Despite hosting its inaugural car race in 1931,  WTCC Race of Portugal will be the first FIA world championship event to take place in Vila Real, a picturesque city in northern Portugal 100 kilometres east of Porto. And it will be a street race with a difference with the 4.775-kilometre layout featuring an exciting blend of twists, turns, climbs and descents. One driver in particular aiming for success in Vila Real is Tiago Monteiro. The Porto resident is a WTCC race winner and Formula One podium finisher and heads the Honda challenge alongside Gabriele Tarquini from Italy. Although the 38-year-old watched racing in Vila Real as a child, like his WTCC rivals, he has no experience of the demanding street circuit, known as the ‘Nürburgring of the South’ due to its similarities to the famous Nordschleife in Germany. With 14 rounds run in 2015, the chase for WTCC success remains tightly poised. José María López might top the standings by an increased margin of 39 points following his fifth victory of 2015 in France last weekend, but French Citroën team-mates Sébastien Loeb and Yvan Muller have done plenty of winning this season and will again provide formidable opposition to Argentina’s reigning world champion. Muller was one of two winners when Portugal last hosted the WTCC in 2013 at the Boavista street circuit in Porto. LADA driver Rob Huff, the 2012 WTCC champion, has forged a reputation as the ultimate street racer with 10 round-the-houses victories to his name. Hungarian Norbert Michelisz will be a contender in his Zengő Motorsport Honda, while Argentina’s Néstor Girolami is back on WTCC duty having scored on his debut in Slovakia last month.

CIRCUITO INTERNACIONAL DE VILA REAL

Lap distance: 4.7751km

Race distance: 2 x 13 laps / 62.075km

Location: Av. Carvalho Araújo 7, 5000-651 Vila Real

Press officer: Rute Vieira, comunicacao@fpak.pt, +351 912202800

Airports: Porto, 101km

Lap records: Qualifying: To be established

Race: To be established

WTCC RACE OF PORTUGAL ROLL OF HONOUR

DID YOU KNOW?

15 June 1931 – Motor racing comes to Vila Real for the first time. Gaspar Sameiro and Ercilio Barbosa take victory in a Ford Model A.

19 June 2005 – Tiago Monteiro, now a frontrunner in the WTCC with Honda, scores his one and only Formula One podium by finishing third in the US Grand Prix at Indianapolis.

8 July 2007 – History is made when the revived Boavista circuit in Porto hosts the inaugural WTCC Race of Portugal. Alain Menu and Andy Priaulx come out on top in the two races.

WTCC TIMETABLE

Thursday 9 July

14.00: Pre-event press conference (Media Centre)

14.40 – 16.00: Drivers’ parade from WTCC paddock to City Council building

16.15 – 16.45: Autograph session (City Council building)

Friday 10 July

08.00 – 20.00: Media accreditation open (located at the Teatro de Vila Real)

08.00 – 20.00: Media Centre open (Teatro de Vila Real)

11.30 – 12.00: WTCC Testing

17.30 – 18.30: WTCC Happy Hour (WTCC VIP Club, WTCC paddock)

Saturday 11 July

08.00 – 20.00: Media Accreditation Centre open

08.00 – 20.00: Media Centre open

09.10 – 09.40: WTCC Free Practice 1

12.00 – 12.30: WTCC Free Practice 2

15.15 – 15.45: WTCC Qualifying Q1

15.50 – 16.05: WTCC Qualifying Q2

16.10 (pit lane opens): WTCC Qualifying Q3

16.40 (approx.): WTCC Post-qualifying press conference (Media Centre)

Sunday 12 July

08.00 – 12.00: Media Accreditation Centre open

08.00-until the last journalist leaves: Media Centre open

10.50: Pit lane open

11.00: Pit lane closed

11.10: Five-minute board displayed

11.15: WTCC Race 1 (13 laps)

11.50 (approx.): WTCC podium race 1

12.10 (approx.): WTCC post-race 1 press conference (Media Centre)

14.30 – 15.15: Autograph session (Manufacturers’ hospitality paddock)

16.45: WTCC refuelling time starts

16.50: WTCC repair time starts

16.55: Pit lane open

17.05: Pit lane closed

17.10: Five-minute board displayed

17.15: WTCC Race 2 (13 laps)

17.50 (approx.): WTCC podium race 2

18.10 (approx.): WTCC post-race 2 press conference (Media Centre)

FIA OFFICIALS

Chairman of the Stewards: Silvia Bellot (ESP)

2nd International Steward: Wan Heping (CHN)

Race Director: Miroslav Bartos (CZE)

Assistant to the Race Director: Rui Marques (PRT)

Medical Delegate: Jacques Tropenat (FRA)

Technical Delegate: Manuel Leal (ESP)

Press Delegate: Richard Rodgers (GBR)

Incident Camera Delegate: Lionel Bérard (FRA)

Safety Car Driver: Bruno Correia (PRT)

FIA Coordinator: Olivier Steveny (BEL)

FIA WORLD TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP CLASSIFICATIONS

The provisional classification will be available at www.fiawtcc.com

FIA WTCC RACE OF PORTUGAL

Results of each track session will be available at www.fiawtcc.com