Macu GP: Series preview

ROUTE TO MACAU FOR THE LAST STOP

The clock is ticking for the 2010 FIA World Touring Car Championship as next week the strong field of 30 competitors will hit the track for the last two races of the season.

For the sixth consecutive year the final and deciding act will be staged on Macau's infamous 6.1-km Guia street circuit. On Sunday 21st November two nine-lap races will consecrate the 2010 World Champion.

In the previous five appearances of Super 2000 cars at Macau, including the 2004 Guia Race, BMW has won seven races out of twelve against Chevrolet's four victories (including Huff's in 2009) and Alfa Romeo's one. SEAT still has to break its duck on the Guia circuit.

Local hero Andre Couto, who will be at the wheel of a SEAT Leon TDI, will try to match Jorg Muller's record of being the only driver to have won both the Macau Formula 3 Grand Prix and the Guia Race.

CAMPANIÇO JOINS THE WTCC FIELD IN MACAU

Portuguese driver Cesar Campanico was the latest addition to the FIA WTCC field for the season's finale at Macau.

The 30-year old from Lisbon will be at the wheel of a BMW 320si car run by the Team Novadriver Total, the very same car he raced in this year's opening event of the FIA European Touring Car Cup at Braga, where he won the second race from the eventual European champion James Thompson.

Campanico is one of Portugal's more experienced drivers. After claiming a number of victories in karting he climbed up the single seater hierarchy, from the German Formula ADAC to A1GP. He later switched to covered-wheels and clinched the Portuguese Touring Car Championship twice for BMW in 2007 and 2008.

He also took part in the Macau F3 Grand Prix twice, finishing 10th in 2002 and 9th in 2003.

BAMBOO CONFIRM TANIGUCHI FOR MACAU

The bamboo-engineering team confirmed that Yukinori Taniguchi will race for them once again in Macau. The deal between the British outfit and the Japanese driver covered only the three events in Oschersleben, Valencia and Okayama, but it was extended following Taniguchi's brilliant win in the Independents' first race at Okayama.

Taniguchi was extremely proud after becoming the first victorious Japanese driver in the WTCC Independents' Trophy and is now facing his maiden appearance in Macau at the wheel of the bamboo-engineering Chevrolet Lacetti.

"I am very pleased at being given this opportunity and I will do my best to help my team-mate Darryl O'Young to clinch the Independents' Trophy title," Taniguchi commented.

MASAKI KANO COMPLETES JAPANESE TRIO

Masaki Kano was the latest addition to the Japanese WTCC patrol that will take part in the season's final race meeting at Macau.

The 34-year old driver from Hyogo will re-join the Liqui Moly Team Engstler, as he did in 2008 (when he took part in the events at Okayama and Macau) and 2009 (when he raced at Okayama) at the wheel of a BMW 320si car.

Crowned Asian Touring Car Series champion in 2007, Kano completes a Japanese trio in Macau, alongside Nobuteru Taniguchi (Proteam Motorsport BMW 320si) and Yukinori Taniguchi (bamboo-engineering Chevrolet Lacetti).

STRONG REPRESENTATIVE OF LOCAL DRIVERS

The final meeting of the 2010 FIA WTCC will see a strong representative of Chinese drivers coming from different territories.

The Macau group comprises of five racers from the experienced Andre Couto (SR-Sport SEAT Leon TDI) to Henry Ho Wai Kun (Ho Chun Kei BMW 320si) who took part in the event at Okayama two weeks ago and Joseph Rosa Merszei (Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320si) who made his first WTCC appearance last year in Macau. They are joined by WTCC rookies Chan Kin Man (RPM Racing Honda Accord) and Kuok Io Keong (Andy Racing Honda Civic).

WTCC regular Darryl O'Young (bamboo-engineering Chevrolet Lacetti) who is fighting for the Independents' Trophy title is joined by fellow Hong Kong resident Philip Ma Ching Yeung who faces his maiden WTCC appearance in a former JAS Motorsport Honda Accord run by the Jacob & Co Racing Team. Finally, Kevin Chen Nai Chia from Chinese Taipei returns to the wheel of the Proteam Motorsport BMW 320si he drove at Okayama.

3.5 HOURS LIVE FROM MACAU ON EUROSPORT

Eurosport will give massive coverage to the FIA WTCC final meeting in Macau next week.

3.5 hours of live broadcasting will be aired by Eurosport International and Eurosport Asia between Friday, November 19 and Sunday, November 21.

-  Qualifying : 08.45/09.45, Friday, November 19

-  Warm up : 01.00/01.30, Sunday, November 20

-  Race 1 & 2 : 04.45/06.45, Sunday, November 20

All times are CET.

COUNTDOWN: - 8 DAYS to the 2010 FIA WTCC Guia Race of Macau - 19th / 21st November, in Macau

-source: wtcc