Preview: Title fight too close to call as the WTCC heads to Argentina

The European leg of the World Touring Car Championship came to a close last month, and the drivers’ championship battle is still as close as it’s ever been as the drivers, cars and teams head to South America for the Argentinian round this weekend.

The WTCC visits the Termas de Río Hondo circuit in northern Argentina, but for the first time, triple champion José María López, a five-time winner of the event, will be absent from the grid.

Two Argentinians will be there in his place however, with Esteban Guerrieri returning to the circuit where he made an impressive debut last season, and with Polestar Cyan Racing’s Néstor Girolami racing in front of his home fans in the WTCC for the first time.

“This is obviously my favourite race of the year with a fantastic atmosphere,” said Girolami. “My goal is definitely to reverse all the bad luck so far this season and get the results we deserve. My ambition is to qualify in the top three and win at least one of the races.”

Guerrieri, a race winner in the season opening round, is also likely to be competitive, running with no compensation weight on his Chevrolet RML Cruze after the latest adjustments. The friendly rival Tom Coronel will also be back in action after missing the last round in Portugal after a crash in practice, with the two Chevrolet drivers sharing data with the Campos and ROAL teams working together in a pseudo form of cooperation this season to take the fight to the manufacturer teams.

Neither Guerrieri or Girolami are considered to be in contention for the championship title however, which is where the main focus will be, with seven drivers now forming a breakaway group at the front, with the two Hondas of Tiago Monteiro and Norbert Michelisz, the two Volvos of Thed Björk and Nicky Catsburg, and the three Citroëns of Mehdi Bennani, Tom Chilton and Rob Huff, all vying for the drivers’ title.

“To be leading the drivers’ championship at the end of the European leg of the season was the aim, and we’ve achieved this,” said Monteiro, who is four points ahead of Volvo’s Thed Björk heading to Termas. “But you don’t win anything for leading at the half-way point, so the job now is to continue the strong performances we’ve put in race after race, starting in Argentina. I like the circuit at Termas de Río Hondo, and I’ve finished in the top six in seven of the eight WTCC races held there, so I’m heading in high on confidence to score a big haul of points and strengthen my position in the championship.”

Monteiro’s team-mate Norbert Michelisz is carrying momentum though after a tough start to the season, with the Hungarian certainly not ruled out of the championship.

“I’m half as many points away from the championship lead as I was two rounds ago, so I’m aiming to make the most of the momentum I’ve built up,” said Michelisz. “I was on the front row at Termas de Rio Honda last year and led the Main Race for a long time, so I can be pretty confident that Honda will bring a strong car to South America.”

The Argentinian circuit is, perhaps oddly, one where the Volvo team have more experience than many others, after the Swedish squad stayed around last year for a private test, when Néstor Girolami experienced the car for the first time, and contender Björk hopes that will play in their favour this weekend.

“My position in the championship is very good, and the results so far this year are as good as we could hope for,” he said. “We tested at this track after the race last year so I feel confident for the weekend. I think we are in for a classic, intense touring car battle for the title.”

The Volvos will be aided by the latest compensation weight changes, with the S60 TC1s allowed to drop 20kg of weight compared to the pace-setting Citroëns, run by the privateer Münnich Motorsport and Sébastien Loeb Racing teams. The stats are in the French cars favour however, as never has any car besides a Citroën C-Elysée won in Argentina during the Super 2000 TC1 era.

Entry List

No – Driver – Nat – Team – Car
3 – Tom Chilton – GBR – Sébastien Loeb Racing – Citroën C-Elysée WTCC
5 – Norbert Michelisz – HUN – Honda Racing Team JAS – Honda Civic WTCC
9 – Tom Coronel – NED – ROAL Motorsport – Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1
12 – Rob Huff – GBR – Münnich Motorsport – Citroën C-Elysée WTCC
18 – Tiago Monteiro – POR – Honda Racing Team JAS – Honda Civic WTCC
24 – Kevin Gleason – USA – RC Motorsport – Lada Vesta WTCC
25 – Mehdi Bennani – MOR – Sébastien Loeb Racing – Citroën C-Elysée WTCC
27 – John Filippi – FRA – Sébastien Loeb Racing – Citroën C-Elysée WTCC
34 – Ryo Michigami – JPN – Honda Racing Team JAS – Honda Civic WTCC
61 – Néstor Girolami – ARG – Polestar Cyan Racing – Volvo S60 TC1
62 – Thed Björk – SWE – Polestar Cyan Racing – Volvo S60 TC1
63 – Nicky Catsburg – NED – Polestar Cyan Racing – Volvo S60 TC1
66 – Zsolt Szabo – HUN – Zengő Motorsport – Honda Civic WTCC
68 – Yann Ehrlacher – FRA – RC Motorsport – Lada Vesta WTCC
86 – Esteban Guerrieri – ARG – Campos Racing – Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1
99 – Daniel Nagy – HUN – Zengő Motorsport – Honda Civic WTCC

Timetable

Saturday 15th July
08:30 – Free Practice 1
10:50 – Free Practice 2
15:30 – Qualifying
16:15 – MAC3

Sunday 16th July
15:00 – Opening Race (11 laps)
16:15 – Main Race (13 laps)

All times Argentinian Time (ART)

Compensation weight

Car – Weight – Ballast
Citroën C-Elysée WTCC – 1,180kg – +80kg
Volvo S60 TC1 – 1,160kg – +60kg
Honda Civic WTCC – 1,160kg – +60kg
Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 – 1,100kg – +0kg
Lada Vesta WTCC – 1,100kg – +0kg