European Touring Car Cup Preview

This weekend the second edition of the FIA European Touring Car Cup will be held at Estoril, Portugal. Last year the race was held at Vallelunga, Italy, which saw Richard Göransson taking the title. The Swede will not run this year but there are a lot of other drivers, hungry for the title.

Three different titles will be awarded – One for drivers in the Super 2000 category, one for drivers in the Super Production category and finally one title for the FIA Touring Car Nations Cup. The race weekend consists of two test sessions (Friday) and two practice sessions (Saturday) with qualifying on Saturday. The two races of 50 km races take place on Sunday. The grid fro race two is determined by the first race results, with top eight in reverse order. The start procedure is standing. Eurosport will broadcast the entire even live.

28 drivers from 13 European countries are represented on the line up behind the wheel of 10 different makes. One driver is yet to be revealed – Zerocinque Motorsport’s driver of their BMW S2000. Rumours indicate that Zerocinque will have an Italian driver.

There are 17 cars in the S2000 category and many are up for the win. TouringCarTimes have selected five drivers that we think will be the strongest contenders for the FIA European Touring Car Cup title of 2006.

Alessandro Zanardi – BMW Team Italy-Spain

Alessandro Zanardi came very close to winning the ETC Cup last year. The Italian won the first race, but got it all wrong in the second with a couple of incident and off track excursions. Zanardi was classified third in the total.

For this year Zanardi is looking just as strong as last year, if not even stronger. The results in the World Touring Car Championship are better this year, with one win and two podium finishes, compared to last year. The Italian is more comfortable with his handicap system in the car and is one of the, if not the, strongest contenders for the title this year.

Carl Rosenblad – Elgh Motorsport

Carl Rosenblad has experienced a though season in the Swedish Touring Car Championship this year. He returned from the WTCC after finishing fourth in the independents championship. The aim for this year was to win the STCC, but after a struggling season he finished 12:th with a second place as best result.

For the ETC Cup – Rosenblad is out for “revenge” after the poor STCC season. The BMW 320si E90 is a strong car and should perform well in the ETC Cup opposition.

“The competition will be very though as always with a very strong field. I think Zanardi and Plato will be the hottest contenders for the title, but there are more strong BMW’s and SEAT’s. A podium would be very nice, but a win would also compensate for the dreadful STCC-season,” Rosenblad said.

Tomas Engström – Engström Motorsport

Tomas Engström from the Swedish Touring Car Championship participated in the event last year. Sadly for him the race only lasted a few laps before he was out after a crash. This year, according to Engström, things will change.

“I am really looking forward to the races in Portugal. The car is in perfect condition and the team is well prepared for the job. We are going for it. The goal is a top five position for sure, even if I have higher hopes than that,” Engström said with a smile.

The Honda Accord is expected to perform well on the Estoril circuit which suits powerful cars.

Robin Rudholm – West Coast Racing

Robin Rudholm is driving for the defending ETC Cup champions, West Coast Racing, who took the title with Göransson last year. Göransson left the team for this season in STCC and was replaced by Rudholm who finished seventh in the STCC.

“I felt after the STCC-finale that I wasn’t finished with the season,” Rudholm said.
“I am glad to get the opportunity to get more driving done and to meet the international competition in ETC Cup. We think Estoril will suit both the car and me very well. I have prepared my self by studying the track,” Rudholm said.

Dark Horses

There are a number of drivers and teams that can provide a surprise in the race and are worthy of an extra look-out: Felix Porteiro in BMW Italy-Spain’s second car, Mattias Andersson from the STCC with his Alfa Romeo 156, the so far unannounced second SEAT Sport UK driver and the two GR Asia SEAT Léon of Sharp and O’Brien.

ETC Cup timetable (local time – CET -1)

Friday 20:th October:

12.00 – 13.00 Testing
16.00 – 17.00 Testing

Saturday 21:st October:

10.00 – 10.30 Free Practice 1
12.45 – 13.15 Free Practice 2
15.30 – 16.00 Qualifying

Sunday 22:nd October:

10.45 – 11.00 Warm Up
15.25 – 15.50 Race One
16.35 – 17.00 Race Two

The entry list is found here