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Alessandro Zanardi will become the first BMW works driver in the FIA World Touring Car Championship to use a sequential gearbox.

The Italian will switch from the five-speed 'H' pattern gearbox to a six-speed Xtrack after testing the latter during the winter.

However the change results in his own car becoming 30 kilos heavier than the other BMWs in the series due to the resultant handicap imposed by the technical regulations.

"In spite of the weight, the car is well balanced and lap times are already close compared to the old gearbox that sometimes made my life harder," Zanardi said.

"One good example is the Melco hairpin at Macau, where BMW drivers use the clutch to get around quicker: I cannot use the clutch pedal and have a lot of other things to do with my hand controls.

"This cost me three or four tenths in that corner alone; with the sequential gearbox the issue will be solved."

The 2009 WTCC season begins with the March 8 race at Curitiba in Brazil.

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