World Touring Car Championship's Chinese round in venue change

The event had been set to be held at the Guangdong International Circuit in Zhaoqing. It would have been the highest-profile meeting so far at the venue, which has so far been used for Chinese domestic racing since opening in late-2009.

Instead the WTCC will race either at the Shanghai circuit used for Formula 1's Chinese Grand Prix or Shanghai's 2.05-mile Tianma International Circuit, a regular Chinese Touring Car venue. The CTCC shares the bill with the WTCC at the event.

WTCC promoter Marcello Lotti said the news about Guangdong had come out of the blue, and he was grateful to the CTCC organisers for arranging an alternative.

"After everything had been arranged for racing at the Guangdong International Circuit, a couple of weeks ago we were told by the promoter of the China Touring Car Championship that it was not possible to carry on with the event as scheduled," said Lotti.

"For the time being, we are unable to share further details about the reasons for the cancellation. However we wish to thank the CTCC promoter for having managed to salvage the event by moving it to Shanghai."