Photo: WTCC Media

Brazil and France could feature on 2014 WTCC calendar

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The FIA World Touring Car Championship could revisit Brazil after a one year absence and France for the first time since 2009 in the 2014 season.

The calendar for next season is yet to be ratified by the World Motor Sport Council, but the principle is the same as this year’s with the Championship starting in Europe, and then travelling to the Americas before finishing off in Asia with the season finale at Macau in 2014.

The country which is set to lose its race next season is Portugal. This year the race was held at Porto, which tradionally hosts the event every two years, but with financial issues at Porto’s alternate, the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, there is set to be no Portuguese round next season, and so its place on the calendar is likely to be taken by Curitiba, Brazil, creating a South American double-header along with Río Hondo, Argentina.

“We have a request to consider Brazil, and so I am fixing a meeting at the beginning of August after Argentina,” said WTCC general manager Marcello Lotti. “We think we will find a way to have Brazil and Argentina back-to-back.”

The 2014 season is set to start later than it has in recent years to allow more time for the development of cars to the new Super 2000 Appendix J 2014 (provisional regulation name) rules next year, with the season likely to begin in mid-April rather than the usual date in March.

With French interests represented by the potential four-time champion Yvan Muller, and with the addition of Sébastien Loeb and Citroën in 2014, Lotti also confirms that a return to France is also under consideration, but that the calendar will probably remain at 12 races.

“We are discussing (France) for next year,” he confirmed. “We will look to stay on 12 races, but a final decision hasn’t been taken. We have time until September to take this final decision.”

The WTCC raced in France from 2005 to 2009, racing at Magny-Cours until 2007 when it switched to Pau. A potential French round will likely come at the expense of one of the six races which take place on the European continent, with the Salzburgring round in Austria believed to be the most likely event to be removed from the calendar.