IN HOME DEBUT WITH THE LACETTI
First Half of the Season Sees Chevrolet and Menu Leading in Some Key Statistics
The Scandinavian Raceway, nested in the forest of Southern Sweden, welcomed today the WTCC teams in typical Nordic style: showers, wind and cool temperatures but smiling faces all around!
As the second half of the season starts, it is time to take stock and to note that Chevrolet tops the table by number of pole positions (3) and is second by number of victories (3). Among drivers, Alain Menu is the one having conquered most race wins and poles (3, in each case) and the one on top of the ranking of laps led (46).
Today’s testing session in Anderstorp ended with a Chevrolet Lacetti setting the fastest time: local hero Rickard Rydell, at the wheel of a fourth Lacetti entered in this event, made good use of the wet conditions, his knowledge of the track and the light ballast in his car. Nicola Larini, Alain Menu and Rob Huff scored very similar times, after a session devoted to learning the track and exploring set-ups.
• QUOTESRickard Rydell: “It is nice to be back and to show that I’m still competitive! I know the track, of course, but I think that what really helped me today is the fact that the day of testing with the Lacetti that I did earlyJuly took place almost entirely on a wet track. So, I have a reasonable knowledge of the car on the wet and I just hope that it is going to rain all weekend!”
Nicola Larini: “Nothing special to say, really. I have only been looking for the right lines, running with the same tyres and without taking any risk. It has been a good learning session and I only would like to have less success ballast!”
Alain Menu: “The circuit is fun but there is something strange about the grip of the track, very good in some places, not so in others. For the rest, we will have to work to improve the balance of the car.”
Rob Huff: “I spent the session learning the circuit, which is not particularly difficult. Still, there are several possible lines in the key corners and it was important to explore which one is the best. Regarding the set-up, we will review the data tonight and make some changes for tomorrow”.
Ray Mallock: “It is really nice to see four Chevrolets in the track. Rickard’s local knowledge and lack of success ballast helped him to top the time sheet today. It’s a good start but we still have a long weekend ahead of us”.
ANDERSTORP TESTING TIMES
1. R Rydell (Chevrolet Lacetti) 1m51s8952. F Ekblom (BMW 320si) +0s0443. J Müller (BMW 320si) +0s3104. T Monteiro (Seat León) +0s4655. J Thompson (Alfa Romeo 156) +0s50815. N Larini (Chevrolet Lacetti) +1s16216. A Menu (Chevrolet Lacetti) +1s25017. R Huff (Chevrolet Lacetti) +1s297
