WTCC 2005: Final conclusions

[FIRE]

First some figures from the FIA WTCC website:

• On the sporting side 53 drivers, from 20 different countries and four continents took part in at least one championship meeting.
• They were at the wheel of cars built by eight manufacturers and made an average participation rate of 28.4 competitors per event.
• The victories obtained by Augusto Farfus and Duncan Huisman in Macau meant that 12 drivers were victorious over 20 races (Fabrizio Giovanardi topped the field with 4 wins).
• 24 drivers scored championship points and 15 of them claimed podium results.
• Over ten qualifying sessions, only two drivers – Gabriele Tarquini and Jörg Müller – were able to claim pole position twice. The latter was also the only driver capable to win both races in the same weekend, at Magny-Cours.
• An average of 40,700 spectators attended the events on-site, meaning an increase of 67.5 per cent compared to the 2004 FIA ETCC.
• Official TV data say that more than 300 million viewers watched the races live or delayed.
• Media attendance was also very good and reached its peak in Macau, with 1063 accreditations; the average over the season was 274 media persons per meeting.
• As for the final meeting in Macau, grandstand tickets (more than 20,000) were sold out and official data supplied by the Macau Government Tourist Office pointed out a 14.6 % increase in the number of visitors who arrived for the race weekend, compared to last year.

After these impressive figures (I think some have to be taken with a pinch of salt) my conclusions. I cannot remember all the races but most of the races were great, especially the 2nd race of each weekend. The fact 12 different drivers took a victory shows how competative this championship is. The recent results of the new SEAT Leon are very promising. Ford and Peugeot have a lott of work to do to become a little bit competative. It's a shame Alfa has decided to quit WTCC for at least 1 year. In my opinion Alfa = touring car racing and touring car racing = Alfa. I hope they return in 2007....

[Hazard]

Numbers can always make things sound good.

[Alfa Fan]

Rather dull, and poor track selections didn't help.

[E46]

Originally Posted by Alfa Fan

Rather dull, and poor track selections didn't help.

Obviously if you like Plato/Muller incidents, it was dull. Just my opinion we could watch very interesting weekends.

[Alfa Fan]

Originally Posted by E46

Obviously if you like Plato/Muller incidents, it was dull. Just my opinion we could watch very interesting weekends.

Farfus provided that. Honestly, I'm not comparing to anything in particular. The long GP tracks are perfect for high speed single seaters and GTs, but just don't suit touring cars. It just makes them look slow and unspectacular.

Whereas good venues, Knockhill, Brands, Ledenon, Norisring, Sachsenring, + many others make it look a lot better.

[FIRE]

Originally Posted by Alfa Fan

Farfus provided that. Honestly, I'm not comparing to anything in particular. The long GP tracks are perfect for high speed single seaters and GTs, but just don't suit touring cars. It just makes them look slow and unspectacular.

Whereas good venues, Knockhill, Brands, Ledenon, Norisring, Sachsenring, + many others make it look a lot better.

I agree.
Touring cars (Super2000) are not made for these "modern Tilke" GP circuits. That's why I liked the race at the Puebla circuit.

[Knowlesy]

Didn't see anything wrong with it. In fact, it was an enjoyable championship.

Roll on next season.

[Dani Filth]

there were a few races .. a bit less .. entertaining . and Istanbul was one .. too big . although Spa was great ..