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Testing means WTCC title race is go!

The race to become FIA World Touring Car champion for 2017 is go with several drivers testing for the new season this month.

Selected teams have been conducting significant running in Italy and Spain in readiness for the new campaign, which begins in Marrakech for WTCC Race of Morocco from 7-9 April.

While testing times can't be used as a true performance indicator for the 20 all-action races that lie ahead, the results are crucial as Dario d'Esposito, Team Manager of the Castrol Honda World Touring Car Team and Honda Racing Team JAS explains.

"When the test is over and we're back at the workshop, we'll analyse the test in very fine detail. We're talking lap-by-lap, corner-by-corner and this procedure could take up to a week. It's hard work, but it's worth it because if you find even a hundredth of a second at every corner of a 15-corner lap, that could be as much as three seconds in a 20-lap race and that could be the difference between winning and losing."

The official WTCC test takes place at Monza on 14 March. The legendary Italian venue is also returning to the championship schedule for the first time since 2013 and hosts the action from 28-30 April.

Zdroj: fiawtcc.com