The 2007 WTCC Preview

The World Touring Car Championship in 2007, for the majority of the field, will be all about one thing: stopping Andy Priaulx. That is not an easy task for anyone - as his 2004 ETCC crown and two world titles show - but once again a strong field will attack the man from Guernsey and it is highly likely that once again the title will go down to the wire in Macau.

Priaulx's achievements in touring cars were likened to those of Michael Schumacher in Formula One after Macau last year, but his dominance is unlikely to harm the sport because, no matter how good he is, he won't be wrapping up the title mid-season.

All three of his championships have been sealed at the season finale, simply because the rules in the series prevent anyone from making a break in the title race. The success ballast in the WTCC is severe, and a reverse grid format also makes it very difficult for a driver to have two strong results in one weekend.

While explaining how to beat Priaulx is more than a little difficult - let's face it, if it were simple, someone would have done it by now - we can at least take a look at the men most likely to threaten the BMW driver's dominance of the WTCC this year.

The not-so-German attack

Augusto Farfus Jr, BMW © FIA WTCC

Starting close to home, Priaulx can be sure of a challenge from the pair of BMWs run by the Schnitzer outfit. The German team is often considered to be the absolute works effort from BMW, yet in recent years they have continued to come up short to RBM, the squad that runs Priaulx's sole Team UK entry.

After another failed attempt at the title in 2006, it was no surprise to see a change at the team. Dirk Muller was told to pack his bags, despite twice finishing as runner-up to Priaulx in the past three years, in a form-based decision that sees Jorg Muller remaining at the team after finishing second last season.

The change, which sees Augusto Farfus joining the team, also brings to an end the confusion of having two drivers with the same surname racing as teammates - but Priaulx might just have to worry about the new team member more than anyone else who could get in the way of his fourth straight title.

Farfus somehow went into the season finale last year leading the championship for Alfa Romeo, and that was a feat that was noted by BMW's bosses, who have drafted the Brazilian in to freshen up their previously all-German squad for this year.

Farfus may have made his impact in the ETCC as an erratic South American who was not afraid of the odd hefty bit of contact, but in his three years for Alfa Romeo he has honed his skills and settled down into being a competent driver.

The statistics also back this up, as he has improved his championship finishing position each year despite the Italian manufacturer constantly reducing their efforts in the WTCC.

The Lone Ranger

James Thompson, Alfa Romeo © FIA WTCC

The reduction of Alfa's involvement has continued for 2007, as the N.Technology team will only run two of the red cars this season. However, they are still optimistic of a competitive year in what could be Alfa Romeo's last season in the championship.

The team needed a big name to lead their squad for this year after the departure of Farfus and they have got exactly that by bringing back Briton James Thompson following his year with SEAT.

The former BTCC champion raced in the WTCC full-time for Alfa Romeo after making several one-off appearances in previous years, and he will be motivated by the fact that he is going back to a team he knows, and that he is the absolute team leader.

While Thompson won't actually be going it alone for the team this year, it is fair to say that the Italian manufacturer's hopes for a WTCC crown lie entirely with him.

The British driver will be joined by the inexperienced Olivier Tielemans for the 2007 season, and the Dutchman cannot be expected to run at the front in such a competitive series in his first attempt.

The team should not be written off though. Their car may be slightly long in the tooth now compared to the newer models that their rivals have introduced recently, but little was expected of them last year and Farfus managed to mount a title challenge, so anything is possible.

The Spanish Armada

SEAT © FIA WTCC

SEAT went all-out for the world title in 2006, but they came up short despite having a whopping six-car lineup full of former touring car champions.

The team promised a reduced effort for 2007, but with the recent announcement of former Formula One driver Tiago Monteiro's arrival in their line-up they will be up to five cars from the second round of the championship at Zandvoort.

The team did axe three of their drivers, with Rickard Rydell and Peter Terting following Thompson out of the door last year. Yvan Muller and Gabriele Tarquini are rewarded for being the team's top two drivers last year by being retained for another season, while Spaniard Jordi Gene is also retained, despite finishing below the three drivers that have left the team over the winter.

Muller and Tarquini made the top five in the standings last year and they should be expected to lead the charge this year. Former Champ Car driver Michel Jourdain has joined the team, but his inexperience of front-wheel drive cars effectively rules him out of being consistently competitive enough to challenge for the title.

However, the change in approach could work for SEAT in 2007. Last year, it was obvious from the start of the season that with such a strong lineup, the drivers were effectively taking points away from each other throughout the year.

That shouldn't be the case this year, and by retaining just two of the big names, SEAT might have finally cracked it this year. Their car is strong, there is no doubt about that, and the lead pair should be able to focus on just beating cars from other manufacturers rather than struggling against their team mates as well.

The outsiders

Alain Menu © FIA WTCC

As if Priaulx won't have enough on his hands dealing with those mentioned above, he could find that 2007 is the year that Chevrolet make a significant step forward in performance.

The three-car team have a lot working in their favour for this year. They have maintained a consistent driver line-up and after scoring their first two victories last year they have serious ambitions for this season.

The main point that Chevrolet need to address is consistency. While Alain Menu and Rob Huff took a race win apiece last year, both finished behind teammate Nicola Larini in the standings, and the Italian was only 12th in the championship.

If the team have found more speed over the winter, though, they could improve their consistency simply by starting higher up the grid and keeping out of the trouble in the middle of the frantic pack.

The rules

There are some minor changes to the WTCC for this year, although they are not particularly aimed at hindering Priaulx.

The severe levels of success ballast will be slightly reduced for this year, which means that a driver will not face the possibility of carrying 80 kilograms of extra ballast just for performing well on a particular weekend.

This should prevent a repeat of the 2006 title showdown, which featured nine cars battling for the title heading to Macau. While the nine-car shootout was a spectacular story, it should still only be the cream of the crop that are able to challenge for the championship.

While the change to success ballast should actually favour the stronger drivers slightly more, the reverse grid rule remains in place to ensure that the 2007 season will not be a walk in the park for Priaulx or anyone else.

A more significant change for this year involves the start format for race one, which will now have a rolling start rather than the traditional standing start. The reverse grid race will retain the standing start, and once again this is unlikely to hinder Priaulx's bid for a fourth consecutive title.

The two-time world champion is perfectly capable of adding another title to his list this year and, despite all of the challenges he will face this year, it could be that the only thing that can defeat Priaulx is luck.