SEAT officially presented yesterday its team for the 2008 World Touring Car Championship. The SEAT 2008 WTCC Team is composed of Jordi Gene, Tiago Monteiro, Yvan Muller, Rickard Rydell and Gabriele Tarquini. They will all compete in the SEAT Leon TDI WTCC. The SEAT 2008 WTCC Team will compete in 24 races at 12 meetings including Mexico's return to the calendar and the addition of a race in Japan.
SEAT Press Release:
SEAT Sport officially presents its team for the 2008 World Touring Car Championship
Members of the Spanish and European press were guests today at Madrid’s Zarzuela Hippodrome,
where SEAT presented its team of drivers competing for the title at the 2008 WTCC, which is scheduled to begin next 2 march on Brazil’s Curitiba circuit.
The five SEAT Sport drivers attended the event - Jordi Gené, Tiago Monteiro, Yvan Muller, Rickard Rydell and Gabriele Tarquini. They have been working hard for the past years and have all expressed their desire to win at the title, which would be the just reward for the excellent performance of the SEAT Leon TDI WTCC at the end of last year’s season and extensive work done over the winter.
According to SEAT Sport director Jaime Puig, “We want to be number one next year and so we have to win. We came close, so we know we can do it and that’s our goal”.
The current edition of the WTCC, which is one of the three world championships with the Formula 1 and the Rallies, begins next 2 March on Brazil’s Curitiba track and finishes in Macau on 16 November. The championship includes 24 races at 12 meetings, and features Mexico’s return to the calendar and the addition of a race in Japan, making the event even more international.
The SEAT Leon Eurocup, a new travelling companion
SEAT Sport took the opportunity to introduce the SEAT Leon Eurocup, a new competition with an equally new prize format. The participants will compete with the new Leon Eurocup, and the prize for the winner of each race will be to compete only once in the following WTCC race, so SEAT will be taking at least six drivers to the world championship.
With this new category and the prize structure, a driver can complete the whole touring car event cycle – participate at the national Supercopa, at the European and the World Championship, a unique opportunity in the history of competition racing that demonstrates SEAT’s commitment to touring car racing and how SEAT encourages newcomers to move all the way up to the highest category. The reward for the final winner of the Eurocup will be the chance to race at the European Cup, which SEAT won last year and the year before.
A new edition of the SEAT Leon Supercopa, the seventh in Spain and the sixth in England and Germany, was also presented, confirming the success of the event and of the Leon Supercopa car, 200 of which will be racing in several
European countries. Once again, the prize for the winner of the Spanish Supercopa will be the chance to participate at one WTCC race at the wheel of a SEAT Leon WTCC.
SEAT Leon TDI WTCC Specs
Engine
Type Turbocharged; 4-cylinder in line, transversally installed; distribution: two overhead
Distribution Two overhead camshafts, 16 valves.
Displacement 2.000 cc
Bore x stroke 81x95,5 mm
Maximum power 280 CV a 4000 rpm
Maximum torque 450 Nm a 2500 rpm
Lubrication Wet sump
Particle filter Dow Automotive
Transmission
Traction Front-wheel drive
Gearbox Hewland 6-speed, sequential shift
Clutch Twin-plate
Differential Mechanical limited slip differential
Chassis
Front suspension McPherson strut, coil springs, gas-filled dampers, anti-roll bar
Rear suspension multi-link axel, coil springs, gas-filled dampers, anti-roll bar
Steering Power assisted rack and pinion
Brakes
Type Not-assisted dual circuit system
Front brakes 4-piston calipers, 332 mm steel ventilated discs
Rear brakes 2-piston calipers, 280 mm steel discs
Dimensions
Length 4330 mm
Width 1849 mm
Wheelbase 2600 mm
Minimum weight 1170kg (including driver)
Rims / Tyres
Rims / Tyres 9x17 / Yokohama 240/610 R17
