Testing at Monza: Jiří Janák is ready for the first FIA WTCC race |
- 23. 3. 2006, Monza, Italy -Held at the famous Italian racing circuit, the official testing event before the opening of the World Touring Car Championship was attended by most of the drivers that had entered for this year of the races. Each of them went through six one-hour series organized in two days of testing. On the first day, in the fine, incessant rain, the teams had to use wet-surface tyres; on the second day, in the sunny, spring weather, the surface of the track was dry. Jiří Janák, in particular on the wet surface, proved that he will not fall behind the world's top-ranking racing drivers and, in the category of non-factory drivers, he even ranked among those fastest at that stage of the testing. The entire circuit is divided into three sections in which the time is taken down. And, for example, in the course of the second test series, in the second circuit section, Janák clocked the tenth fastest time overall; in the category of non-factory drivers, he was even second, behind the Italian driver Stefano D´Asto (Proteam Motorsport, BMW 320i)! At the end of the testing at Monza, Jiří Janák said: 'The fast Monza circuit suits me. I took part in a race here in the autumn of the last year, with a Renault Megane car, but it is only now, with the Alfa, that I can compete with the best drivers and cars. Naturally, the wet track slightly helps to reduce the differences between factory and non-factory drivers: on the second day, on the dry surface, the differences increased. We are still looking for the optimum car set-up. The cooperation with the Italian mechanics who are preparing our car for the races is excellent. I had the opportunity to perform here a rather high amount of test drives, and so I believe that our start in the FIA WTCC races will be successful.' 35 drivers from 13 countries altogether have entered for the first race. Out of this number, 17 drivers are included in the category of factory teams (Seat, BMW, Chevrolet, Alfa Romeo), and 18 drivers will be running in the category of private teams: sixteen of them have entered for all of the races, while two of them, Jiří Janák, with the Alfa Romeo 156 S 2000, and Jens Edman, of Sweden, with the Peugeot 407, will be contesting only selected races of the series. However, the number of drivers and car makes may still increase in the course of the season: for example, LADA cars will join in only in the course of the season. |
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