The fourth race meeting of the season will take place at Budapest’s Hungaroring this week, marking the WTCC’s first visit to Hungary and its 4.4-km circuit that is home to the Formula One Grand Prix since 1986.
However, the Hungaroring had hosted once the FIA European Touring Car Championship in 2001 when Fabrizio Giovanardi (Alfa Romeo) and Roberto Colciago (Audi A4) shared victories in the Super Touring class, while Duncan Huisman (BMW) won the Super Production race.
The World Championship stops in Budapest after Chevrolet and Rob Huff have nearly monopolised the attention in the three previous events. The twisty layout of the Hungarian track is due to suit better to the SEAT and BMW cars than Monza’s long straights.
It is still uncertain whether Gabriele Tarquini and Tiago Monteiro, the fastest drivers in the SEAT patrol, will swap from the current 2.0 TDi to the 1.6-litre turbo engine developed by SUNRED in cooperation with Lehmann Motorentechnik.
At the same time the new BMW 320 TC seems to have the potential to claim its first race win. Tom Coronel and Norbert Michelisz have great expectations to shine in Budapest, especially the young Hungarian who came close to a podium finish in Monza and will race in front of his enthusiastic fans.