CHEVROLET STORMS FIRST TESTING IN MACAU
Larini 1st, Menu 2nd and Huff 8th in free practice session
The last event of the 2006 WTCC could not have a more promising start for Chevrolet, as the three Lacettis WTC were in the top eight of the testing practice, with Larini and Menu sharing the virtual first row
Both Alain Menu and Nicola Larini topped the timesheets during today’s free practice in the superb and treacherous urban circuit in Macau, before the Italian put out a perfect lap (2’34”912) that left rivals almost one full second behind. In the closing minutes of the free session, Alain Menu secured second fastest time (2’35”031), while Rob Huff, despite suffering a differential problem, managed to set a time (2’36”063) in the top eight.
Nicola was clearly elated with the result and was almost poetic in explaining the particularities of racing in the streets of the former Portuguese colony: “This is a circuit I’ve always loved and reminds me of ... dancing. You really have to swing from one corner to the other, like if you were on a dance floor. It’s a matter of finding the right pace and never loose the continuum. Although I am pretty bad at real dancing, I love doing it with a car, in circuits such as this one. Today, I was lucky not to get stuck in traffic and it worked well. The car is quite ok, but there are a lot of little things to do to improve the balance”.
Nicola’s impressions were confirmed by his team-mates. Alain Menu admitted: “I am positively surprised by the times and the results, because the car actually feels a little bit strange. We have some understeering, especially in the hairpins and the tyres feel quite differently from last year.” Rob Huff explained: “I had a problem with the differential or the shaft, we still don’t know, but I had too much wheelspin. In addition, I was held up in my fastest lap. Still, I’m doing the eigth time and the car is ok, we just need to work a little bit on the understeering”.Ray Mallock, wrapping up the day, commented: “We knew since last year that the car was competitive in Macau. It’s a good start to the week end and we are going to work with the drivers and the engineers to be even more competitive in tomorrow’s qualifying”.
MACAU TESTING TIMES
1. N Larini (Chevrolet Lacetti) 2’34”9122. A Menu (Chevrolet Lacetti) + 0s1193. R Rydell (Seat) +0s4484. A Priaulx (BMW) +0s6285. Y Muller (Seat) +0s9528. R Huff (Chevrolet Lacetti) + 1s151
