Nykjær, Bennani and Oriola in the European cup

Michel Nykjær, Mehdi Bennani and Pepe Oriola are among the favourite drivers who will be fighting to win the FIA European Touring Car Cup this weekend at the Austrian Salzburgring.

Bennani will drive a BMW 320si run by Proteam Racing, Oriola will compete in a SUNRED Engineering SEAT León TDi, while Nykjær – who had already won the European title twice in 2007 and 2008 – will make his debut in the Chevrolet Cruze LT of Chevrolet Motorsport Sweden.

The level of the field of the Super 2000 class in the seventh edition of the ETC Cup is high and promises exciting and close competition.

Other major contenders are double European and British Touring Car champion Fabrizio Giovanardi in the very same Hartmann Racing Honda Accord that James Thompson drove to win the ETC Cup in 2009 and 2010, experienced Swedish racer Thomas Engström (Honda Accord), German ADAC Procar race winner Jens-Guido Weimann (BMW 320si) and multiple Turkish Touring Car champion Ibrahim Okyay (BMW 320si).

A fourth WTCC driver, Fabio Fabiani, is racing at the Salzburgring in the Super Production class with a BMW 320i.