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Jarama 2002

FIA European Touring Car Championship

02/06/2002

30/05/2002

Preview

LG Super Racing Weekend

Less than two weeks after the Czech crowds were treated to a weekend of extraordinary racing at the Masaryk circuit, near Brno, the teams and drivers taking part in the LG Super Racing Weekend series will move southwards to the Spanish track of Jarama. The FIA GT and European Touring Car Championships will meet up once more with the Formula Renault Eurocup, the Renault Sport Clio Trophy and the Lamborghini GTR Supertrophy, which did not race in the Czech Republic.

Last year, the penultimate round of the Super Racing Weekend series was held in Spain, with some tense on-track battles taking place as the competition for the titles increased. For 2002, the circuit will host the fourth event, with everything still to play for. After three action-packed and exciting weekends, the scene is set for yet another episode in this fascinating season.

The circuit of Jarama is situated 28 miles to the north of Spain's capital city, Madrid. Surrounded by arid countryside, the 3.858 km track meanders over the hillside, creating a tight and twisting layout, which requires a good set-up for the cars. The circuit previously hosted the Spanish Grand Prix, most recently in 1981, and remains a popular venue for winter testing.

This year, Gta Racing Team Nordauto have a commanding lead in the FIA European Touring Car Championship, but the BMW and Volvo teams are closing in. BMW Team Spain, with Spanish driver Jordi Gene, will in particular be looking for a good result on home ground, as will Scuderia Bigazzi's Luis Villamil, who scored his first point of the season in Brno.

The Spanish meeting will be the FIA European Touring Car Championship's sixteenth visit to the beautiful track of Jarama since 1968. This season has so far seen the domination of Gta Racing Team Nordauto, with the Italian team winning all six races. Fabrizio Giovanardi won both the Brno races, ahead of BMW Team Deutschland's Dirk Muller and Nordauto's Nicola Larini. He now has a commanding lead in the points, being 20 points clear of his nearest rival and team-mate. Giovanardi has also regained the lead in the Michelin Trophy, with an astonishing fastest lap of 2:12.760 in Race 2, more than a second faster than the second-best lap, set by Volvo's James Hanson. Giovanardi leads Larini, Rickard Rydell and the two Mullers, while James Hanson, with the fourth and second best laps in Brno, jumped in to sixth place.