this because if I continued on the motorbike I would surely be probably dead!”.

10: Watching a young Michael Schumacher coming up against Ayrton Senna fired Björk’s interest in circuit racing. “When I was 14 I decided I would be a racing driver and here I am”.

11: He left elementary school at 19 with no formal qualifications but said a season competing in the Barber Dodge Pro Series in the USA in 2000 was the best way to “educate yourself by meeting many interesting people”.

12: While he’s passionate about motorsport and family, current affairs and economics are also of interest to Björk.

13: His varied career has included stints in Swedish F3, the FIA Sportscar Championship, the DTM and the Camaro Cup in his homeland. He also contested the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2002, finishing P15 in a factory Courage C60.

14: He won the Swedish GT and FIA Sportscar Championship SR2 class titles in the same year and partnered Prince Carl Philip of Sweden at selected events in this season’s Swedish GT Championship.

15: Björk made his FIA International Formula 3000 Championship debut in 2002 although he failed to start his first race at Magny-Cours after Alex Sperafico somersaulted over the back of his car on the warm-up lap. He finished seventh on his next outing at Hockenheim.

16: When he’s not racing in the WTCC, Thed is a brand ambassador for Volvo and Polestar. He conducts significant testing and development work for both brands and attends media and launch events around the world.

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Tom Chilton and Esteban Guerrieri shared the wins but it was Thed Björk who came out on top of a tense title showdown in Qatar as the provisional FIA World Touring Car champion for 2017.

In his second full WTCC campaign with the factory Polestar Cyan Racing team, Björk started the final weekend of the season 6.5 points in front of Norbert Michelisz.

But a brake issue in qualifying left his Honda-driving rival out of contention as Björk drove without fault to touring car racing’s biggest prize on the back of standout wins at Monza and the Nürburgring Nordschleife earlier in the year.

Fifth in the Opening Race, the Swede was heading for a podium in the Main Race before handing the place back to team-mate Nicky Catsburg following an earlier gesture by the Dutchman.

And during a night of Swedish celebration, Volvo Polestar won the FIA World Touring Car Championship for Manufacturers with Catsburg and Yvan Muller – on his return to the WTCC – helping to ensure it beat Honda by 28.5 points. Néstor Girolami also performed strongly for the team in 2017, winning from pole in China.

Elsewhere, Tom Chilton beat fellow Briton Rob Huff and his Sébastien Loeb Racing team-mate Mehdi Bennani to the WTCC Trophy for independent racers, winning the Opening Race to boot ahead of Bennani and Kevin Gleason, with the American claiming his first WTCC top-three.

Esteban Guerrieri marked an impressive debut WTCC bid with the Main Race victory for Honda and was joined on the podium by Tiago Monteiro, the former world championship leader he replaced after the Portuguese was injured in a testing crash in September. Huff and Catsburg completed the podium amid emotional scenes.

John Filippi finished a career-best fourth in the Opening Race with Muller sixth and title contender Michelisz down in ninth from P11 on the grid. Tom Coronel, Kris Richard, Yann Ehrlacher, Ryo Michigami, Dániel Nagy and Zsolt Dávid Szabó completed the Opening Race finishers.

In the Main Race, former ETCC champion Richard made up for his hesitant start in the first counter, passing Muller with an audacious move to finish sixth on only his fourth WTCC start.

Filippi and Michigami rounded out the points scorers, with Coronel just missing out in P11. Bennani retired with damage following first-corner contact with Muller.

RACE WINNERS IN 2017

Event

Opening Race

Main Race

FIA WTCC Race of Morocco

Esteban Guerrieri

(Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1)

Tiago Monteiro

(Honda Civic WTCC)

FIA WTCC Race of Italy

Tom Chilton

(Citroën C-Elysée WTCC)

Thed Björk

(Volvo S60 Polestar)

FIA WTCC Race of Hungary

Tiago Monteiro

(Honda Civic WTCC)

Mehdi Bennani

(Citroën C-Elysée WTCC)

FIA WTCC Race of Germany

Thed Björk

(Volvo S60 Polestar)

Nicky Catsburg

(Volvo S60 Polestar)

FIA WTCC Race of Portugal

Mehdi Bennani

(Citroën C-Elysée WTCC)

Norbert Michelisz

(Honda Civic WTCC)

FIA WTCC Race of Argentina

Yann Ehrlacher

(LADA Vesta WTCC)

Norbert Michelisz

(Honda Civic WTCC)

FIA WTCC Race of China

Esteban Guerrieri

(Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1)

Néstor Girolami

(Volvo S60 Polestar)

FIA WTCC Race of Japan

Tom Chilton

(Citroën C-Elysée WTCC)

Norbert Michelisz

(Honda Civic WTCC)

FIA WTCC Race of Macau

Mehdi Bennani

(Citroën C-Elysée WTCC)

Rob Huff

(Citroën C-Elysée WTCC)

FIA WTCC Race of Qatar

Tom Chilton

(Citroën C-Elysée WTCC)

Esteban Guerrieri

(Honda Civic WTCC)

PROVISIONAL STATISTICS
Drivers (after round 20/20): 
1 Björk 283.5pts; 2 Michelisz 255; 3 Chilton 248.5; 4 Guerrieri 241; 5 Catsburg 238.5; 6 Bennani 234; 7 Huff 215; 8 Monteiro 200; 9 Girolami 112; 10 Ehrlacher 90; etc.
Manufacturers (20/20): 1 Volvo Polestar 908.5; 2 Honda 880
WTCC Trophy (20/20): 1 Chilton 138; 2 Huff 129; 3 Bennani 128.5; 4 Guerrieri 85; 5 Ehrlacher 80; 6 Coronel 68.5; 7 Filippi 61; 8 Gleason 45.5; 9 Nagy 13; 10 Richard 11; etc.
WTCC Teams (20/20): 1 Sébastien Loeb Racing 175; 2 ALL-INKL.COM Münnich M’sport 128; 3 Campos Racing 109; 4 RC Motorsport 109; 5 ROAL Motorsport 91.5; 6 Zengő Motorsport 61
All-time race wins (top 5): Y Muller 48; Huff and López 29; Menu 23; Tarquini 22
All-time pole positions (top 5): Y Muller 29; López 21; Tarquini 17; Menu 15; Huff 13
All-time fastest laps (top 5): Y Muller 38; Huff 30; López 29; Tarquini 24; Menu 20
All-time laps led (top 5): Y Muller 571; Huff 358; López 301; Menu 297; Tarquini 295
Season wins: Bennani, Chilton, Guerrieri and Michelisz 3; Björk and Monteiro 2; Catsburg, Ehrlacher, Girolami, Huff 1
Season pole positions: Michelisz 3; Huff 2; Björk, Catsburg, Girolami, Guerrieri and Monteiro 1
Season fastest laps: Guerrieri 4; Björk, Catsburg and Huff 3; Chilton 2; Bennani, Ma, Michelisz and Nagy 1
Season laps led: Bennani 40; Monteiro 36; Chilton 32; Michelisz 27; Guerrieri 27; Huff 14; Björk 13; Coronel 11; Catsburg and Ehrlacher 9; Girolami 3; Gleason 1

FIA WORLD TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP HALL OF FAME

 

Year

Driver (NAT)

Manufacturer

2017

Thed Björk (SWE), Volvo S60 Polestar

Volvo Polestar

2016

José María López (ARG), Citroën C-Elysée WTCC

Citroën

2015

José María López (ARG), Citroën C-Elysée WTCC

Citroën

2014

José María López (ARG), Citroën C-Elysée WTCC

Citroën

2013

Yvan Muller (FRA), Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T

Honda

2012

Rob Huff (GBR), Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T

Chevrolet

2011

Yvan Muller (FRA), Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T

Chevrolet

2010

Yvan Muller (FRA), Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T

Chevrolet

2009

Gabriele Tarquini (ITA), SEAT León TDI

SEAT

2008

Yvan Muller (FRA), SEAT León TDI

SEAT

2007

Andy Priaulx (GBR), BMW 320si

BMW

2006

Andy Priaulx (GBR), BMW 320si

BMW

2005

Andy Priaulx (GBR), BMW 320i

BMW

1987

Roberto Ravaglia (ITA), BMW M3

Ford Texaco

 

 

         

 

 

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