New weight rules announced.

A new weight penalty system for the World Touring Car Championship has been announced that will come into place for the 2007 season.

The current system has been highly criticised over the past two seasons from a number of drivers and team bosses, including double champion Andy Priaulx who said that a maximum of 80 kilos of ballast in his BMW was akin to 'driving a single-seater with the front wing broken'.

However, having been approved by the FIA World Motor Sport Council following a proposal from the Touring Car Commission, the new system has been put in place, with weight penalties again dependent on both race results and championship positions.

Each driver will receive a 20kg handicap at the first event in which they compete, which will then go up or down dependent on race results. The maximum that can be added to a car based on finishing positions is +40kg, whereas in 2006 the figure was 20kg higher. The maximum that can be taken off is 10kg, compared to 20kg in 2006.

In terms of championship points, drivers will have 5kg added to their weight for every ten points they score during the course of the year, while the maximum weight that any driver can carry is 60kg - down from 80kg during 2006.

2007 weight penalties:

First: +20 kg (previously +40 kg)
Second: +15 kg (previously +30 kg)
Third: +10 kg (previously +20 kg)
Fourth: +10 kg (previously +10 kg)
Fifth: +10 kg (previously 0 kg)
Sixth: + 5 kg (previously - 5 kg)
Seventh: + 5 kg (previously -10 kg)
Eighth: + 5 kg (previously -15 kg)
Ninth: - 5 kg (previously -20 kg)
Tenth onwards: -10 kg (previously -20 kg)