Next stop: Zolder, Belgium

The 7th and 8th rounds of the 2010 FIA WTCC will take place at Zolder next week.

This event marks the championship’s first visit to the 4-km racetrack, that was home to the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix between 1973 and 1982. It will also be the WTCC’s return to Belgium after its only visit, in 2005 at Spa-Francorchamps.

Back in 2001, Zolder hosted one meeting of the reborn FIA European Touring Car Championship that was split in two separate categories.

Gabriele Tarquini (Honda Accord) and Fabrizio Giovanardi (Alfa Romeo 156) shared victories in the Super Touring championship, while Duncan Huisman (BMW 320i) won the Super Production race.

The Chevrolet Cruze and the SEAT León TDI remain the heaviest cars of the field. Like in the previous event at Monza, in Zolder they will again carry the maximum compensation weight of 40 kilos.

The compensation weight has been determined by the lap times set in Brazil, Morocco and Italy. According to this calculation, the León TDI emerged as the fastest car, one tenth faster than the Cruze and half-a-second faster than the BMW 320si. The German cars, that ran in Monza with no compensation weight on board, have been imposed 20 extra kilos for the Belgian event.

The Chevrolet Lacetti and Kristian Poulsen’s BMW (an old model) will have 20kg deducted from their minimum weight, while Pierre-Yves Corthals’ petrol-powered SEAT León TFSI will also run on the maximum compensation weight because Zolder marks the first appearance of this model car during the current season.

Compensation weight Zolder :
+ 40 kg SEAT León TDI, Chevrolet Cruze LT, SEAT León TFSI
+ 20 kg BMW 320si
- 20 kg Chevrolet Lacetti, BMW 320si (old model)