Proteam Motorsport

Last updated
Flag of Italy.svg Proteam Motorsport
Proteam logo.png
Founded1997
Team principal(s) Flag of Italy.svg Valmiro Presenzini
Current series World Touring Car Championship
Teams'
Championships
2005 Independent WTCC
2007 Independent WTCC
2008 Independent WTCC
Drivers'
Championships
2008 Independent WTCC(Sergio Hernández)
2010 Independent WTCC(Sergio Hernández)
2011 Jay-Ten Trophy WTCC(Fabio Fabiani)

Proteam Motorsport is an Italian auto racing team based in Arezzo that was set up by former driver Valmiro Presenzini in 1997. They are best known for their efforts in the FIA World Touring Car Championship. Their time in the WTCC has seen them become the most successful independent team in the championship, winning three Independent Team titles in 1996, 2007 and 2008. Initially the team would enter Renault related events across Europe. Presenzini himself competed in The Renault Clio Cup, Renault 5 Turbo Cup and the Megane cup. After success in these series, they started a programme for the European Touring Car Championship, which they entered in 2003. They have entered cars in the Italian Clio Cup, the Ferrari Challenge, and as of 2006, the Italian Superturismo Championship with driver Cristian Ricciarini. [1]

Contents

WTCC

The Proteam Motorsport pit garage in the 2007 WTCC at Brands Hatch Proteam.jpeg
The Proteam Motorsport pit garage in the 2007 WTCC at Brands Hatch

.

2005 season

Proteam entered the inaugural WTCC season with two BMW 320i's. Two Italian drivers competed a full season, Stefano D'Aste and Giuseppe Cirò. They won the independent teams title, with Cirò finishing as runner-up in the independents trophy, with D'Aste finishing third. They managed a highly impressive result in round twelve at spa, D'Aste managed a podium finish, coming second overall.

2006 season

Cirò was replaced in the team by Luca Rangoni, who managed two podium finishes at Valencia. despite this, he was runner up at the end of the season in the independents trophy. Again D'Aste was third. Proteam lost out on the teams title to GR Asia, who had trophy winner Tom Coronel driving for them.

2007 season

For 2007, D'Aste left the team for rival independent team Wiechers Sport and was replaced by Spaniard Sergio Hernández. Italian Davide Roda competed for the team in just two rounds at Brno. The cars were replaced by new BMW 320si's. Another podium saw Rangoni as high as fourteenth in the overall points. Hernández also finished in the points with an eighth at Valenci. This helped Proteam regain the independents team title. Former proteam driver D'Aste won the independents trophy.

2008 season

Proteam Motorsport in the 2008 WTCC at Brands Hatch driven by Stefano D'Aste Stefano d'Aste 2008 Brands Hatch.jpg
Proteam Motorsport in the 2008 WTCC at Brands Hatch driven by Stefano D'Aste

Rangoni left the WTCC after 2007, and this led to a return to Proteam for D'Aste, [2] the defending independent champion. It was Hernández who was the star of the season, often racing up amongst the works drivers. He managed to finish in the points three times, including a podium at Okayama, D'Aste also managed two points, with a seventh place at Brands Hatch. When D'Aste failed to attend the final rounds at Macau, due to a protest for a grid penalty, he was replaced by Bulgarian George Tanev. [3] Hernández won the independents trophy, and Proteam successfully defended the teams title. [4]

2009 season

With Hernández gone to the works BMW Team Italy-Spain and D'Aste gone to Wiechers-Sport, Proteam needed two new drivers for 2009. Tanev first signed for a full season. [5] He was followed by Félix Porteiro, who switched teams with Hernández from BMW Team Italy-Spain. [6] A third car was entered in selected rounds for Italian driver Vito Postiglione. [7] Tanev left the championship after the third round and guest appearances were made late in the season by Fabio Fabiani and Nobuteru Taniguchi. Despite a strong start to the year, Porteiro finished as runner-up in the Yokohama Independents' Trophy.

2010 season

Sergio Hernández came back to the team after BMW reduced their works entry to just two cars. Stefano d'Aste also made another return to Proteam from Wiechers-Sport. The pair were joined on some occasions by Fabio Fabiani, Nobuteru Taniguchi and Kevin Chen. Hernández won the Yokohama Independents' Trophy and Proteam won the Yokohama Teams' Trophy.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sergio Hernández (racing driver)</span> Spanish racing driver

Sergio Hernández von Rekowski is a Spanish racing driver, best known for having competed in the World Touring Car Championship. He won the WTCC Independents' Trophy in 2008 and 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Félix Porteiro</span> Spanish racing driver (born 1983)

Félix Porteiro Pérez is a Spanish racing driver. He competed in GP2 in 2006, his best finish was 6th.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2006 World Touring Car Championship</span>

The 2006 World Touring Car Championship season was the third season of FIA World Touring Car Championship motor racing. It featured a ten event, twenty race series which commenced on 2 April 2006 and ended on 19 November. The series was open to Super 2000, Diesel 2000 and Super Production Cars, with two titles awarded, the FIA World Touring Car Champion for Drivers and the FIA World Touring Car Champion for Manufacturers. Andy Priaulx won the Drivers title and BMW won the Manufacturers award.

The 2007 World Touring Car Championship season was the 4th season of FIA World Touring Car Championship motor racing. The championship, which commenced on 11 March and ended on 18 November, after twenty-two races, was open to Super 2000 Cars, Diesel 2000 Cars and Super Production Cars as defined by the relevant FIA regulations. The Drivers' Championship was won by Andy Priaulx and the Manufacturers' Championship by BMW.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 World Touring Car Championship</span>

The 2008 World Touring Car Championship season was the fifth World Touring Car Championship season, the fourth since its 2005 return. It began on 2 March, and ended on 16 November, after twenty-four races. The championship, which was open to Super 2000 Cars and Diesel 2000 Cars, was composed of the FIA World Touring Car Championship for Drivers and the FIA World Touring Car Championship for Manufacturers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 World Touring Car Championship</span>

The 2009 World Touring Car Championship season was the sixth FIA World Touring Car Championship season, the fifth since its 2005 return. It began on 8 March, and ended on 22 November, after twenty-four races. The championship, which was reserved for Super 2000 Cars and Diesel 2000 Cars, comprised two titles, the FIA World Touring Car Champion for Drivers and the FIA World Touring Car Champion for Manufacturers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stefano D'Aste</span> Italian racing driver

Stefano D'Aste is an Italian auto racing driver.

Luca Rangoni is an Italian auto racing driver. He is a married man with one son.

Giuseppe Cirò is an Italian auto racing driver.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wiechers-Sport</span> Auto racing team in Nienburg, Germany

Wiechers-Sport is a German auto racing team which is based in Nienburg. The team was first established in 1999, competing in German touring cars. The team currently competes in the World Touring Car Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mehdi Bennani</span> Moroccan racing driver

Mehdi Bennani is a Moroccan racing driver who currently competes in the TCR Europe with Sébastien Loeb Racing. He was TCR Europe Champion in 2020 with the Belgian team Comtoyou Racing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 World Touring Car Championship</span>

The 2010 World Touring Car Championship season was the seventh season of the FIA World Touring Car Championship, and the sixth since its 2005 return. It began with the Race of Brazil at Curitiba on 7 March and ended with the Guia Race of Macau at the Guia Circuit on 21 November, after twenty-two races at eleven events. The championship was open to both Super 2000 and Diesel 2000 cars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 FIA WTCC Race of the Czech Republic</span>

The 2009 FIA WTCC Marriott Race of the Czech Republic was the sixth round of the 2009 World Touring Car Championship season and the fourth running of the FIA WTCC Race of the Czech Republic. It was held on 21 June 2009 at the Masaryk Circuit near Brno, Czech Republic. BMW Team Italy-Spain won both races with Alex Zanardi winning the first race and Sergio Hernández winning the second race.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 FIA WTCC Race of Spain</span>

The FIA WTCC Race of Spain 2009 was the fifth round of the 2009 World Touring Car Championship season and the fifth running of the FIA WTCC Race of Spain. It was held on 31 May 2009 at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Cheste, near Valencia in Spain. The first race was won by Gabriele Tarquini for SEAT Sport and the second race was won by Augusto Farfus for BMW Team Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 FIA WTCC Race of France</span>

The 2009 FIA WTCC Race of France was the fourth round of the 2009 World Touring Car Championship season and the fifth running of the FIA WTCC Race of France. It was held on 17 May 2009 at the temporary Circuit de Pau street circuit in Pau, France. It was the headline event of the 2009 Pau Grand Prix. Both races were won by Chevrolet with Robert Huff winning race one and Alain Menu winning race two. The second race was notable for a collision between race leader Franz Engstler and the safety car at the end of the first lap.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 FIA WTCC Race of Brazil</span>

The 2009 FIA WTCC Race of Brazil was the first round of the 2009 World Touring Car Championship season. It was held on March 8, 2009 at the Autódromo Internacional de Curitiba near Curitiba, Brazil. It was the fourth running of the FIA WTCC Race of Brazil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 FIA WTCC Race of Mexico</span>

The 2009 FIA WTCC Race of Mexico was the second round of the 2009 World Touring Car Championship season. It was held on 22 March 2009 at the Autódromo Miguel E. Abed near Puebla, Mexico. It was the fourth running of the FIA WTCC Race of Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 FIA WTCC Race of Italy</span>

The 2010 FIA WTCC Race of Italy was the third round of the 2010 World Touring Car Championship season and the sixth running of the FIA WTCC Race of Italy. It was held at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, in Monza, Italy on 23 May 2010. The two races were won by Andy Priaulx for BMW Team RBM and Yvan Muller for Chevrolet RML.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 FIA WTCC Race of Japan</span>

The 2010 FIA WTCC Race of Japan was the tenth round of the 2010 World Touring Car Championship season and the third running of the FIA WTCC Race of Japan. It was held at the Okayama International Circuit near Mimasaka, Japan on 31 October 2010. The first race was won by Robert Huff of Chevrolet RML and race two was won by Colin Turkington of Team Aviva-COFCO.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 FIA WTCC Race of Spain</span>

The 2012 FIA WTCC Race of Spain was the second round of the 2012 World Touring Car Championship season and the eighth running of the FIA WTCC Race of Spain. It was held on 1 April 2012 at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, Spain. Chevrolet driver Yvan Muller took pole position for the first race, with Wiechers-Sport's Stefano D'Aste on pole for the second race after the top ten qualifiers were reversed. Both races were won by Chevrolet with Muller winning race one and Alain Menu winning race two.

References

  1. "Proteam Motorsport - FIA WTCC teams - autoevolution". Archived from the original on 2008-12-23. Retrieved 2009-01-18. Team history at auto evolution
  2. http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/64690 D'Aste rejoins Proteam for 2008
  3. http://www.fiawtcc.com/fiawtcc/sport_sto1751860.shtml Tanev to replace D'Aste at Macau
  4. https://www.paddocktalk.com/news/html/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=96621%5B%5D Proteam Motorsport Claim Teams' Trophy
  5. "TouringCarTimes - WTCC: George Tanev signs with Proteam". Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2009-01-23. George Tanev signs with Proteam
  6. "TouringCarTimes - WTCC: Félix Porteiro joins Proteam". Archived from the original on 2009-02-27. Retrieved 2009-02-17. Félix Porteiro joins Proteam Motorsport
  7. English, Steven (2009-04-10). "Proteam to run third car in Morocco". autosport.com. Haymarket Publications . Retrieved 2009-04-10.