Alfa Romeo's local star Augusto Farfus Jr will be gunning for victory this weekend as the FIA World Touring Car Championship pitches up on his Brazilian home soil for the first time. Farfus and the N.technology-run Alfa Romeo team will be seeking to continue the return to front-running form they so clearly demonstrated during the last round of the series at Oschersleben in Germany when the Brazilian driver battled for the lead during the second race.

This weekend is seeing the first visit by the FIA World Touring Car Championship (now in its second season) to Brazil, with the usual two-race format set to take place at the Autódromo Internacional de Curitiba the day after tomorrow. The journey to South America has been a long one. However last  Sunday morning, right on schedule, the racing cars, spare parts, equipment and tyres were all delivered to the Curitiba circuit, which is named after the famous Brazilian racing driver Raul Boesel. The precious cargo had arrived to Brazil last Friday, when the ship NYK Espirito docked at the Itajai harbour, not far away from the planned destination of Paranaguá; this last minute change due to a tide problem that prevented the ship from entering the harbour at Paranaguá. After the customs formalities were sorted out, the 28 containers were loaded onto trucks which formed a convoy and reached Curitiba under the escort of Policia Federál patrols. As a good omen for the Brazilian fans, the first container that was opened at the track had inside the Alfa Romeo 156 of local boy Augusto Farfus.

The official starting of this weekend's programme got underway yesterday with a promotional day involving drivers and press. From 10.00 AM the racing cars were exhibited in front of the HSBC building in Rua das Flores, while the drivers paraded onboard pick-up trucks, travelling through the city centre before arriving in Rua das Flores.
 

They then took part in two autograph sessions at 12.00 (noon) and 2.00 PM. The press joined the drivers at 3.00 PM for a sightseeing tour of Curitiba which was followed by a press conference at the Graciosa Country Club at 5.00 PM, hosted by Mr Beto Richa, governor of Curitiba, and Mr Jacques Behar, president of KSO.

The Curitiba track, which started life in the 1960s and has been in recent years rebuilt and upgraded into a thoroughly modern venue, will see its first action of the weekend this afternoon when all the teams take part in a private 30-minute test session at 3.00 PM which has been authorised by the FIA to allow the drivers to acclimatise themselves with the circuit. After the usual two free practice sessions and final qualifying are held tomorrow the two WTCC races will be held on Sunday, though at an earlier than normal: Race 1 will start at 12.05 local time, followed by Race 2 at 1.15 PM. This change to the standard timetable has been made in order to enable Eurosport to broadcast the event live in Europe on Sunday afternoon.

After a superb showing in Oschersleben, a circuit that traditionally has seen the Alfa Romeo 156 racer struggling to compete with the BMWs on their 'home turf', the N.technology team are now buoyed up for a good showing, with their Brazilian star Farfus being joined as usual by Salvatore Tavano and Gianni Morbidelli. Press speculation this week suggests that Fiat Auto may have divested themselves of their minority sake in the N.technology team, leaving the outfit free to negotiate with other manufacturers if Alfa Romeo choose not to replace the Alfa 156 next year with a SuperTouring version of the Alfa 159.

This weekend Farfus will be carrying 40 kg of 'success' ballast, which is less than most of his rivals, as he bids for victory. BMW's Dirk Müller, who claimed a 2nd and 3rd place in Oschersleben, is heaviest with 70 kg, followed by reigning WTCC champion Andy Prilaux (65 kg), Jörg Müller (60 kg) and then Rickard Rydell, Yvan Muller and James Thompson (55 kg). Gabriele Tarquini has 40 kg, the same as Farfus.

Joining the official N.technology Alfa Romeo team this weekend at Curitiba will be Brazilian outfit Tekprom who will be running their former N.technology-built Alfa 156 for 23-year old Brazilian driver Lucas Molo. However under new FIA regulations Molo will have to carry an additional 20 kg weight penalty which is now mandatory for all new entrants to the series.