Alain Menu 4th; Rob Huff 5th; Nicola Larini 10th In Testing Session

The Chevrolet WTCC team placed all three of its Lacettis in the top ten in yesterday’s testing session in Estoril, Portugal, scene of the 11th and 12th rounds of the 2008 Championship.

On a hot Friday afternoon, the competitors were met with some unexpected rain, which made the 4.1-kiloemtre track treacherous at times, but Alain Menu, Rob Huff and Nicola Larini acquitted themselves well of their tasks and steered clear of trouble to post competitive times. It is the first time the WTCC visits Estoril as the track alternates in hosting the World Championship with the street course of Porto.

QUOTES

Alain Menu (4th): “It was a bit delicate out there with the drizzle. The grip changed from lap to lap and sometimes even from corner to corner. On my last flying lap I went out on a new set of tyres and set a time which, I think, reflects the potential of the car on a test day. We’ll make some more changes to the set-up for tomorrow as the balance is not yet quite how it should be, so there’s still plenty more to come.”

Rob Huff (5th): “That wasn’t a bad session. We changed nothing to the setup, which proved quite alright. The rain of course made the track very slippery at certain corners, where it sometimes was like racing on an ice-rink. I had a bit of a long brake pedal mid-way through the session, so we had to bleed the brakes, but apart from that everything worked just fine. I’m sure there’s a few tenths still to be found tomorrow.”

Nicola Larini (10th): “On my flying lap I ran a bit wide in turns 6 and 7 so lost some time there. The car is good and I’m sure to improve tomorrow. I’m quite confident for Sunday’s races.”

ESTORIL TESTING RESULTS

1. A Farfus BMW  320si 1m47s9972. J Müller BMW 320si + 0s3653. A Priaulx BMW 320si + 0s4004. A Menu Chevrolet Lacetti + 0s4085. R Huff Chevrolet Lacetti + 0s4268. N Larini Chevrolet Lacetti + 0s988