PARIS: Qatar’s iconic Losail International Circuit will stage the final round of the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) later this year, it was announced yesterday.
According to details released by Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF), the Qatar leg will be held on November 26 and 27 under lights at Losail Circuit.
The 12-round championship is contested by names like nine-time world rally champion Sebastien Loeb, ex-F1 racers Tiago Monteiro and Gabriele Tarquini, WTCC title winners Rob Huff and Yvan Muller, Dakar hero Tom Coronel, experienced campaigners Rickard Rydell and James Thompson, plus reigning champion José María Lopez.
QMMF President Nasser bin Khalifa Al Attiyah yesterday signed an agreement with Francoise Rebeiro, Managing Director WTCC and Euro Sports EEL, at Paul Ricard Circuit.
This year’s leg will be the first of three to be staged at Losail Circuit, QMMF said yesterday.
Qatar leg will be the last round of the championship that has races scheduled in Argentina, Morocco, Hungary, Germany, Russia, Slovakia, France, Portugal, Japan, China and Thailand.
“I am very excited and looking forward to having the WTCC teams at Losail international Circuit for their first ever night race,” Al Attiyah said in a statement released yesterday.
“I promise my full support and my team will work closely with WTCC to ensure an excellent and unforgettable racing experience. I am grateful for the continuing support of the Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani,” Al Attiyah added in the statement.
Ribeiro said he was ‘extremely delighted with the partnership’ and he expected ‘good collaboration with the QMMF team at Losail International Circuit’.
“The addition of Qatar to the WTCC Calendar ensures that this is a true world championship with representative from all over the world in the field of motorsports,” Ribeiro said in a statement released yesterday.
“I would like to emphasize the important of working with an International team of competitors, officials and participants,” he added.
He presented Al Attiyah with a pictured signed by all WTCC drivers as acknowledgement of their excitement at coming to a night race in Qatar.
Mehdi Bennani and Ma Qing Hua are frontrunners in the series and became the first drivers from Africa and China respectively to win in the WTCC when they took a race win each in 2014.
Citroën, Honda and LADA all field factory teams in the WTCC, while Chevrolet has endorsed a car built to the new-for-2014 technical regulations, which require the use of mass-production five-door cars fitted with 1.6-litre direct injection turbocharged engines and a number of aerodynamic aids.
Several private drivers and teams also take part and contest a trophy supported by the WTCC’s official tyre partner, Yokohama.
The Peninsula
