ADVAN / MOTOR SPORTS [WTCC 2008｜About WTCC]

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The cars eligible for the WTCC are, in principle, "Super 2000" specification cars that follow the FIA's regulations for the category.
　
Super 2000 cars must be based on production cars of which more that 2500 units are built within twelve months consecutive. For the purpose of lower costs, only a limited scope of modification are allowed, but it is generally welcomed by the manufacturers and is one of the major factors for the WTCC's success.
　
For the 2008 season, five marque brands, BMW, SEAT, Chevrolet, Honda and Lada, are registered for the manufacturer's title contention.
　
Base models
・More than 2500 units of the model must be built in 12 months consecutive.
・The model must have at least four passenger seats.
　
Engine
・Displacement of engine must be less than 2000cc.
・Use of a variable valve timing mechanism is not allowed.
・For petrol engines, only naturally aspirated engines are allowed and the number of cylinders must be between 4 and 6. Also, a rev-limit is applied for each type of engine according to the number of cylinders.
・For diesel engines, the number of cylinders must be 4 and it may be accompanied by a single turbo charger and a single intercooler.
　
Minimum weight
・For front wheel drive cars with original production gearboxes: petrol engine cars 1110kg, diesel engine cars 1150kg.
・For front wheel drive cars with sequential gearboxes: petrol engine cars 1140kg, diesel engine cars 1170kg.
・For rear wheel drive cars with original production gearboxes: petrol engine cars 1140kg, diesel engine cars 1180kg.
・For rear wheel drive cars with sequential gearboxes: petrol engine cars 1170kg, diesel engine cars 1200kg.

The WTCC entrants are classified into two groups: manufacturer teams and privateer teams.
　
As its name implies, the manufacturer team is backed by a car manufacturer and usually hires professional drivers for the drivers' and manufacturers' championships titles, representing the car marque.
　
Meanwhile, being classified as a privateer team doesn't always mean it is a lesser team. The privateer teams hotly contend with each other for the YOKOHAMA Independent Trophy and, on occasions, one of the privateers may finish on the overall podium after a fair and square battle with manufacturer teams' cars, which is the proof of the quality of privateer teams.
　

B　M　W

BMW 320si

BMW has been reigning over the championship for three years running since the inception of the WTCC in 2005.
　
The marque has three manufacturer teams under its wing: BMW Team UK, BMW Team Germany and BMW Team Italy-Spain. The British team's ace, Andy Priaulx, has been the winner of the drivers' championship for three consecutive years, but the other two teams (that run two cars each) are little less strong their the British counterpart.
　
The distinctive feature that separates the BMW 320i from the competition is its rear wheel driver configuration and making the most of better balance of the chassis is theri forte.

　　

S　E　A　T

SEAT Leon

SEAT is the one and only car manufacturer in Spain and well known in Europe as a member of Volkswagen group companies. It has been an active competitor as a manufacturer team since the inaugural year of the championship, using SEAT Leons that share major components with the Volkswagen Golf and Audi A3.
　
From the 2007 season, the turbo diesel engine version has been added to their line-up and, encouraged by some good results including race wins last year, SEAT decided to run as many as five diesel cars in the 2008 season.
　
As is the case with BMW, SEAT also supplies the cars for privateer teams whose entries contribute to the current verdure of the series.

　

C h e v r o l e t

Chevrolet Lacetti

Chevrolet is one of the marques owned by General Motors, the world biggest car manufacturer. The name Chevrolet is known for its youthful and sporty image and it is well represented by the famous sport model, Corvette, which is often mentioned as a symbol of the American dream.
　
For competing in the WTCC, the marque uses Lacetti (sold as Optra in the US) which is built by Daewoo, one of the group companies under the wing of GM, in South Korea. The compact class front wheel drive sedan has a little longer wheelbase than the competition. At the moment, Chevrolet doesn't show any sign of changing to diesel and seems to be continuing with the slightly modified 2007 model Lacetti that received a major upgrade midway through the year.

　

H　O　N　D　A

Honda Accord

After ending their relationship with Alfa Romeo, N.Technology team is running a Honda Accord Euro R in 2008 in association with JAS-Motorsport which has a close relationship with the Japanese manufacturer. Previous entries by JAS were only occasional, so that N.Technology's participation in the entire 2008 championship marks the first full season challenge for the Japanese car.
　
The driver behind the wheel of the Accord is James Thompson who finished the 2007 drivers' championship in third. The new car should certainly attract much attention from fans, especially in its "home" race in Japan which is a new addition to the 2008 WTCC calendar.

　

L　A　D　A

LADA is one of AutoVaz's brand names. The Russian marque announced it would enter the championship in 2006 to celebrate the marque's 40th anniversary, but, much to our regret, the plan never materialized.
　
Two years later, LADA revealed their plan to compete in the WTCC again. Hopefully, their cars will make their first appearance at Valencia, Spain, where the season's first event in Europe is to be held. LADA already has some racing experience in the Russian Touring Car Championship races and it uses a Type 21106, front wheel drive four-door sedan, equipped with 2000cc high performance engine. The car has been developed and built in association with General Motors.