Helps Cristian Ledesma In Title Bid; Rob Huff Is Sixth
The Chevrolet Elaion racing team finished on the podium, and placed its three cars in the top 7, in the “200 Kilómetros de Buenos Aires. The Buenos Aires race is the main event of the Argentine TC 2000 Touring Car Championship and at the same time the biggest motoring event of the year in South America.
Raced over almost double the distance than the usual format, this is the only event of the TC 2000 where cars are driven by two-driver teams. For the occasion – as before in 2006 – Chevrolet WTCC drivers, Alain Menu and Rob Huff paired with the regular Chevrolet drivers of the Chevrolet Astras in the TC 2000. The third driver supporting Chevrolet Elaion’s effort in Buenos Aires was Chevrolet’s Brazilian stock-car star, Hoover Orsi.
Cristian Ledesma and Alain Menu took third, with the Swiss driver gaining two positions in his stint, the final one. Marcelo Bugliotti and Rob Huff came in sixth, just ahead of Ricardo Risatti and Hoover Orsi. For Menu it was the fourth podium finish in as many times he has run this race. The Swiss driver finished third in 2004, second in 2005 and won in 2006.
With this podium finish (the fifth consecutive in the Buenos Aires event for the Chevrolet TC 2000 team) and given the fact that this special race awards almost double points, Cristian Ledesma is closing the gap in the overall standings and increasing his chances in the battle for the title. He now lies in third (with 75 points) in the overall standings led by Guillermo Ortelli (113 points).
• QUOTES
Alain Menu: “Cristian gave me the car in an excellent fifth position. In the first laps of my stint, I tried to assess the track conditions and the balance of the car and was then able to keep a good pace, with a car which ran perfectly. I am very happy that I could bring the Chevrolet to the podium and proud to have had again the opportunity to participate in this great motoring event”.
Rob Huff: “As I was doing the first stint, I tried not to make mistakes and find a pace that would allow us to climb positions. That’s what happened and thanks also to a very fast driver change, we reached an excellent sixth position. I enjoyed very much this exciting experience, especially after the disillusion in 2006, when I could not even take the wheel in the race, after the early retirement of the car”.
