Chevrolet TV On Web; Nine Drivers For Title In Chinese WTCC Shoot-Out
After a six-week break, the 2006 World Touring Car Championship will reach its conclusion in the streets of Macau in the People’s Republic of China. The longest street course in the world will host the 53rd edition of the Guia Race of Macau, the traditional end-of-year touring car fest. This year, a record nine drivers still have a chance to win the world title, which – as usual in Macau – will guarantee for ultra-spectacular races. On top of that, a record 21 drivers will carry ballast, which means that qualifying and the races will be even less straightforward than ever before.
The Chevrolet, however, drivers will race their race without having to calculate points at the same time. In fact, Chevrolet even plans to play an important role in the outcome of the championship by taking points away from other contenders.
“I’ll definitely be looking for a podium finish or even a second win,” Rob Huff said. “We were quick around Macau last year, and the car is a lot quicker this year, so… There are so many heavy cars out there, and that will hurt these guys a lot, especially in the uphill sections. I think we should be able to qualify in the top four, as our excellent chassis dynamics work very well there. So if we can win the lottery by not having an accident in the first corner of the first lap, we should have very good result there, indeed.”
Alain Menu, the author of Chevrolet’s very first WTCC podium in Macau last year (before the car was disqualified for a minor technicality), is hoping to repeat last year’s performance, despite the odds being stacked firmly against him. “With my 10-place grid penalty from Valencia, I will definitely not start better than 11th,” he said.
“Still, a lot will depend on where exactly I’ll start in the second half of the field. In Macau, you want to be at the very front or the very rear, but not in the middle, because of the many accidents in the first right hander at the start of the races. So if you’re a bit further back, you have plenty of time to brake in case it all piles up at the front. Then again, if there are no incidents, which would be strange, you’re in a really bad position. But from experience I know that when on paper everything goes against me I usually have a good weekend. So a podium in the second race might be very much possible. This circuit suits the Chevrolets really well, so between the three of us there could be quite some blue on the podium.”
Nicola Larini concurs with Alain: “My only objective is to win the race, it’s as simple as that. I will have to carry 20 kilos of ballast but in Macau that shouldn’t mean too much. This track suits our car very well and it’s up to the driver to make the difference. And since I’m on a roll lately, I’m really confident for Macau, so there will be no excuses: I want that win, to add to the two second places I scored there in the past.”
For Chevrolet Europe’s Motorsport Manager, Eric Nève, the season has already been successful, no matter what the result in China. “Our target for 2006 was to be regular podium contender and win one race, something we already achieved right at the beginning of the season,” he said. “At Monza we scored our first podium, two races later we won at Brands Hatch. True, we had a bit of a dip in the fly-away races in the middle of the season, but the team regrouped magnificently and since Brno, where we scored our second win of the season, we were on the podium at each event. So we can be confident about Macau and beyond.”
As for the race in Istanbul, Chevrolet will host a daily TV-programme via the internet. “Chevrolet Racing Insight” is a 15-minute feature and shows life behind the scenes of the Chevrolet WTCC racing team in Macau. Media and fans alike can ask questions via the website which will be answered in the show. The first programme will air for the first time on Friday at 3.00pm CET, the second on Saturday at the same time and the third on Sunday again at 3.00pm. After the first airing each show can be watched again as Video On Demand via the same website, on chevrolet-racinginsight.com.
http://212.19.53.187/chevroleteurope/wtcc/download_zip.htm
MACAU WTCC SCHEDULE (Local time = CET + 7 hours)Thursday November 16th13.20-13.50 (06.20-06.50 CET) TestingFriday November 17th08.50-09.20 (01.50-02.20 CET) Free practice 112.30-13.00 (05.30-06.00 CET) Free practice 216.25-16.55 (09.25-09.55 CET) QualifyingSunday November 19th07.30-07.45 (00.30-00.45 CET) Warm-up11.05-11.30 (04.05-04.30 CET) WTCC Race 1 (9 laps = 55.800km)12.15-12.40 (05.15-05.40 CET) WTCC Race 2 (9 laps = 55.800km)Warm-up and the races will be broadcasted live on Eurosport, as well as on www.fiawtcc.com.
HANDICAP WEIGHTS FOR MACAU1. A Farfus, +80kgs; 2. J Müller, + 75kgs; 3. A Priaulx, +45kgs; 4. G Tarquini, +45kgs; 5. L Rangoni, +45kgs; 6. R Rydell, +35kgs; 7. D Müller, +35kgs; 8. P Terting, +30kgs; 9. N Larini, +20kgs; 10. J Thompson, +20kgs; 11. Y Muller, +20kgs; 12. J Magnussen, +20kgs; 13. A Couto, +20kgs; 14. J Gené, +15kgs; 15. A Zanardi, +10kgs; 16. R Huff, +10kgs; 17. A Menu, +10kgs; 18. G Morbidelli, +10kgs; 19. S Tavano, +5kgs; 20. T Coronel, +5kgs; 21. D Huisman, +5kgs.
POINTS STANDINGS AFTER RACE 18 OF 20Drivers: 1. A Farfus (Alfa Romeo) 60pts; 2. A Priaulx (BMW), 59; 3. J Müller (BMW), 59; 4. G Tarquini (SEAT), 57; 5. R Rydell (SEAT), 54; 6. D Müller (BMW), 53; 7. J Thompson (SEAT) 49; 8. Y Muller (SEAT), 48; 9. P Terting (SEAT), 48 ; 10. J Gené (SEAT), 36;… 12. N Larini (Chevrolet) 24;… 14. A Menu (Chevrolet) 21; 15. R Huff (Chevrolet) 20;…Manufacturers : 1. BMW, 221pts; 2. SEAT, 211; 3. Alfa Romeo, 147; 4. Chevrolet 122.
