For the ninth consecutive year the FIA World Touring Car Championship’s season will come to an end at Macau, where rounds 23 and 24 will take place next week, on November 17.
The thirty-four entries for the WTCC Guia Race of Macau represent a new record for the World Touring Car Championship.
Only once in the past did the series have a more cars: thirty-five at Monza in 2006; but then part of the grid consisted of competitors of the Italian Touring Car Championship that was racing together with the WTCC.
The consistent increase of the cars in the three latest events – 29 in Japan, 31 in China, 34 in Macau – was due to the entries of Asian competitors.
Which proves how much touring car competition and the WTCC are becoming more and more popular in the Far East.Just like in the previous years, WTCC drivers will hit the track for the first time on Thursday, for a 30-minute test session at 13.50. Then on Friday they will take part in two 30-minute free practice sessions at 8.30 and 12.15, before competing in the qualifying session at 15.35. As usual this will be split in two parts and run on the longer format used on the street circuits: Q1 of 30 minutes, instead of 20, Q2 of 15 minutes instead of 10.
On Sunday the 15-minute warm up at 8.30 will be followed by two 9-lap back-to-back races at 11.15 and 12.20.
Only three of this year’s competitors have been able to win a WTCC race at Macau: Rob Huff for a record five times, Norbert Michelisz and Yvan Muller one time apiece in 2010 and 2012 respectively.