CRUZE OFF TO AN ENCOURAGING DEBUT IN BRAZIL
Larini (9th) And Menu (10th) in the Top Ten In Today’s Testing Session
CURITIBA, 6th March 2009 – The new Chevrolet Cruze WTC made its first official outing today in Curitiba, as it took the track for the testing session that opened the 2009 edition of the World Touring Car Championship. In a dry and hot afternoon, both Nicola Larini (9th) and Alain Menu (10th) managed to be in the top ten, while Rob Huff was 12th.
The session ran smoothly for the three Cruzes, each one of them completing 11 laps of the Brazilian circuit. Most of all, the drivers and the team felt happy with the behavior of the new car and gathered very useful information to refine the set-ups ahead of tomorrow’s qualifying.
• QUOTESNicola Larini (9th): “I am happy with the initial set-up of the car and the way the new Cruze feels. We have a pretty good idea about the changes we need to make tonight in order to improve the set-up, and I’m confident we will be faster in tomorrow’s practice sessions and qualifying”.Alain Menu (10th): «It was a positive session. At least, now we know how we perform with respect to our competitors and where we stand. We need to do some work this evening to tune the car to my driving style, but we know in which direction we have to go”.Rob Huff (12th): “I am pleased with the overall performance and feel of the car. Today, the track was getting quicker and quicker towards the end of the session, and I was on used tires in the last run, so I believe there is quite some margin for improvement tomorrow”.Mark Busfield: “Today’s result is encouraging giving it is the very first time that the new Cruze is running in race conditions and against its competitors. We know where we are and where we can gain some tenths tomorrow, so we have some work to do tonight. At last we are now on track with the new Cruze after all the hard work the team’s put in during the winter to get the cars ready and prepared for the 2009 season”.CURITIBA TESTING RESULTS1. G Tarquini SEAT León TDI 1m25s4972. A Farfus BMW 320si + 0s0573. J Muller BMW 320si + 0s2404. A Priaulx BMW 320si + 0s3865. Y Muller SEAT León TDI +0s3899. N Larini Chevrolet Cruze + 0s80410. A Menu Chevrolet Lacetti + 0s90512. R Huff Chevrolet Lacetti + 1s503
