New date for Argentina WTCC race, new venue for China round

WTCC Race of Argentina will take place from 14-16 July, with WTCC Race of China switching to an all-new venue, Nangbo International Speedpark south of Shanghai, albeit on the same date of 13-15 October.

Both changes to the FIA World Touring Car Championship calendar for 2017 were approved by a meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport Council in Geneva earlier today.

The change of date for WTCC Race of Argentina is pending the signing of a revised commercial agreement with the Argentinian government, while the move from Shanghai International Circuit to Nangbo International Speedpark should be confirmed after the next two circuit inspections have been carried out by the FIA.

While acknowledging the role played by the Shanghai International Circuit in the ongoing success of WTCC Race of China, local promoter, the China Touring Car Championship (CTCC), and Eurosport Events, took the common decision to switch to a circuit with the right dimensions for touring car racing. The China F4 Championship is expected to race at Ningbo during the summer when the track will be inaugurated.

With 16 TC1 cars entered for the full season, the decision has been taken not to run WTCC-2 after it was approved by the FIA World Motor Sport Council at its meeting last November.