Curitiba to open the final and decisive part of the WTCC season

The WTCC is back under the spotlight this weekend, as the final part of the 2012 season, featuring two rounds in the Americas and three in Asia, starts in Curitiba, Brazil. Having completed the European part of the calendar, the worlds top touring car series will this time visit Brazil in an unusual period of the year, winter. The only round of the championship taking place in the South-American continent will see the Cruzes go back to the track where they started their race career back in 2009.

Curitiba, the state capital of Paran, is located at 935 meters of altitude and enjoys cool, dry winters. While this will probably lead to pictures having little to do with the usual postcardsfrom Brazil, it should ensure perfect track conditions for the event on a circuit which is known for its technical design and its long main straight.

For Chevrolet, which enjoys a strong presence and many fans in the country, the objective will be to further consolidate its points leadership in both championships and to make afurther steps towards ensuring a third consecutive world crown. The three Chevrolet, on their side, will continue their exciting battle for the Drivers title, which at the moment sees Yvan Muller leading in the overall standings, with 18 points on Rob Huff and 35 on Alain Menu.

QUOTESYvan Muller: I have been quite busy in recent days, having taken part to the French roundof the Euro Racer, the European version of the NASCAR, at the oval track in Tours and tothe Le Mans Classic. Two great experiences that cannot be compared; unfortunatelyhappening on the same weekend, which forced me to do some travelling between the twocities. The Euro Racer, with a 600-hp Camaro, was fun although its really stock-car racing,with a lot of contact, while the Le Mans Classic with a superb Corvette of the late 60s, wasquieter. In both cases, I took third, which is not bad.

Now it is time to focus again on the WTCC, after the long break. Curitiba is a nice track, andthe good thing is that this year we can expect cooler weather and therefore no particularissues with tire consumption. My approach for this final part of the season hasnt changed: todo as well as possible and take as many points as possible; the championship is still long

Rob Huff: Its always a great pleasure to go to Curitiba. Its a fantastic track and a fantasticcity, there is always big crowds and a terrific atmosphere. The circuit is really quite technical,not easy at all as you have a succession of corners of varying radius, all quite fast and with alot of lateral force. Its difficult to find the right set up balance there, as the car tends tooversteer in some places and understeer in others. On top, it is quite bumpy, which doesntmake things easier, especially in the first braking and in the last corner before the straight,which is where most accidents take place.