Completely new car retains 908 name
New 3.7 litre V8 HDi FAP diesel engine
Same successful driver line up as 2010
Full Intercontinental Le Mans Cup (ILMC) Campaign for 2011.
Last week in Paris, Peugeot Sport unveiled their new 908 endurance racing car which they will campaign in this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours and the ILMC.

Peugeot Sport has a busy 2011 ahead of it with the launch of its all new Peugeot 908 and a comprehensive endurance racing programme. After a strong season in 2011, which saw it claim the inaugural Intercontinental Le Mans Cup (ILMC) title, Peugeot Sport will be looking to defend its crown, although the highlight of the season will again be the Le Mans 24 Hours (June 11-12). The calendar for this year’s ILMC features seven races, including Le Mans which will carry double points. This year’s visit to Le Mans is also eagerly awaited as the recently introduced new technical regulations have given rise to a new generation of cars.

Peugeot’s all new car, built to the new technical regulations introduced for 2011, was originally given the code name 90X. However, with the 908 HDi FAP helping Peugeot build up an enviable record of world class successes, including the title in the 2007 Le Mans Series, a one-two finish at Le Mans in 2009 and the inaugural ILMC crown in 2010 it was decided to keep the same name for the new car.

“We have chosen 908 as the name of the new car in order to build on the wave of success with which it is associated,” says Peugeot’s Director of Marketing and Communications, Xavier Peugeot. “At the same time, the new car fits perfectly with the brands new modern image. It mirrors the modernity that is clearly visible in the new 508 and the recently announced new 308. At Peugeot, we have always sought to associate our commitment to motor sport with the real world and with our model range. The name 908 consequently stood out as the obvious choice.”

Following in the wake of the legendary Peugeot 905 and the 908 HDi FAP, the 908 is the third car to have been developed by Peugeot Sport for endurance racing. Like the previous cars, its mission will be to extend Peugeot’s winning record at Le Mans which already stands at three wins, in 1992, 1993 and 2009.

The 908 complies with all the latest technical regulations and the new for 2011, “shark fin engine cover”. It is a closed-cockpit car, with the same size front and rear wheels, and is powered by a new 3.7 litre V8 HDi FAP 550 bhp diesel engine. It means Peugeot Sport will be competing in endurance racing for the fifth year running with a diesel engine equipped with a particulate filter (FAP). Since 1998, more than seven million HDi diesel engines have been sold worldwide, helping Peugeot to earn a reputation as one of the largest producers of clean diesel power.

The 908 shares the same technology as is used in all Peugeot’s HDi diesel road cars. There is a very close collaboration between the group’s engineers and specialists and their counterparts at Peugeot Sport, to ensure that expertise in areas such as fuel consumption, respect for the environment and performance is shared between road cars and motor sport.

Immediately after the 2009 Le Mans 24 Hours, Peugeot Sport’s engineers started to put pen to paper to design a new car destined to comply with the new, upcoming technical regulations. They also drew on all their experience and knowledge learned from the 908 HDi FAP: “The regulations have evolved a great deal but we didn’t start with a clean sheet of paper,” notes Bruno Famin, Peugeot Sport’s Technical Director. “The experience we have gained over the past four years helped to steer the decision-making process and our technical choices, although the only component which has been carried over at the end of the day is the windscreen wiper! One of the principal challenges we faced was to design an all-new car while continuing to race another at the same time. We also needed to set ourselves sound objectives with a view to obtaining the best possible package with regards to engine performance, aerodynamics and weight distribution.”

908 Overview

A closed-cockpit car: “we knew from previous testing work that there is little significant difference between open and closed cockpit cars in terms of their aerodynamic performance. At the same time, despite the added constraints they bring when working on them at races, closed-cockpit cars provide additional safety for the drivers. We therefore decided to stay with the same solution.”

Engine: “We have also made full use of our experience with the 908 HDi FAP’s V12 diesel engine. We decided to opt for a turbocharged V8 diesel engine for the 908 but, with characteristics which are very similar to those of the V12. The angle of the “vee” is 90 degrees (compared with 100 degrees in the case of the V12) to improve the engine balance. The cubic capacity is 3.7 litres and the new V8 HDi FAP engine produces a peak power of 550 bhp. We ran the engine for the first time on the dyno on January 25, 2010.”

Four identical wheels: “Today’s LMP cars have a shortcoming with regards to ultimate grip of the front wheels. The logical way to cure this was to increase the size of the contact patch between the tyres and the track, which entailed running bigger front wheels, within the limits specified by the regulations. This aspect of the car’s development was carried out in close collaboration with our partner Michelin.”

Aerodynamics: “Given the big reduction in engine power resulting from the 2011 regulations (a reduction of approximately 150 bhp), we had to take a fresh look at the trade-off between aerodynamics, drag and down force. The latter has been significantly reduced in order to maintain a reasonably high top speed.”

The new car made its track made its track debut on 27th July 2010. “This was the deadline we set ourselves, although we knew we would almost certainly run into teething trouble given that this was an all-new car. We did indeed have problems but we succeeded in resolving them one by one as we got more and more kilometres on the clock. One of the very positive points we found was that the car’s handling lived up to our expectations straight out of the box. Between the car’s track debut in 2010 and the 2011 Le Mans 24 Hours, we will have completed twelve tests in all, at a number of different circuits,” concludes Bruno Famin.

Full 2011 Championship

The Intercontinental Le Mans Cup has expanded from three rounds in 2010 to a seven-round championship in 2011, including two races in the USA (Sebring and Petit Le Mans Road Alanta), three in Europe (Spa-Francorchamps, Imola and Silverstone) and one in China, plus the Le Mans 24 Hours.

“We clearly want to defend our ILMC title,” underlines Oliver Quesnel, Director of Peugeot Sport. “We won all three rounds of the series in 2010, but there is one round we are especially targeting this year, and that is Le Mans. This legendary event has now been incorporated into the championship, a move we believed was necessary. Including Le Mans will be very beneficial for the championship and will put an even bigger spotlight on endurance racing which is a discipline that permits car makers like Peugeot to showcase their know-how and technology in extreme conditions. We have, therefore, submitted entries for two cars to the ACO for every round, with the exception of Spa-Francorchamps where we will take three cars to use it as a full-scale dress rehearsal ahead of the Le Mans 24 Hours.”

Driver Line-up Le Mans 24 Hours 2011

The driver line-up for the 2011 Le Mans 24 Hours will be as follows:

Car No7 – Alexander Wurz / Anthony Davidson / Marc Gené
Car No8 – Franck Montagny / Nicolas Minassian / Stéphane Sarrazin
Car No9 – Sébastien Bourdais / Pedro Lamy / Simon Pagenaud

• Two new Audi R18 cars used in tests at Sebring (USA)

• Preparation for the 2011 Le Mans 24 Hours

• All nine “factory” drivers shared the test tasks

Ingolstadt, January 31 – Four and a half months before the Le Mans 24 Hours, preparations for the endurance classic are in full swing at Audi. Two new Audi R18 cars and one Audi R15 TDI were used in tests at Sebring (U.S. state of Florida).

The programme planned for the tradition-steeped American circuit specified endurance runs for one of the completely re-developed LMP1 sports cars while the second Audi R18 was primarily used for development work. The Audi R15 “plus plus” that will be fielded at the 12-hour race at Sebring – the season opener of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup (ILMC) – completed a long run as well. In addition, the basic setup for the race in March was worked out on the vehicle.

During the tests, which ended on Saturday, the nine Audi “factory” drivers took turns at the wheel so that all of them had the opportunity to drive each of the three sports cars.

“We’re very pleased with the performance of the Audi R18 at our first outing at Sebring,” said Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. “We opted for this race track because it makes high demands on the mechanical systems of our vehicles. The temperatures are better than in Europe right now, plus the dry weather provides us with assurance that we’re able to conduct the endurance runs as

planned. On a wet track the loads would be lower and the test results therefore less conclusive.”

Audi R15 TDI Diesel Le Mans Car

Latest Audi sports prototype makes its UK race debut in Autosport 1000km at Silverstone next month
Annual Silverstone race is Le Mans Series finale and also opening race in Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, which in its first year also takes in the 1,000-mile ‘Petit Le Mans’ race at Road Atlanta, USA and the six-hour race in Zhuhai, China
The Le Mans-conquering Audi R15 TDI sports prototype is bound for Silverstone, where on Sunday September 12th it will again be caught up in yet more enthralling skirmishes in the battle for the new Intercontinental Le Mans Cup.

The ultimate Audi race car, known internally as the R15 TDI ‘plus’, is based on the original 2009 R15 TDI, but features extensive modifications to aerodynamics and to the potent V10 diesel engine made last winter to comply with new regulations. The pedigree of these thoroughbreds includes the celebrated R8, described by Autosport magazine recently as ‘the best ever sports prototype’, and the V12 TDI-powered Audi R10 TDI that made history in 2006 by becoming the first sportscar to win the Le Mans 24-hour marathon under diesel power.

In its revised form, enhanced by newly developed turbo chargers with variable turbine geometry (VTG), the latest 5.5-litre, ten cylinder diesel unit powered the Audi R15 TDI into the top-three places in this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours, the brand’s ninth victory in arguably the world’s toughest motor race.

In the process, the winning R15 TDI racked up a total of 397 laps, or 3,361 miles, at an average speed of 139.95mph, setting new race distance and race average speed records in the process. Over the 24-hour period it was at idle in the pits for just 20 minutes, bearing testament to the impressive reliability and fuel efficiency that characterises all competition and road-going Audi TDI models, the latter accounting for 71% of the 91,172 UK Audi sales posted in 2009.

Silverstone beckons

On the second Sunday in September the mettle of the R15 TDI will again be tested to extremes at Silverstone when two examples entered by Audi Sport Team Joest face formidable challenges from Peugeot and Aston Martin. At the wheel of the two Audi entries will be the familiar faces of Timo Bernhard, Dindo Capello, Tom Kristensen and Scotland’s Allan McNish.

The Silverstone race is not only the fifth and final round of the Le Mans Series but also the opening race for the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup which moves on to North America for the 1,000-mile Petit Le Mans race at Road Atlanta, and then to Zhuhai in China for another six-hour marathon. From 2011, the ILMC series will become even more intense with a planned roster of seven endurance races in America, Asia and Europe.

The Silverstone action gets under way with qualifying at 1.40pm on Saturday September 11th, with the 170-lap race, staged on the new Grand Prix circuit, scheduled to start at 11.55am on Sunday the 12th.

Just over a month ago, Peugeot unveiled its new corporate identity which encapsulates high standards and excitement, two qualities that are especially applicable to Motor Sport.

Like Peugeot, Peugeot Sport is on the offensive. As it prepares for the future by building on its recent successes, not only does Peugeot Sport serve as a shop window for the Brand, both technologically and in terms of image, but it also mirrors the Marque’s new corporate identity, which puts Motion and Emotion at the heart of its strategy.

2009 was a highly successful year in motor sport terms: topping the bill was a one-two finish in the Le Mans 24 Hours, a clean sweep of the podium places for the 207 Super 2000 in the Rallye Monte-Carlo, as well as third consecutive Manufacturers’ and Drivers’ titles in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, thanks to the efforts of several Peugeot subsidiaries, and led by Peugeot UK’s Kris Meeke and Paul Nagle, who won the Drivers’ title in their first year of competing. All this is the result of the spirit of all the Peugeot competitors; a spirit which will continue in 2010 in the hunt for further success and excitement.

Riding high on the back of last year’s Le Mans one-two finish, Peugeot Sport is aiming to do it again in 2010. In the fourth and final year of the 908 HDi FAP’s career, Team Peugeot Total has pressed on with its development, getting down to work on the very next day after that historic win, striving to squeeze even more improvements out of the car.

Test sessions and races at a variety of venues have been programmed in order to be as well prepared as possible for the 78th running of the Le Mans 24 Hours, a race which always throws up unique challenges, uncertainties and changes of fortune, all part of its legendary status. But even the most meticulous preparations cannot hope to reproduce the specific features and surprises this race invariably delivers. Since its historic success on June 14, 2009, Peugeot will have racked up a total of eleven test sessions consisting of endurance runs, set-up work and two demanding warm-ups in the form of two actual races.

Eleven drivers have been chosen to fly the Peugeot flag in 2010, running with race numbers 1, 2 and 3, the numbers which were previously the property of the Marque’s much respected rival. The 2009 winners will carry the Number 1 plate: Marc GENE (ESP,) Alexander WURZ (AUT), plus a newcomer to the Peugeot Sport ranks, Anthony DAVIDSON (GBR). Marc and Alexander will be tackling their fourth Le Mans, the Austrian having won twice, in 1996 and 2009. Anthony has contested the French race twice (2002 and 2009) and tested the 908 in a session at Le Castellet at the end of 2008.

In the N°2 908 HDi FAP, three French drivers Nicolas MINASSIAN, Franck MONTAGNY and Stéphane SARRAZIN, form the trio that previously raced together for Oreca in 2002 and again in a memorable race last November at Le Mans, in the 207 Relais relay race which formed part of the season’s final Rencontres Peugeot Sport meeting. It’s worth noting that Stéphane has taken pole position for the last three years at Le Mans in the 908 HDi FAP.

The third crew is made up of local boy Sébastien BOURDAIS, who renews his partnership with his United States-based countryman Simon PAGENAUD and Portugal’s Pedro LAMY. Sébastien and Pedro had also been Le Mans team-mates back in 2007, at the wheel of the N°8 Peugeot.

Christian KLIEN will be the reserve driver for Team Peugeot Total, while Gregory GUILVERT, having impressed at a test in the 908 (his prize for winning the 2009 THP Spider Cup), takes on the role of test driver.

On the racing front, Peugeot’s first test comes in the shape of the full-on challenge of dealing with 12 hours of racing against the heat and difficult track at Sebring (Florida, USA), which provides the backdrop for the year’s first appearance of the two Peugeot 908 HDi FAPs, shared by

Davidson/Gene/Wurz (N°07) and Bourdais/Lamy/Minassian (N°08). The French squad will first tackle a test session the previous weekend and then resume testing two days after the endurance race. The second event is at Spa-Francorchamps in a round of the Le Mans Series and this will serve as a dress rehearsal for the whole Peugeot Sport team, with three cars entered. Eleven test sessions and two races should enable the team to prepare thoroughly for the 2010 Le Mans 24 Hours.

Peugeot Sport is also working on life after Le Mans and, at the moment, there are two further races on the calendar for the 908 HDi FAP: the Le Mans Series round at Silverstone, in September, then – assuming it is confirmed by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest – the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup race in Shanghai. For Peugeot Sport, the second half of the year is also the time to look to the future, specifically the immediate future and the new 2011 regulations, which signal the start of a new era for endurance racing. Some of the new rules have already been announced, which means work can now begin on a new car.

Audi extends driver line-up for the 24 Hours of Le Mans
Marcel Fässler, André Lotterer and Benoît Treluyer new to the team
Joint test run in the 1000-kilometer race at Spa
Ingolstadt, January 28, 2010 – Audi Sport leaves nothing to chance in its endeavour to bring the prestigious Le Mans trophy back to Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm. Not only the technology of the Audi R15 TDI is being subjected to further development. The drivers’ line-up for the 24 Hours of Le Mans (France) has been extended as well.

For the world’s most famous endurance race, Audi has signed three new drivers, the Swiss Marcel Fässler (33), German André Lotterer (28) and Frenchman Benoît Treluyer (33), who will be sharing the cockpit of one of three Audi R15 TDI cars on June 12/13, 2010.

“In view of our strong competitors, we want to – and have to – be perfectly positioned in terms of drivers too,” explained Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. “Therefore, we decided to extend our driver line-up. Marcel, André and Benoît attracted our attention during the past two years in a particularly positive way. They are used to handling fast prototypes and know each other extremely well. The three of them, and we too, are convinced that they are a very good combination for Le Mans.”

The new Audi drivers already have experience at the wheel of diesel racing sports cars. Marcel Fässler successfully contested two races in the American Le Mans Series for Audi in 2008. André Lotterer impressed at Le Mans last year at the wheel of an Audi R10 TDI of the private Audi customer team Kolles. Benoît Treluyer competed in the 24-hour classic in a Peugeot in 2009.

Marcel Fässler, André Lotterer and Benoît Treluyer have already visited Audi Sport in Ingolstadt for seat-fittings and will soon be testing the Audi R15 TDI. The first racing commitment for the new Audi driver trio is planned for May 9, in the 1000-kilometer race at Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium), which will serve as a dress rehearsal for the 24 Hours of Le Mans for Audi Sport Team Joest.

“For the time being, plans for Marcel, André and Benoît are fully focused on Le Mans 2010,” says Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. “But all three of them are still relatively young, and therefore, may also become part of our sports car project over the long term.”

Audi has been contesting the 24 Hours of Le Mans since 1999 and having made 11 starts, has won the race as many as eight times. In addition to speed, reliability and efficiency are the key factors of success in the world’s most famous endurance race.

Furthermore, the LMP1 class is unrivalled by any other motorsport category in terms of offering the opportunity to test technical innovations in racing conditions. Thanks to its technology leadership, Audi has repeatedly set milestones in this regard. The Audi R8, for instance, successfully introduced TFSI gasoline direct injection technology in 2001, while in 2006 the Audi R10 TDI was the first diesel-powered vehicle to clinch victory in the history of the race.

The Caddy TDI racing van will be competing in the Volkswagen Racing Cup in 2010 sporting bright orange livery thanks to a new sponsorship deal with the RAC, and it will also have a new driver with Simon Elliott, Director of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles taking his seat behind the wheel to try to make Volkswagen vans just as popular and successful on the track as they are on the road.

The 2.0-litre Caddy TDI van, tuned by RacingLine to produce 260 PS and over 500 Nm of torque, will make its public debut on the Volkswagen Racing UK stand (no 6200) at the Autosport International & Pistonheads Show at the NEC from 14 to 17 January, while its first race of the season is scheduled to be at Oulton Park, Cheshire on 3 and 5 April.

‘I started racing last year and realised this was something I really wanted to do,’ said Simon Elliott. ‘My wife has now given me permission to do the full season, and I’ve managed to not only persuade my predecessor Peter Wyhinny to let me take over driving the van, but more importantly we have new sponsors for this high profile Caddy van,’ he continued.

Martin Quail, Head of RAC Corporate Partnerships, said: ‘We were excited to be approached with the opportunity to sponsor the Caddy in the Volkswagen Cup. It provides us not only with the opportunity to strengthen our relationship with Volkswagen further, but also to engage with business customers and motor racing fans alike.’

The Volkswagen Caddy, recently awarded the Editor’s Choice in the What Van? Awards 2010, is the smallest in the range of vans from Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles with a load volume of 3.2 m, load margin from 720 kg and retail prices starting from £11,400 or currently available from £189 a month (plus VAT and deposit). For information about the Caddy range, or this finance offer, please call 0800 717131or visit www.volkswagen-vans.co.uk.

Full details of the Volkswagen Racing Cup and this summer’s programme of races are available from www.vw-cup.co.uk.

Two Audi R15 TDI cars in the new “Le Mans Intercontinental Cup”
Three prototypes in the 2010 Le Mans 24 Hours
Clear commitment to the DTM – customer sport with the Audi R8 LMS
Ingolstadt, December 8, 2009 – In 2010, the DTM, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the customer sport program with the Audi R8 LMS will again be the three cornerstones of AUDI AG’s motorsport commitment. By participating in the inaugural “Le Mans Intercontinental Cup” Audi has opted for a new, forward-thinking racing series in which alternative drive concepts will be used.

“In 2009, the Audi brand has been celebrating its 100th anniversary and our motorsport squad presented the brand with a particularly nice birthday gift, the successful title defense in the DTM,” says Rupert Stadler, Chairman of the Management Board of AUDI AG. “Audi Sport has been a guarantor of successes in motorsport for as many as 30 years now – successes which are of major importance to the development of the Audi brand.”

In the 2010 season, Audi will again rely on motorsport categories that are very closely related to production vehicles: the DTM with the top-selling Audi A4, customer sport with the immediately successful Audi R8 LMS, and the sports prototypes with the Audi R15 TDI that has primarily been subjected to further aerodynamic development and bears the internal model designation “R15 plus” at Audi Sport.

The prototype commitment is of particular importance to Audi because this category makes it possible to field alternative power-train concepts and technologies. “In 2001, at Le Mans, we used a TFSI engine for the first time that has since become standard in production vehicles,” comments Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. “In 2006, we were the first automobile manufacturer in history to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a diesel-powered vehicle. And in the future we will use our LMP1 cars to test pioneering technologies and to underscore our ‘Vorsprung durch Technik’ claim also on the race track. Therefore, we welcome greatly the fact that the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) has announced the first international racing series for LMP1 vehicles. We are convinced that this motorsport category, which is particularly attractive from the perspective of technology, has prospects for a great future and fits our times well.”

Inaugural Le Mans Intercontinental Cup

In the future, the so-called “Le Mans Intercontinental Cup” will consist of the major races of the Le Mans Series in Europe, the USA and Asia and aims to continue the heyday of the legendary World Championship for Makes. In its debut year in 2010, the 1000-kilometer race at Silverstone (Great Britain), the “Petit Le Mans” race at Road Atlanta (USA) and an event on the Asian continent. Further races are to be added in 2011.

Audi will contest the new Le Mans Intercontinental Cup in the 2010 season with two R15 TDI cars fielded by Audi Sport Team Joest. Three cars are planned for the 24-hour race at Le Mans on June 12/13. Audi Sport Team Joest plans also to contest the 1000-kilometer race at Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium), which Audi would like to use as a dress rehearsal for Le Mans, with three cars.

Clear commitment to the DTM

By that time, the Audi DTM squad will have already contested the first two races. The most popular international touring car racing series will continue to be one of the cornerstones of AUDI AG’s motorsport commitment. After the technology for the 2010 season has been frozen by the regulations and the 2009 championship winning car will therefore start from the grid almost unchanged. Meanwhile work on the A4 successor vehicle has already begun at Audi Sport in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm for the new Technical Regulations that will come into effect in 2011 with the aim of achieving further cost reductions.

For the 2010 season, Audi has opted for continuity in the DTM: Up to nine vehicles will be fielded by the proven Audi Sport teams of ABT Sportsline, Phoenix and Rosberg. The major change: The cockpit of Le Mans record winner Tom Kristensen, who will fully focus on sports car racing in the future, will be taken over by the young Briton Oliver Jarvis (25).

“We are thus giving our youngest ‘factory’ driver the chance to prove his prowess in a current DTM car,” comments Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. “The performances Oliver has shown in his first DTM years at the wheel of a year-old A4 speak in his favor.”

All other personnel decisions – for the sports prototypes as well as in the DTM – will be made in the next few weeks. “We want to position ourselves as best we can for the DTM and the 24 Hours of Le Mans as well as the Le Mans Cup in terms of our drivers’ line-up and are therefore deliberately taking our time,” stresses Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich.

Extended customer program with the Audi R8 LMS

The new GT3 sports car from AUDI AG, which scored 23 victories and three champion’s titles in its first racing season, will be delivered to customer teams starting at the end of March 2010 at a price of 298,000 euros (plus VAT). To ensure its ability to deliver optimal service, Audi Sport will limit sales to a maximum of 20 vehicles for the European market in 2010.

Audi will again support its customer teams at the Nürburgring 24 Hours on May 15/16. Two Audi R8 LMS cars will get special support from Audi.

“With the DTM, the sports prototypes and the R8 LMS, we are well positioned in motorsport,” says Michael Dick who, as management board member for Technical Development, is also responsible for AUDI AG’s motorsport commitment. “In these three categories the cost-benefit calculation in particular, which is of great importance in times like these, is appropriate.”

SEAT is World Touring Car Champion for the second year in succession, following the culmination of the WTCC season in Macau. And the celebrations don’t end there – just like last year one of its drivers is again World Champion though, this time, outgoing champ Yvan Muller is pipped to the post by team-mate Gabriele Tarquini.

The SEAT Sport team achieved all of its goals at the urban racetrack, not only clinching the Manufacturers’ World Championship and Drivers’ World Championship, but also the Independents’ Trophy. Dutchman Tom Coronel took the Independents’ title, meaning that SEAT has triumphed with two different cars – the diesel Leon TDI and petrol Leon WTCC – in turn beating BMW, Chevrolet and Lada in the manufacturers’ championship.

SEAT is celebrating this triumphant finish at the end of a difficult season, caused by regulatory changes made during the year which at times limited the potential for the Leon TDI. However, these challenges did not ultimately affect the Spanish manufacturer’s victorious climax to the season, thanks to the hard work and close co-operation of the entire SEAT Sport team.

This winning spirit proved essential during an extremely challenging weekend in Macau. On Friday, leading drivers Gabriele Tarquini and Yvan Muller finished the qualifying session in hospital following a serious accident which left both their cars heavily battered. Only through the sterling efforts of SEAT Sport’s mechanics were the two cars ready in time for the race. In addition, all five SEAT Sport drivers carried out a perfect strategy to secure the double victory.

In the first race, an impeccable start by Tiago Monteiro, Jordi Gené and Gabriele Tarquini allowed the SEAT drivers to take firm control of the race from second, third and fourth positions, without taking unnecessary risks to secure the Manufacturers’ trophy. Tarquini finished the race second, ahead of Gené, with Yvan Muller fifth and Monteiro sixth. This result meant one of the two SEAT drivers was mathematically sure of the title.

The second race was even more tactical with Yvan Muller in third position, followed by Monteiro and Gené, and with Gabriele Tarquini eventually moving up to fifth. An accident at the back of the pack forced the race to be red-flagged two laps before the finish, thus confirming SEAT’s and Tarquini’s triumph.

In the Independents’ Trophy, Tom Coronel won the first race and that was enough for him to take the title, his second success in this class with SEAT.

With his victory, Gabriele Tarquini becomes the seventh Italian WTCC world champion in history 18 years after Teo Fabi. He follows in the tyre tracks, too, of Nino Farina, Alberto Ascari, Mauro Baldi, Roberto Ravaglia and Massimo Biasion. He has also set a spectacular record since, at 47 years of age, he is the most senior champion in motorsport history, passing even Juan Manuel Fangio.

For the Spanish make, this is the fifth manufacturer world title following those achieved in rallying in 1996, 1997 and 1998 with the Ibiza Kit Car and the four manufacturer and driver World Touring Car Championship titles clinched in 2008 and 2009 with the Leon TDI WTCC.

World Champion Gabriele Tarquini was ecstatic about the weekend’s results: ‘It is amazing to clinch the title after such a long sports career.

‘I started the weekend with some trouble, but I was able to recover and the extraordinary work of my mechanics made it possible for me to take part in a race that meant a unique opportunity for me which I simply could not miss.

‘It’s been a very hard championship, very intense, and in order to win over two rivals who are as strong as Yvan Muller and Augusto Farfus, it’s been essential to score many points in all races.’

Jaime Puig, SEAT Sport Director, added: ‘Winning two championships for the second year in a row is the reward for a fantastic year and I want to thank the whole team for their effort, their great capacity for work and their solidarity.

‘The races in Macau have shown that we are a team in which everybody works for everybody. After the two championships achieved last year, we wanted to take at least one of the titles this year, and we took them both. It’s been an extraordinary result.’

Manufacturer standings: 1. SEAT, 314 points; 2. BMW, 311 points; 3. Chevrolet, 215 points; 4. Lada, 83 points

Driver standings: 1. G.Tarquini (SEAT) 127 points; 2. Y.Muller (SEAT) 123 points; 3. A.Farfus (BMW) 113 points; 4. A.Priaulx (BMW) 84 points; 5. R.Huff (Chevrolet) 80 points; 6. Y.Muller (BMW) 76 points; 7. R.Rydell (SEAT), 64 points; 8. J.Gené (SEAT) 48 points; 9. T.Monteiro (SEAT) 44 points; 10. A.Menu (Chevrolet) 39 points