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WTCC: Tarquini and Dudukalo teammates again in 2012

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Khatir Soltani
From WTCC

Gabriele Tarquini and Alexey Dudukalo will race under the banner of the new Lukoil Racing Team.

They will be at the wheel of the two SEAT León cars powered by a new 1.6 litre turbo engine that is going to be homologated by SEAT.

"I’m very happy because Lukoil confirmed me as one of their drivers, and I’m also proud because they appointed me to raise the next generation of Russia’s racers. Now I’m eagerly looking forward to the new season. We will race again with the old León, but I expect a lot from the new SEAT engine. I believe we will be a much stronger package than last year, and in the position to fight with Chevrolet," said Gabriele Tarquini.


WTCC Seat
Photo: WTCC


Alexey Dudukalo added: "Last year, our main problem was the engine, not enough powerful and reliable compared to our competitors. This time we will not have this problem, and furthermore we can rely on better experience and technical support."

Team director Evgeniy Malinovskiy concluded: "I am glad that Tarquini remained in our team. He is a professional and victory-focused driver, whose experience will help us to grow stronger. This year will be very important for Dudukalo; he won many Russian titles, but lacked experience in competition at such a high level. Now we expect more consistent results from him. WTCC is one of the most effective marketing and sporting tools for Lukoil; it is an excellent platform to create guest programmes for partners."



Khatir Soltani
Khatir Soltani
Automotive expert
  • Over 6 years experience as a car reviewer
  • Over 50 test drives in the last year
  • Involved in discussions with virtually every auto manufacturer in Canada