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16.06.2009
History and background - Brno.The “Automotodrom Brno” – also known as “Masaryk Ring” in the Czech Republic – is a regular in international touring car racing. The impressive race track, which follows the contours of the impressive landscape, was a venue for the inaugural World Touring Car Championship, held back in 1987. In the years prior to the WTCC’s return to the circuit, Brno staged several European Touring Car Championship events. |
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| BMW has fond memories of Brno. In eight of the 12 World and European Touring Car Championship rounds contested by the manufacturer, a BMW driver has been the winner. In both 2003 and 2004, Andy Priaulx won a European Championship race there. Jörg Müller has claimed two WTCC race wins.
In the past years, the two Czech WTCC rounds were particularly good for BMW Team Italy-Spain: On the 5.402-kilometre track, Félix Porteiro (ES) celebrated his maiden WTCC win at the wheel of the BMW 320si WTCC in 2007. Last year, Alessandro Zanardi (IT) won the first race after scoring his first WTCC pole position. The Italian narrowly missed out on a dominant double victory. But by finishing second in race two, Zanardi still put the icing on the cake of his most successful weekend in the World Touring Car Championship. The Automotodrom is one of the faster circuits on the WTCC calendar, and is a classic, undulating track. The corners flow into each other, and the track surface is flat, thanks to recent resurfacing. The drivers must master numerous left-right combinations. After the start-finish straight, the circuit descends for almost three kilometres. The subsequent climb requires a high degree of torque and engine performance. The track features a long straight with a length of 636 metres, a total of 14 corners and inclines of up to eight percent. After Macau, Brno is the second-longest track on the 2009 WTCC calendar. The circuit looks back on more than 70 years of history. Originally, it was a 29.1-kilometre natural circuit on the public roads from Brno to Prague. Today’s facilities were opened in 1986. With 370,000 inhabitants, Brno is the second-biggest city in the Czech Republic and the capital of the Southern Mähren region. Brno’s history began back in 1021 when the castle bearing the same name was built. In 1243, Wenzel I founded the city that is well-known today. The two WTCC races will both be held over 10 laps – a total distance of 54.02 kilometres. The first race begins on Sunday at 12:50hrs local time (11:50hrs BST). Race two gets underway at 15:05hrs (14:05hrs BST). |
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