Lapo Elkann, Brand Promotion Manager of Fiat Auto, paid a visit to the FIA WTCC official testing in Monza last week, a visit which served to wind the Alfa Romeo drivers up. Augusto Farfus and Gabriele Tarquini set the event's pace, eventually clocking up the two fastest laps over the two days.

Farfus was to emerge as the fastest driver overall on both days, on Tuesday he was clocked at 1:59.492 and on Wednesday he managed to improve by seven tenths, to 1:58.783. “I like this track very much and we have worked very well over these two days,” the Brazilian youngster commented. “I am very confident, because we managed to set good times using the race set up. Our cars has been developed a bit since last year, however our competitors have progressed as well. I’m sure it will be a very competitive championship.”

Farfus’s team mates were also in the hunt: Gabriele Tarquini set the second fastest lap (1:59.094), James Thompson the fifth-fastest (1:59.681) and Fabrizio Giovanardi the sixth fastest (1:59.707).

Farfus was also asked to drive Lapo Elkann for four laps in the Alfa Romeo 156 race car. “They have warned me that in case of an accident I would have put the whole company in serious troubles… But he’s a very nice guy, he was excited and pushed me to go; which I did, because my fastest lap time with him onboard was 2:03!”

ALFA ROMEO: RACING TRADITION

Alfa Romeo's long racing tradition continues in the 2005 racing season, with the participation of an official team in the newly formed World Touring Car Championship. Four Alfa 156's will compete with the colours of the Alfa Romeo Racing Team, driven by the Italian drivers Gabriele Tarquini and Fabrizio Giovanardi, the young Brazilian Augusto Farfus and Briton James Thompson.

It is a tried and tested team that competed in the 2004 European Touring Car Championship, taking second place for Alfa Romeo in the Constructors' title race, after having dominated the 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003 editions, winning the Constructors' and Drivers' titles.
 

The Alfa 156 has been racing since it came on the market: since 1998 it has won 14 absolute titles in touring car championships (constructors', drivers' and team titles), a category in which Alfa Romeo has dominated for over 40 years.

The Alfa Romeo Racing Team drivers can boast a curriculum full of absolute victories and international titles. Gabriele Tarquini has competed in numerous Formula 1 races, and he also won the 2003 European Touring title with Alfa Romeo, as well as the British title in 1994. Fabrizio Giovanardi is a specialist in Touring Car events, and has won three consecutive European titles with Alfa Romeo, in 2000, 2001 and 2002.

Young Augusto Farfus was the 2003 European Formula 3 champion, and he made his debut in the Touring Car Championship last year with Alfa Romeo. The British champion James Thompson is in his first complete season with Alfa Romeo, after competing in a number of European Touring Car events in 2003 and 2004, the year in which he won the British title.

The European Championship has now become the World Championship, still under the umbrella of the FIA, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile: a quality leap and a new challenge, before which Alfa Romeo did not shy away, but instead drew attention once again to the competitiveness of Italian technology.

The World Touring Car Championship will make its debut on the Italian circuit of Monza (April 10) before going to France (Magny-Cours, May 1), Britain (Silverstone, May 15), and back to Italy (Imola, May 29). The first non-European event will be on June 26 in Puebla, Mexico, then the championship will return to Europe, for Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium, July 30), Oschersleben (Germany, August 28), Istanbul (Turkey, September 18) and Valencia (Spain, October 2). The Grand finale of the season will be held on the street circuit of Macau, China, on November 20.