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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2011 |

Only a month after the introduction of theimproved R8 LMS Ultra and Audi has revealed plans to compete in the FIA GT1 World Championship next year with two examples of its latest GT3 racecar, which will be independently fielded by Team WRT.The announcement comes after a recent decision by the FIA GT Commission and World Motor Sport Council to develop uniform regulations between the FIA GT1 World and FIA GT3 European Championships, thus allowing the R8 LMS Ultra to fight for a world champion’s title of its own for the first time.
"We very much welcome the decision of the FIA World Motor Sport Council on December 7th in favour of the GT3 cars," said Werner Frowein, Managing Director of quattro GmbH.
"In the future, this vehicle class will not only stand for high-calibre national and European customer sport but also for the world’s pinnacle in GT racing. We are delighted that Team WRT has submitted its entry for the World Championship and will be representing the colours of Audi Sport customer racing."
WRT said that it is planning to select and announce its drivers for the championship before the end of December.
The provisional race calendar for the championship follows below.
2012 FIA GT1 World Championship
Round 1: Apr 08 Nogaro (France)
Round 2: Apr 22 Zolder (Belgium)
Round 3: May 27 Navarra (Spain)
Round 4: Jul 08 Algarve (Portugal)
Round 5: Aug 26 Peking (China)
Round 6: Sep 02 Ordos (China)
Round 7: Sep 16 Moscow (Russia)
Round 8: Oct 07 Zandvoort (Netherlands)
Round 9: Nov 25 San Luis (Argentina)
Round 10: TBA

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THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2013 |

Dacia has been one of the most stably growing automakers in Europe in recent years, and in 2012, they managed to sell 360,000 cars around the world. Along the line, they decided to add a bit of zest to the Dacia name, and ended up witha monster Duster which raced at Pikes Peak, andanother Duster, specially-designed to be driven on ice, which competed in the Andros Trophy.

Now, they're moving into the Scandinavian (formerly Swedish) Touring Car Championship, most frequently called STCC.

However, they have not used the company's only crossover as a base this time, opting instead to use the new Logan sedan. It is the first incursion made by Dacia into the realm of asphalt racing, and the northern European championship will pit it against cars like the Chevy Cruze, VW Scirocco, Honda Civic, BMW 320i and even an old Alfa Romeo 156.

The touring-Logan is gets its motivation from a V6 engine, and sends all of its 400+ hp to the rear wheels via a six-speed sequential gearbox. Performance should be good, because with its unusually low stance, and weight of 1,100 kilos (2425 pounds), and that high horsepower rating, the numbers look good.

The blue Logan is now set to go into the wind tunnel for further tuning, and then it will be further tested, before debuting in the 2013 season on 3-4 May, at the Knutstorp track. The final race of the year will take place on 21 September, and it is the last of eight races.

We are very eager to see this thing in motion, because it looks very purposeful and should prove enjoyable to watch. It also reminds us of a WRC version of the first Dacia Logan, called the S2000. However, that project never got off the ground and all we are left with are low quality videos from 2004.

By Andrei Nedelea

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