A ‘mini Nürburgring’ challenge awaits the Citroën World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) drivers at the Vila Real circuit this weekend, as the championship heads to the second street circuit of the season.
The event in Portugal is the second new circuit on the WTCC calendar this season and like the Nürburgring Nordschleife in May presents a significant challenge to the world’s top touring car drivers.
Taking place on the streets of Vila Real, a small town in northern Portugal with a population of 50,000, the drivers will be presented with a fast and flowing challenge.
“It is a very fast circuit with an average speed in excess of 150kph” said Yvan Muller, who has beaten title rival José María López in five of the past seven races. “In contrast to what we experienced at Porto, I am worried that it will not be conducive for overtaking because of all the trail braking done, while entering the fast corners.
“Ordinarily, we think the pole position represents 50% of the work towards victory. In Vila Real, we will be more than 80%!”
López, who leads the championship by 39 points from Muller, believes the circuit has much in common with the legendary Nürburgring.
“With its undulating profile, this circuit reminds me of a miniature Nordschleife” said López. “There are corners that require a ton of commitment from the drivers and especially the first of two left handers done flat out that follows the longest straight. We should go through there at more than 220 kph, on the razor’s edge! But it is sure that it will be hard to overtake…”
Sébastien Loeb, who took pole position last time out in France, shares the view of his team-mates that overtaking will be challenging.
“You have to ask the right questions to know if it’s preferable to aim for Q3 and the outright pole or rather concentrate on tenth place in qualifying for the race two inverted grid,” explained Loeb. “The circuit should be a proper driving challenge, but I also regret the absence of a passing zone.”
Meanwhile Chinese driver Ma Qing Hua explained that there are many unknowns to the track, which has only been revived for the 2015 season having first held car racing in 1931. As such, little data exists in the team’s simulator about the exact characteristics of the 4.775 km circuit.
“We learned a bit about the circuit on the simulator, but we don’t know what to expect when we get there, because it likely that the FIA will demand the modification of certain corners for the homologation of the track”, added Ma. “Nevertheless, I believe it will be very hard to keep the car on the track, especially on such a bumpy surface.
“I also think that the breaks will suffer a lot, due to the track but also the high ambient temperatures. It will be an interesting weekend!”