Photo: WTCC Media

Qualifying moved to Sunday for WTCC debut in Beijing

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Qualifying for the forthcoming round of the FIA World Touring Car Championship will take place on Sunday morning due to a logistics-driven change to the timetable, with the usual Friday test session taking place on Saturday.

Due to the late arrival of the Championship’s cars and assets from Argentina, the more compact than usual schedule at the Beijing Goldenport circuit on the weekend of October 4th-5th will see the 30 minute test session, often referred to by the drivers as “FP0”, take place at 08:10 CST (local time).

The first free practice session, where the tyre allocation rules come into affect, will take place at 12:50, with the second and final practice session at 17:50.

The three-part qualifying format will then start off the Sunday’s timetable at 8:30, before the two 26 lap heats take place back-to-back from 14:50 CST (8:50am CET).

The WTCC will be supported by the China Touring Car Championship and the Volkswagen Polo Cup China series during the first of a double-header in the region, with the Championship then moving on to the Shanghai International Circuit the following weekend.

Timetable

Saturday 4th October

08:10 – Testing
12:50 – Free Practice 1
17:20 – Free Practice 2

Sunday 5th October

08:30 – Qualifying
14:50 – Race 1 (26 Laps)
15:50 – Race 2 (26 Laps)

All times CST (China Standard Time) – CET -6 hours, BST -7 hours.