All set for blast off in Braga

The focus of European touring car racing switches to Portugal this weekend, with Danish champion Michel Nykjær seeking a hattrick of ETC Cup titles. Though the newly crowned DTC champion will have to hold off touring car ace James Thompson and rising SEAT star Norbert Michelisz, if he is to win his third consecutive European Touring Car Cup, as the event appears to suffer from a low number of entries.

The fifth running of the ETC Cup returns to Portugal, and the Circuito Vasco Sameiro at Braga, but while there is as ever a range of nationalities and machinery taking part, the overall entry is down on previous editions, though perhaps ultimately stronger in quality, rather than quantity.

With entries eligible from all the main European championships running to S2000 and Super Production rules providing drivers have driven 50% of events, a vast number of entrants is possible, but in 2009 the ETC Cup looks to have its lowest ever field in the top class.

Past events have seen up to 26 S2000 cars entered, but only 13 machines are currently scheduled to take the start in Braga, unsurprising considering the current economic climate afflicting participation across Europe. With many STCC teams put off by the distance to travel (the sole entrant from Sweden is Tomas Engström), over a month after their domestic series finished, and arguments that for BTCC and DTC runners the race comes too long after their respective season finales too.

The long overland trek to Portugal also seems to have ruled out many entries from the Russian and Baltic championships, which have previously supported the ETC Cup, while any potential entries from the WTCC have their cars heading for the Far East, ruling out their participation.

The good news though comes in the form of Bamboo Engineering becoming the first BTCC team to enter the competition, since SEAT Sport UK entered Jason Plato in 2006 (though sometime BTCC entrant GR Asia have regularly entered cars in recent seasons).

The runners

The Danish championship provides the key entries; with reigning ETC Cup champion Nykjær at the wheel of his Chevrolet Lacetti, the most popular car in this year’s event, with five versions entered.

Nykjær has won the previous two editions of the event, but this time will have to overcome Thompson in the Honda Accord Euro-R, in which he went close to winning the Danish title. The long (almost one kilometre) main straight should suit the powerful Accord, while Thompson is a threat in any touring car race.

Hartmann Honda also take Per Poulsen to Portugal, though the DTC Independent Cup Champion will be in rear gunner mode for his teammate, who aims to become the second British winner of the ETC Cup.

“The goal is to help James take the title,” Poulsen explained. “That is my job, and after that I just have to do my best. I think that we have the team needed to do so, so the only thing that can fail is me.

“But I will do anything I can to hang onto James. He must be the biggest favourite, even though I know that Michel has won it the last two years.”

Despite, like many of the competitors, being unfamiliar to the track, team boss Hans Hartmann is confident in Thompson’s ability to come out on top, and reward the team for making the lengthy trip to Braga.

“We all saw what James could do last year, where he on his first day ever on Jyllandsringen managed to set the fastest time, so he should be able to cope with this track as well.

”Per will get the challenge of his life, but I believe that he will grow with the task at hand. He will get thrown out at the deep end, and then we have to see what he can do. He might get a shock, but usually that only makes you stronger.”

With neither Perfection Racing nor RML having run at Braga before, Nykjær’s Lacetti won’t have the benefit of pre-existing setups, tightening the battle at the front. The Dane is clearly the number one Lacetti, although Vaulkhard is capable of running at the front, providing he avoids the accidents that have marred his season so far.

The other Lacetti that should be towards the front is for touring car veteran Vincent Radermecker, with the former Belgian and German champion leading the Maurer entry. In 2006 in a much stronger field, the Belgian came tenth, also in a Chevrolet, so expect to see him further towards the front in 2009.

Both Bamboo and Maurer pair their lead drivers with a local expert. The Swiss team race José Monroy, who currently leads the PTCC’s fourth tier competition in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX, while Bamboo pair Vaulkhard with PTCC front-runner Duarte Fèlix da Costa thanks to support from Chevrolet Portugal. Da Costa has already won at Braga this season, but it’s hard to see either him or Monroy having much of an impact, though Bamboo boss Richard Coleman rates his driver as “a dark horse” for victory.

Francisco Carvalho is another Portuguese entry, but he admits he’ll be handicapped by unfamiliarity with the SEAT Leon TFSI as he makes his S2000 debut. The main hopes for a strong domestic performance lie with PTCC leader José Pedro Fontes, who’ll be on the startline in his attractively liveried Vodafone BMW 320si, and could well equal the best ETC Cup performance by a Portuguese driver – fourth by Cesar Campanico in 2006.

The other two S2000 BMW’s are also likely to be towards the front, in the hands of WTCC regular Franz Engstler and Estonian teammate, Procar runner, Urmas Kitsing. Team boss Engstler is the pick of the duo, and one of only a handful of competitors with WTCC experience.

The sole STCC runner Engström, is targeting a podium, and having twice before finished on the rostrum (second in 2007 and third in 2006), should well be capable of repeating the feat. The Cup also gives a chance to see his Accord go up against those of the Hartmann team. A relatively late entry, Engström is emblematic of the problems facing many European touring car drivers, saying, “We have received great support from our partners, we did not have the budget for it after the STCC final. But thanks to our partners, we get the chance to go out and represent Sweden.”

The Swede finished eighth in the STCC this season, but enters the ETC Cup for the fifth consecutive year, making him familiar with what’s needed from the dual race format.

The wildcard

The dark horse in all of this is Hungarian youngster Michelisz, who has won his place thanks to sealing the SEAT Leon Eurocup. The 25-year-old appears in the Sunred Engineering run Leon TDI that he drove to much acclaim at Brands Hatch earlier this summer.

Michelisz qualified in the top ten for only his second WTCC event, before an accident in the opening round ruined his weekend. A victory in the supporting Eurocup round (one of five he won on his way to the title) made up for this, and now Michelisz knows that an impressive performance this weekend against established names like Thompson could well stand him in good steed for a 2010 drive.

Last season, given a similar opportunity, Oscar Nogués took second, so the pressure is for Michelisz to equal, or better this performance.

Super Production and S1600

In addition to the main S2000 focus, secondary categories also allow for entries from Super Production models and S1600 cars, with the battle in the former of these likely to be very close.

Currently just three drivers are entered for the Super Production category, but that (short) list does include both the Russian and Baltic series’ champions. Having won the Russian title in a Opel Astra, Mikhail Zasadych switches to BMW power for the Braga event, while his Sport Garage teammate, youngster Nikolay Karamishev, stays with the VW Golf that he drove to fourth in the championship, taking one win on the way.

The second year of the S1600 competition so far sees a disappointing one entry, from last year’s runner up Carsten Seifert in his Ford Fiesta ST. Unless there are any late entries, Dresden born Seifert should secure the title comfortably, to add to his domestic triumphs in one make Fiesta and Lupo championships earlier in the decade.

Seifert completed a part season in Division Two of the ADAC Procar championship, coming eighth, but looks to have little opposition in Braga.

The races

Last time the ETC Cup was held in Portugal, at Estoril in 2006, rain marred both races, and looking at the weather forecast for this weekend, rain looks likely to once again play at part, making predictions something of a lottery.

Of course Nykjær recently secured his DTC title in damp conditions, while Thompson’s experience means he too should be able to cope with any conditions thrown at him.

Drivers will face two 30-minute practice sessions on Saturday, ahead of another half hour session to decide the grid for the first of Sunday’s races. A 15-minute warm-up precedes two back-to-back 50km / 17 lap races, with the grid of the second determined by the results of race one, with the top eight in reverse order.

The top eight in each race are awarded points (ten down to one), with the driver with the most points taking home the European Touring Car Cup.

Further additions to the entry list could come in the next 48 hours, particularly from Portugal where the domestic championship doesn’t finish until November, though the quality of any such entries is highly unlikely to match the likes of Thompson, Nykjær and Michelisz who stand out as the favourites for victory.

For full coverage of the practice sessions and the two races, stay tuned to TouringCarTimes over the weekend.

A provisional entry list for the 2009 ETC Cup can be found here.

Previous S2000 Winners
2005 Vallelunga (Ita), Richard Goransson (BMW 320i)
2006 Estoril (Por), Ryan Sharp (SEAT Leon TFSI)
2007 Adria (Ita), Michael Nykjær (SEAT Leon TFSI)
2008 Salzburging (Aut), Michael Nykjær (Chevrolet Lacetti)

Previous Super Production Winners
2005 Vallelunga (Ita), Lorenzo Falessi (Alfa Romeo 147SP)
2006 Estoril (Por), Alexander Lvov (Honda Civic Type-R)
2007 Adria (Ita), Aleksey Basov (Honda Civic Type-R)
2008 Salzburging (Aut), Fabio Fabiani (BMW 320i)

Previous S1600 Winner
2008 Salzburgring (Aut), Ralf Martin (Ford Fiesta ST)