Three Car Alfa Team to Contest World Championship

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Three Car Alfa Team to Contest World Championship

Alfa Romeo will contest the 2006 FIA World Touring Car Championship with a three car team run by Nord Technology with Brazilian Augusto Farfus as the lead driver.

The 22-year old Farfus is contesting his third consecutive season with the team and in FIA Touring Cars. Last year Farfus was classified fourth in the FIA WTCC, also scoring his first victory in Macau's Race 1.

The three Alfa Romeo 156 cars will be run by Nord Technology, directed by Mauro and Monica Sipsz and representing the Italian car maker in the Manufacturers' Championship.

Farfus' team-mates are Gianni Morbidelli and Salvatore Tavano, both from Italy. Morbidelli (36) boasts an impressive racing CV, including Formula One (he started 67 Grand Prix) and Touring Car successful campaigns as a works driver for BMW, Alfa Romeo (in the 1993 Italian Championship) and Volvo. Tavano (26) was a regular competitor in the FIA Touring Car Championship since 2001 and the winner of the 2004 Italian Super Production title (in an Alfa Romeo 147); last year he raced in both, the World and the Italian Championships with an Alfa Romeo 156 prepared by Antonelli Sport.

Alfa Romeo will launch its bid for the WTCC titles in Italy on 1-2 April when the opening round of the 2006 season takes place at Monza. In addition to the European rounds and the ex-Europe events in Spain and China, the 2006 WTCC series has added a round in Latin America, giving Farfus the chance to drive in front of a home crowd at Curitiba in Brazil on 1-2 July.

Alfa Romeo will also be at the heart of the Czech Republic's bid to have its first world champion with Jiøí Janák, the winner of the 2005 Czech Skoda Octavia Cup, contesting the 2006 FIA WTCC at the wheel of an Alfa Romeo 156 GTA.

"This is certainly going to be my greatest racing experience so far," said Jiøí Janák. "I am looking forward to it very much. We will be facing fierce competition and I wonder how we will manage to win recognition. Our goal is the best possible result, but I know very well that it will be tough."

WTCC Calender ROUNDS DATE COUNTRY VENUE

01 & 02 1/2 April ITALY Monza

03 & 04 29/30 April FRANCE Magny-Cours

05 & 06 20/21 May GREAT BRITAIN Brands Hatch

07 & 08 3/4 June GERMANY Oschersleben

09 & 10 1/2 July BRAZIL Curitiba

11 & 12 29/30 July MEXICO Puebla

13 & 14 2/3 September CZECH REPUBLIC Brno

15 & 16 23/24 September TURKEY Istanbul

17 & 18 7/8 October SPAIN Valencia

19 & 20 18/19 November CHINA Macau

ENDS

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