FIA EUROPEAN TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP GETS GREEN LIGHT
FROM FIA WORLD MOTOR SPORT COUNCIL



On Friday 8 December, in Monaco, the FIA World Motor Sport Council gave its final approval to the new FIA European Touring Car Championship.

Confirming the decisions taken at the Council’s previous meeting on 4 October, Marcello Lotti’s company has been appointed to organise a European championship for 2-litre saloon cars, to be named the FIA European Touring Car Championship.

The FIA European Touring Car Championship will include two different categories : the STC (Super Touring Car) and the SPC (Super Production Car), with two FIA European titles (drivers and teams) for each.


The FIA European Touring Car Championship will be part of the Eurosport Super Racing Weekends, together with the FIA GT Championship. The 2001 calendar - also approved on Friday 8 December by the FIA World Motor Sport Council - comprises ten meetings, to be held in ten different European countries.


The 2001 Calendar


Date
Venue
Country

1 April
Monza
Italy

16 April
Brno
Czech Republic

1 May
Magny-Cours
France

13 May
Silverstone
Great Britain

20 May
Zolder
Belgium

1 July
Budapest
Hungary

26 August
Spielberg
Austria *

9 September
Nürburgring
Germany *

30 September
Jarama
Spain

21 October
Estoril
Portugal


* to be confirmed


During each meeting, Eurosport will broadcast two hours of programmes devoted to the European Touring Car Championship, as follows:


Saturday: STC qualifying live, plus highlights of the SPC qualifying (30 minutes);


Sunday: highlights of the first STC race, followed by live coverage of the second STC race and the SPC race (90 minutes).

This is in addition to the GT coverage which consists of a 30-minute coverage of the qualifying session and one to two hours of live and recorded coverage of the race.


The two European Touring Car Championships


Two Championships have been created. One will be for the more advanced Super Touring cars, whose popularity was re-launched by the 2000 Euro STC. The other championship will be for Super Production cars - less tuned, but much closer to the road-going models - whose popularity is quickly spreading throughout the world.

Reverse grid for Super Touring

The most important innovation for the 2001 FIA European Touring Car Championship STC will be a starting grid in reverse order.

For STC there will be two 50-km races at each meeting, with a schedule limited to the Saturday and Sunday. Race One will be held on the Sunday morning, with grid positions determined by the single 30-minute qualifying session held on the Saturday. Race Two will start on the Sunday afternoon, with grid positions determined by the results of Race One, but in reverse order.


In order to reduce running costs, tyres and engines are restricted by the sporting regulations. Each competitor will be allowed to use a maximum of 16 marked tyres (12 new and 4 used) during each meeting. In addition, one marked engine only may be used for a minimum of two consecutive meetings.


The technical regulations are those in force for FIA Super Touring since 1993.

Cars : 4/5 door saloons, minimum length 4.20 m;

Engines : 2-litre, maximum 6-cylinder, with rev-limiter at 8500 rpm (max. output: around 320 bhp);

Transmission : front-rear and four-wheel drive allowed; gearbox: mechanical, 6-speed sequential shift; aerodynamic devices: front splitters and rear wings as homologated by the FIA in Super Touring; weight (including driver): front-wheel drive 1055 kg, rear-wheel drive 1080 kg, four-wheel drive 1150 kg.


European Impulse for Super Production


Born in Germany in 1995, under the name of DTC, this category is the answer to the problem of rising costs in Touring Car competitions. It is based on road-going models, generally the same cars from which Super Touring cars were developed.

In recent years, its popularity has grown. In 1999 the FIA adopted it under the name of Super Production. Its expansion has reached 15 countries over five continents, including New Zealand, South Africa, Japan and Russia.


The FIA European Touring Car Championship SPC will give the first real international impulse to a formula that is much appreciated by car manufacturers. Those who are currently involved in the various national championships, with semi-works or customer programmes, include Alfa Romeo, BMW, Citroën, Ford, Honda, Lexus, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Opel, Peugeot, Renault, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo.


On the occasion of each meeting of the Eurosport Super Racing Weekends, the FIA European Touring Car Championship SPC will hold a single 70-km race.


In order to reduce running costs, tyres and engines are restricted in the same way as for STC, except that the tyres are limited to 8 new and 4 used rather than 12 and 4. The technical regulations are those currently in force for the FIA Super Production. Cars: saloons, hatchbacks or coupes; engine: 2-litre (max. output: around 220 bhp); transmission: front-or rear-wheel drive allowed; gearbox: mechanical, 5-speed dog box; aerodynamic devices: only those homologated on the road-going models are allowed; weight (including driver) : front-wheel drive 1110 kg, rear-wheel drive 1140 kg.

Geneva, 15 December 2000.

Peggen