Volo to enter series for two races

VOLVO TO RACE IN UK, JAPAN AND MORE TO COME.

Volvo Cars has announced that Polestar Racing - Volvo Motorsport's official partner - will take part in the FIA WTCC events at Brands Hatch and Okayama this year.

These participations will mark the first step towards a possible full time involvement by the Swedish Manufacturer in the world championship from 2011.

"We see WTCC now addressing its major obstacle for growth with the new engine regulations. At the same time we see several national championships starting to stray from the FIA S2000 regulations by several own counterproductive decisions and dispensations from a manufacturer perspective. We will remain focused on the improved FIA S2000 regulations used in WTCC. That is why we have given Polestar a green light to further evaluate competitiveness and challenged them to establish a financial and technical plan for WTCC for 2011, including a full FIA homologation of the current C30 car," commented Alexander Murdzevski Schedvin, Motorsport Commercial Director at Volvo Cars.

Polestar Racing entered one bio-ethanol powered Volvo C30 DRIVe for Robert Dahlgren, who is currently leading the Scandinavian and the Swedish Touring Car Championships.

"We are very happy Volvo Cars has made the decision to let us do Brands Hatch again and Okayama. We have done one World Touring Car Championship event per season the last two seasons to evaluate our car against the best. These two meetings will allow an even better evaluation," said Polestar Racing Managing Director Christian Dahl.

Because the Volvo C30 has been homologated on a national basis, it will not be eligible to score championship points in Brands Hatch and Okayama, according to art. 9. b) of the WTCC Sporting Regulations.

ROUTE TO: BRANDS HATCH, UK

The 11th and 12th rounds of the FIA WTCC will take place next week at the Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit, located 30 km South East of London. It is the fifth consecutive year the championship will have visited the Kent racetrack.

The WTCC races in Brands have often marked a first. In 2006 Race 1, Yvan Muller claimed his first success since he joined SEAT Sport, while in Race 2 Alain Menu gave Chevrolet their first WTCC win. In 2007 Race 2 Andy Priaulx obtained his first (and so far his only) WTCC victory on home soil.

Among the current WTCC drivers, Menu has won at Brands Hatch eleven times, four WTCC victories and seven racing in the British Touring Car Championship.

Since winning last year's Race 1 on the Kent circuit, the Swiss racer has been unable to claim another victory and will definitely be looking to end his drought.

In 2009 the second race was won by BMW's Augusto Farfus.

"CACÁ" BUENO IN THE FOURTH CHEVROLET

Brazilian touring car star Carlos "Cacá" Bueno will join the Chevrolet team for the British event at Brands Hatch. The 33-year old from Rio will be at the wheel of the fourth Cruze car that was previously driven by Leonel Pernía in Monza and Vincent Radermecker in Zolder.

Bueno has built himself a solid reputation in South American touring car racing. In 1997, at the age of 21, he clinched the national title in the Stock Car's Class B and two years later he was crowned champion of the South American Supertouring Nations Cup in a Peugeot 406. He then moved to Argentina and was classified 4th in the 2001 TC2000 before returning to the Brazilian Stock Car championship in which he drove for Chevrolet, Mitsubishi and Peugeot, grabbing three titles (2006, 2007 and 2009) and finishing second three times (2003, 2004 and 2005).

"Cacá's presence in Brands Hatch will be a great plus for the team in RML's home race and will contribute to further raise interest for the WTCC in South America," commented Eric Nève, Chevrolet Motorsport Director.

THE RETURN OF TOM BOARDMAN

Tom Boardman will make his first WTCC appearance of the season at his home event in Brands Hatch driving a petrol-powered SEAT León car entered by SUNRED Engineering.

Boardman was a regular competitor in last year's WTCC and claimed his first victory in the Independents' Trophy in Brands Hatch's Race 2. This year he is competing in the British Touring Car Championship and currently lies 11th in the standings.

COUNTDOWN: - 9 DAYS to the 2010 FIA WTCC Race of the UK - 17th / 18th July, in Brands Hatch

-source: wtcc