2015 WTCC Race of China

[Rubio]

Preview:
http://www.fiawtcc.com/race-preview-...s-to-shanghai/

Track facts:
http://www.fiawtcc.com/event/race-of-china-2015/

Expect something like Slovakia (Citroen domination with Honda being heavy) unless it rains but track is good for overtaking though so races should be good.

Might be the key event for Citroen's future decision - with the event promotion in China being the main element here

[Metzo]

would expect lada to be better this weekend than honda.

[Stefvh]

Honda 1-2 in FP0

[CJFG]

Hopefully the Hondas can keep it up, would be an intriguing weekend if they can subdue the Citroens.

My worry is that if those Citroens qualify at the front they'll run away with it, especially as the Shanghai track is similar to Rio Hondo, where the opening round was held, (lots of long straights and medium-speed corners where Citroen's power advantage can kick in.)

[Rubio]

Originally Posted by Stefvh

Honda 1-2 in FP0

Citroen sandbagging? I guess Hondas were on new tyres while Citroen used worn tyres. In the mean time, Lada's pace is good as well

[redshoes]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMy7tS59LmI

Qualifying moved to tomorrow morning due to barrier damage. Teams are in for a busy day.

[CJFG]

http://www.fiawtcc.com/free-practice...ets-wtcc-pace/

FP1
Ma quickest from Monteiro with Lopez, Tarquini and Bennani rounding out the top 5.

[CJFG]

http://www.fiawtcc.com/free-practice...ier-impresses/

FP2
Ma fastest again followed by three Chevrolets; Demoustier, Chilton and Coronel, with Lopez fifth.

[FIRE]

Chevy fast in fp2.

[Rubio]

The crash that caused the delay
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMy7tS59LmI

Qualifying will be streamed live on WTCC web-site (if someone has insomnia)
http://www.fiawtcc.com/wtcc-race-of-...n-fiawtcc-com/

[alvaro]

Pole for Race 1 is
1 @pechito37
2 @maqinghuaF1
3 @nickcatsburg
4 @SebastienLoeb
5 @yvanmuller

[tux]

Impressed Catsburg can stay so close with the Citroens.

[Rubio]

Great defence by Tarquini! Didn't expect him to hold on to a podium with this long straight and 40kgs

[CJFG]

By the looks of it the most action in the first race was the incident in turn 1. A fair chunk of the field retired in the first lap or two (Chilton, Coronel, Filippi, Huff, Tarquini are the ones I can remember for sure.)

I like Valente but in that second race he binned it, which was a waste of the pole position he had. He just needs to calm down a bit sometimes. I remember when he spun off in one the Nurburgring races all alone too. Tarquini defended like a pro throughout and really earned that podium finish.

Just a shame that the almost customary Citroen domination happened again (Tarquini was the only one who really pushed them.) We really do need Honda, Lada, or anybody else to try and close the gap, but it's difficult when Citroen chuck so much money at it.

[CJFG]

http://www.touringcartimes.com/2015/...1-in-shanghai/

Apparently Lapierre has been excluded from the first race today as his Lada's turbo exceeded the 2.5 bar limit.

Nothing official on the WTCC website so I can't confirm if this is the case or not.

[CJFG]

http://www.touringcartimes.com/2015/...y-for-buriram/

In other news Tarquini has been handed a five-place grid penalty for the race in Buriram.

Once again nothing on the WTCC website as of yet, but this penalty seems plausible given the contact between himself and Huff in the first race that caused both to retire.

[Rubio]

Originally Posted by CJFG

http://www.touringcartimes.com/2015/...y-for-buriram/

In other news Tarquini has been handed a five-place grid penalty for the race in Buriram.

Once again nothing on the WTCC website as of yet, but this penalty seems plausible given the contact between himself and Huff in the first race that caused both to retire.

TcT is a very reliable web-site, so of course it's true. You shouldn't expect news on the official web-site, as they don't publish such news after the race any more.

BTW, here's the video from Race 1 start
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trYL5Dyqf-Q
I don't understand why Coronel blamed Filippi. He tapped Filippi himself (Catsburg's onboard) and recieved a hit by the spinning car (Chilton's onboard) - though, Filippi was moving across Coronel's nose to be honest. Pure raacing incident

[CJFG]

Originally Posted by Rubio

TcT is a very reliable web-site, so of course it's true. You shouldn't expect news on the official web-site, as they don't publish such news after the race any more.

Fair enough mate, I tend to err on the side of caution unless the official championship website (for any series) breaks the news itself. If TCT is as reliable as you say then I'll go off that from now on.

[CJFG]

http://www.touringcartimes.com/2015/...a-clash-video/

Speaking of TCT, here's a video of a rather heated post-race exchange between Tarquini and Valente. They're arguing over the incident that put Valente out of the second race.

[Rubio]

Originally Posted by CJFG

Fair enough mate, I tend to err on the side of caution unless the official championship website (for any series) breaks the news itself. If TCT is as reliable as you say then I'll go off that from now on.

Usually TcT posts news much faster and at most times they have journos at the events live (Neil Hudson, for example)

As for Tarquini-Valente incident - both guilty, maybe Tarquini was too aggressive in Turn 2, when he touched Hugo's real wheel which broke after next 2 corners. But Valente was way too emotional after the race.

[CJFG]

Originally Posted by Rubio

Usually TcT posts news much faster and at most times they have journos at the events live (Neil Hudson, for example)

As for Tarquini-Valente incident - both guilty, maybe Tarquini was too aggressive in Turn 2, when he touched Hugo's real wheel which broke after next 2 corners. But Valente was way too emotional after the race.

Well TCT certainly has more news on it than the ETCC or WTCC websites do haha.

I agree with you on the incident. Both were at fault as neither wanted to give way, hence the inevitable contact, followed by Valente spinning off. Maybe Valente was a little over-emotional afterwards but in his defence he's only 23 years old, some would say a person hasn't matured fully by then.

[Bramzel]

Is it me or are there A LOT of broken rear-suspensions this year? Not a race passes by without a car crabbing back, especially the Lada's seem to have rear wishbones made out of porcelain.

[PawUloN]

That's cool - Tarquini was racing in WTCC, F3000 and even scoring Formula One points before Valente was even born. He won a BTCC championship when Hugo was 2. He is my favourite driver in the series and I wish him good luck!

And yeah, the cars seem freaking fragile, why is that?

[rich07]

Is there full video of the Valente Tarquini exchange floating around? Sounds like it got a bit heated after Valente called him too old.

Good to see a bit of passion like this, you see this occasionally in V8s or NASCAR but not so much in European racing categories.

[auroan]

Originally Posted by PawUloN

That's cool - Tarquini was racing in WTCC, F3000 and even scoring Formula One points before Valente was even born. He won a BTCC championship when Hugo was 2. He is my favourite driver in the series and I wish him good luck!

And yeah, the cars seem freaking fragile, why is that?

Because they've set the minimum weight so low, nearly everything has to be made weak (i.e. light) to get anywhere close to it.

That's why the cars cost so much. Everything that's not structural or mechanical is carbon fibre.