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After making a winning
return to the highly-competitive domestic TC2000
(Turismo
Competición 2000)
championship
last year, Fiat Auto Argentina is stepping up its
involvement for 2010 a big gear with the formation of Scudería
Fiat to run four full factory Linea racers throughout
the coming
season, which kicks off on March 21. Young pilot Emiliano Spataro
has been retained as one of the quartet of drivers of
the team while his
new team mates will be Ezequiel Bosio,
Emanuel
Moriatis
and Leandro Carducci. The
team will be managed by Edgardo Porfiri and will
maintain the same technical staff and premises
that were used by the team during the 2009 season,
located in Villa Carlos Paz,
Córdoba.
Under the Scudería Fiat
banner, the Italian car maker with a long history of selling
and manufacturing vehicles in Argentina, will take part in
all the rounds of the 2010 TC2000 calendar: "For the Fiat
ProRacing Team, 2009 was a learning year and one which very
good results were obtained. When we began the season we were
not expecting to finish it with one win, to also end up
fighting for the Endurance Series right until the final
round, and to have been leading more than one race or
topping qualifying sessions. Now, in 2010, we shall be going
for more, with a number of changes which surely allow us to
be more competitive," said Jorge Rizzuto, the sports
coordinator of Fiat Auto Argentina. "Apart from the
continuity of Spataro, there will also be the incorporations
of Ezequiel Bosio and Leandro Carducci, with all of whom
Scudería Fiat expects to offer further successes to the
make’s fans in our country."
Edgardo Porfiri, Director
General of Scudería Fiat, highlighted the importance of
representing the Italian car manufacturer in TC2000 and gave
details of the aims of the team for this second season.
In what refers to his own
responsibility
within the works outfit, Porfiri said: “It’s an honour to
represent a car make so important within international motor
racing like Fiat is. Our job will consist in further
development of the Fiat Linea, with the members of the
technical centre, which is headed by [Engineer] Alejandro
Venturi. They have a lot of experience in this specialty and
have done a lot of development on the cars. We will manage
the team so that everything works in the best possible way."
In its return to
the tough touring car series in 2009 Fiat finished a very
solid sixth in the TC2000's manufacturers championship final
standings with 49 points amassed, and having collected an
unexpected race win along the way.
In fact that win
came nineteen
years after Fiat had last graced the winners circle of the
prestigious Campeonato Argentino de TC2000, and the Turinese
brand was right back there last summer after racing to a stunning
victory at the Autódromo Termas de Río Hondo in the first of
the season's three endurance distance rounds. It had been a long wait
for the multitude of Fiat racing enthusiasts' in Argentina,
and the gap between wins stretched back to 29th November
1990 when Osvaldo Cocho López raced to victory at
Balcarce behind the wheel of the legendary Fiat Regata.
So
last year's triumph set many records straight, and came five
races into the return of the Fiat brand to the top level
TC2000 series, and just as the Italian brand was celebrating
its 90th year in the Latin American nation. The win went to
the #47 Fiat Pro Racing run Linea which was shared for the
race by Omar Martínez and Mariano Altuna.
Porfiri has also outlined the aims which the team has for
this forthcoming season: "We want to take Fiat right to the top in TC2000," said Porfiri. "We
know it won’t be easy and that there is a long road ahead of us. But we have
faith that we are going to obtain the results we are seeking. We thank the
directors of Fiat for having placed their trust in us."
"Fiat has a rich
history in motorsports, both globally and in Argentina, and
the {Córdoba] plant going back into production, the
presentation of the Linea on the Argentine market and as
part of the celebration of 90 year of Fiat in the country,
we thought it appropriate to return the brand to the
circuits," says
Cristiano Rattazzi, President of Fiat
Auto Argentina.
"The TC2000 option, combined with the launch of Fiat Linea
Competizione single brand [championship], we felt is the
best option for professionalism and technology."
"Participation in TC2000, coupled with the success of the
Fiat Linea Competizione, has given the Fiat Linea an
exposure level that has contributed to positioning the
product on the market," continues Rattazzi. "Moreover, with
the races of the Fiat Linea Competizione involving cars
identical to those on display in dealerships, except with
safety features and a few changes to improve handling on the
circuits, the Linea model has shown its reliability as a
product. It did not break any engine throughout the year."
Asked about the decision to double its line-up from two cars
during Fiat's first year back in TC2000 last year to four
cars for this season, Rattazzi says: "It's a way to ratify
the decision to become a major player in the category. We
are very pleased with what was achieved in 2009, but we
believe that by strengthening the team we can expect better
results. We are also expanding the number of cars that will
be on the tracks with the Fiat Linea Competizione. For us it
is a tremendous joy to race in TC2000 and the Fiat Linea
Competizione, these are areas where the empathy between the
brand and its supporters can be channeled. Hopefully, we can
give joy to new fans of Fiat."
The fourth and final driver to be confirmed
by Scudería Fiat for the
expanded new programme
is Emanuel
Moriatis, the 2009 TC2000 privateer champion during what was
his fifth year in the hotly-fought touring car series. "I
think I had a very good performance in the 2009," says
Moriatis. "I finished ninth in the championship, even mixing
with the official teams and that helped a lot. He is happy
that he will still get the required attention even with four
cars: "A team to have four cars on the track gives a better
chance to get results," reckons Moriates, who adds: "I met
the Pro Racing team at the factory, I met with the engineer
Alexander Venturi, I made contact with the staff behind the
Linea, I was impressed with the team structure." He believes
the team can fight at the front this year, saying: "We will
try to win races."
Fiat and
Campeonato Argentino de TC2000
The Campeonato
Argentino de TC2000, which is reserved for cars with
2.0-litre normally aspirated engines and places strict
limits on the technology, such as outlawing anti-lock
brakes, traction control and variable valve timing, is
celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. The TC2000
specification Linea has approximately 310 bhp which it feeds
to the wheels through a six-speed Xtrac transmission and it
weighs in at 1080 kgs.
Fiat has a
strong history of competing in the The Campeonato Argentino
de TC2000 and was represented at its inception in 1979 with
the 125 Coupé. That car ran in private hands until 1981
before from 1983-85 the Fiat 128 was the brand's contender.
However Fiat's greatest success in TC2000 would come when
Osvaldo Antelo split with Renault and began preparing a Fiat
Regatta to be raced by Cocho López. In 1989 the new car
achieved excellent results and in 1990 López claimed four
wins (three consecutively) and three pole positions. This
awakened the interest of Fiat and for 1991 an official team
was formed with Hugo Olmi piloting a second car. However the
competiveness failed to match the previous year and a switch
to the Tempra in 1993 didn't improve matters before an off
track tragedy in 1995 helped to seal Fiat's exit from the
series.
The Fiat Marea was raced by private teams between
1997 and 1999 before in 2004 Fiat Auto Argentina returned officially to
the TC2000 series with the Stilo. However a lack of meaningful results
saw the Stilo programme (by now in private hands) wrapped up
by the end of 2006.
The Fiat
operation last year for the brand's heralded return to the
series was run by the ProRacing Team (Pro Competiton S.A.)
based in Malagüeño in the outskirts of Villa Carlos Paz,
Córdoba. Pro Racing Team was a highly respected Argentinean
outfit that brought with it all the ingredients for on track
success: it had won the TC2000 championship in three of the
previous six years [2004, 2006 and 2007] all with Chevrolet.
It had also has claimed five drivers' titles [1998, 1999,
2004, 2006 and 2007] and last year two cars were run under
the name of the Fiat ProRacing Team.
ItaliaspeedTV:
Fiat Linea TC2000
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