2005 FIA WTCC to Start in Monza

17 October 2004

The FIA World Motor Sport Council has released the new provisional calendar for the 2005 FIA World Touring Car Championship, made up of ten race meetings.

Compared to the provisional calendar which was released at the end of June, Mexico has replaced Argentina, but where the Argentine round was scheduled as the season’s opener, the Mexican race will be held at the end of June. As in this year's ETCC, the championship will start in Monza.

The Mexican meeting will take place in Puebla, on a racetrack that is going to be extensively rebuilt. Other new venues for are Istanbul – the same racetrack that will host the first Formula 1 Turkish Grand Prix – and Macau, which has been confirmed as the closing date of the season.

Other features regarding the FIA WTCC approved by the World Council were the confirmation of the current FIA ETCC race format (two back-to-back 50-km races per event), the obligation for the drivers to wear the FIA approved Hans head restraint from 1st January 2006, and the establishment of a Permanent Bureau of the Touring Car Commission in charge to prevent cost escalation in the Championship. The members of this Bureau are Jonathan Ashman (President of the FIA Touring Car Commission), Gabriele Cadringher (President of the FIA Manufacturers’ Commission) and Jacques Berger (President of the FIA Technical Commission).

See provisional series calendar for FIA World Touring Car Championship 2005

Related Story 17.07.2004 - ETCC Becomes WTCC from 2005