WTCC Heads To Portugal For Novel Street Race In Porto
The 2007 World Touring Car Championship will reach the halfway mark in Portugal next weekend, with races 11 and 12 held at the street course in Porto. The Portuguese round of the WTCC is new on the calendar, while the 4.72-kilometre street track hasn’t been used by touring cars before. In other words: every contender will have to start from a clean sheet.
Porto is the third new venue on this year’s calendar, and the second street course the championship visits this year after Pau, with the third one, in Macau, hosting the traditional championship’s finale. After the success in the streets of Pau the Chevrolet team is keen to get some more strong results on the kind of track that typically suits the Chevrolet Lacetti WTC very well.
• QUOTES
Alain Menu: “It’s nice to have Porto in the middle of the season, as it’s almost like a fresh start to the second part of this year’s championship. A track new to everybody and a light car is exactly what you need to do well here. Unfortunately for the others, only three drivers have a Chevrolet Lacetti and if our recent street course performance is anything to go by, I’m sure we will do well. Unlike the Pau track, Porto appears to be quite fast as well, which means that qualifying is even more important than usual. Especially the hairpin could be hairy on the first lap, but otherwise I think we should be in for a good result.”
Nicola Larini: “Like Pau, Porto is a new track I will have to learn. The difference is that it is new for everybody or almost, and that puts all the drivers on equal footing. As we get closer to the race, I will try to learn the circuit from pictures and videos, at least to have a first impression and to be familiar with the corners. It is a street circuit, so I expect the Lacetti’s to be competitive there, as was the case in Pau. This should compensate, at least in part, the handicap of having to carry 50 kg of ballast. At this stage of the season, and given the good results, one has to live with high ballast. It means it will be difficult for me to aim for a win, at least in normal conditions, so I will focus on the Championship and try to get points, in order to maintain my position of first among the front-wheel drive cars, as well as to remain in contention for the top positions.”
Rob Huff: “We will go to Porto with a very light car, just an extra 5 kilos on board after a non-point-scoring weekend in Brno, where I had won a year ago. I haven’t been there yet, but I have viewed some in-car footage from another event, and it looks like a pretty interesting track. Normally, we should do well there, as the Chevrolet Lacetti seems to like street courses, as proved by our performance at this kind of track in Macau last year and Pau this year. Unlike Pau, however, this is a pretty long track at 4.72 kilometers, so it will be difficult to learn. The extra test session we get on Fridays at new tracks will certainly be used to do just that. Hopefully we can maximize our track time in the two free practice sessions as well, while at the same time work on an ideal set-up.”
Mark Busfield: “Since Pau we have made some design changes to improve the performance and durability of the Chevrolet Lacetti at street courses, based on our findings from the race in France. Remarkably, this time we have had the longest period to prepare the cars since the second round at Zandvoort, which translates in having the cars in the workshops for over a week. This has allowed the engineers and technicians to go over the cars as thoroughly as possible, while the drivers have sufficient track time to verify any new items that need validating. Both Alain and Rob have tested at MIRA last week, while Nicola and Rickard will be testing in Pembrey next week, Nicola to validate specific Porto-spec alterations and Rickard to prepare for the Swedish round in Anderstorp later in July.”
Eric Nève: “We’re pleased that, in Brno, Nicola at least managed to score enough points to move up to fourth overall in the drivers standings. Both Rob and Alain will be running lighter again, and we know already form the very first year of Chevrolet’s WTCC campaign that the Lacetti really takes to street races. Both times in Macau we were quick, yet unlucky, and in Pau Alain showed that the Chevrolet is the car to have when the WTCC literally hits the streets. I’m convinced the Porto race will be a success, as people in southern Europe are passionate about motorsports and no championship allows the fans to get as close to cars and drivers like the WTCC does.”
PORTO RACE SCHEDULE
Friday, 6 July 2007
15.30-16.00 Testing
Saturday, 7 July 2007
08.45-09.15 Free Practice 111.30-12.00 Free Practice 215.00-15.45 Qualifying
Sunday, 8 July 2007
08.00-08.30 Warm up10.05-10.35 Race 1: 11 laps = 51.920kms (Rolling start)15.20-15.50 Race 2: 11 laps = 51.920kms (Standing start)
DRIVERS POINTS STANDINGS AFTER RACE 10 OF 22
1. A Farfus (BMW), 53pts; 2. J Müller (BMW), 49; 3. A Priaulx (BMW), 44; 4. N Larini (Chevrolet), 32; 5. Y Muller (SEAT), 31;... 8. A Menu (Chevrolet), 22;... 12. R Huff (Chevrolet), 14;…
MANUFACTURERS STANDINGS AFTER RACE 10 OF 22
1. BMW, 142 pts; 2. SEAT, 104; 3. Chevrolet, 85; 4. Alfa Romeo, 51.PORTO WTCC ON TVThe races will be broadcasted live on Eurosport International.
