ADVAN / MOTOR SPORTS [WTCC 2007 / Round 17 and 18]

With only three events to go, the seventeenth and eighteenth rounds of the 2007 FIA World Touring Car Championship were held at Brands Hatch, Great Britain.

As the season entered its last stages, it was natural that the spotlight was on the course of the championship. Regarding the drivers' title, Augusto Farfus Jr. was in the top slot with 69 points, followed by reigning champion Andy Priaulx with only a 1 point gap. Third in the standings was Yvan Muller of SEAT who had 56 points and a chance to move up.

One of the other topics in the paddock was the calendar for the next year. According to the 2008 provisional calendar of the WTCC which was released before the British round, Mexico and Japan would be new additions to the series. While the venue of the Mexican event is to be announced later, the Japanese one will be held at Okayama Kokusai Circuit (which hosted F1 Grand Prix races two times in the past) as the 21st ant 22nd rounds and penultimate event before the series final at Macau. With ADVAN being the official tire supplier of the WTCC for the 2008 season again, the first ever WTCC race in Japan is going to be a very important event from a historical perspective in Japanese motor sport and furthermore, many motor sport fans in Japan will be looking forward to the race with the great anticipation.

The president of the FIA, Max Mosley, visited the paddock on the qualifying day and complimented the WTCC, stating that the championship has been highly successful and achieving international expansion with active evolution looking into the future. His words could be understood as appreciation for WTCC's approach to the environmental friendliness by encouraging the participation of diesel engine cars and bio-fueled cars, the appeal to the worldwide motor sport fans by TV broadcasting and the plan of the first ever event in Japan.

Alain Menu of Chevrolet marked the fastest lap time in the qualifying session. He was followed by James Thompson driving an Alfa Romeo 156. Colin Turkington, who made a spot appearance in Team RAC's BMW, was third.

In Race 1 (the seventeenth round) on Sunday, Menu got away from the pole position and kept the top slot throughout the race. With his fourth win of the season, he became the winningest driver this year so far. Following the Swiss, Thompson and Turkington finished in the same order as the qualifying session and got on the podium.

Race 2 (the eighteenth round) was a bit more eventful. The point leader Farfus, who finished the first race pointless, was hit by Menu at the final corner and crashed into the concrete wall, resulting in his retirement. Thus he had to leave the circuit without adding any points in both races, which was a big upset in the point situation. After a prolonged Safety Car period, Priaulx, who started from the second grid, took the top slot and won his home race. Felix Porteiro of BMW Team Italy-Spain finished the race in second to form a one-two finish for the German marque.

After the podium finish in Race 1, British Touring Car Championship regular, Turkington showed his speed again in Race 2. While his vivid orange-coloured car was quite distinctive by itself, over 30,000 spectators were fascinated by his superb performance. Started from the sixth grid, he skillfully overtook the regular drivers of the WTCC and marked the fastest lap time of Race 2 in the closing stage to prove his racecraft. Although he just missed the podium by a narrow margin, the 25-year old Briton certainly displayed his ability on the home soil.

Consequently, in the drivers' championship, Priaulx increased his point tally to 81 points. As Farfus couldn't earn any point in these two races, Priaulx now leads Farfus with a 12 point gap and the chances are good to Priaulx's back to back title crown.