2012 FIA World Touring Car Championship calendar confirmed

From 1 January 2012, points will be awarded for the five top-placed cars after Q2, in order to reward the performance of more drivers according to the following scale:

1st 5 points
2nd 4 points
3rd 3 points
4th 2 points
5th 1 point

In addition, the top 12 cars from Q1 will be retained for Q2, rather than the current 10, and the starting grid for Race 2 will be determined by reversing the top 10 drivers from Q2.

From 2012 tyres will be limited; 16 new tyres will be permitted for the first event in which a driver participates, and from the driver’s second participation 20 tyres will be allowed, with a maximum of 12 new. There will be a maximum of 16 rain tyres.

The 2011 regulations for engines and turbos will remain, namely the permitted use of one engine and six turbos per season per driver. However from 2012 when an additional engine is used, the driver will start from the back of the grid, unless this is the result of an accident and the penalty is waived by the Stewards. If more than six turbos are used, the driver will also start from the back of the grid.

2012 FIA World Touring Car Championship calendar:

11/03 * Monza
01/04 * Valencia
15/04 * Donington
29/04 * TBA Germany
06/05 * Hungaroring
20/05 * Marrakech
10/06 * Porto
22/07 * Curitiba
23/09 * Infineon Raceway
21/10 Suzuka
04/11 * Shanghai
18/11 * Macau

* Subject to confirmation of the ASN.