ROB HUFF FASTEST CHEVROLET LACETTI IN SIXTH
Narrow Streets Of Pau More Difficult Than Ever
Steady rain greeted the 2008 World Touring Car Championship contenders upon their return to the streets of Pau in the southwest of France.
The two free practice sessions were run in treacherously wet conditions while for qualifying the track unexpectedly stayed dry. This required a last-minute u-turn in setup, but the Chevrolet team stepped up to the plate and gave Rob Huff, Nicola Larini and Alain Menu the perfect tools to do their job.
With Sundays Pau Grand Prix – one of the oldest street races in the world – looking set to be a wet affair as well, qualifying was more important here than at any other race track on the WTCC calendar. Indeed, with very limited overtaking possibilities on the narrow Pyrenees streets – certainly so in the wet – the mission for the drivers was clear: qualify as close as possible to the front row to be good for the first race, or – given the success ballast they are carrying – the fourth row, to be in a better position for the second race.
With a sixth (Huff), eighth (Larini) and 11th (Menu) grid position things look good for the Chevrolet team.
QUOTES
Rob Huff (6th): “It was a difficult day today. I think it’s been one of the hardest qualifying days we’ve had in a long time, but all’s well that ends well. We kept on tweaking the car in qualifying after this morning’s wet practice sessions and we got it right where we wanted. The crew did a fantastic job in fixing the car again after my off from this morning. So to qualify sixth with 48kgs of success ballast on board is quite pleasing.”
Nicola Larini (8th): “On my last flying lap I got badly baulked again by another competitor who was weaving all over the place. If not I think I could have been two or three tenths faster than I was now. Anyway, the car was handling great towards the end of the session after I made some changes. If I have the same car tomorrow from eighth on the grid things might look just right for the second race.”
Alain Menu (11th): “On my fastest lap everything looked very good in the first two sectors since I improved in both. Then in the tiny chicane I hit the concrete kerbs on the left, bounced off into the tyre barriers on the right which in turn shot me off into the Armco on the left, damaging the rear left suspension. It’s a shame because I could have been right up there. Still, I’m surprised that with the time there was still left in the session I didn’t drop further back than 11th, so anything could happen tomorrow. Having started last in Valencia two weeks ago and going on to win the second race, I think I could still score some serious points tomorrow.”
PAU QUALIFYING RESULTS
1. A Farfus BMW 320si 1m21s960 2. Y Muller SEAT Leon TDI + 0s020 3. J Gené SEAT Leon TDI + 0s316 4. G Tarquini SEAT Leon TDI + 0s489 5. R Rydell SEAT Leon TDI + 0s534 6. R Huff Chevrolet Lacetti + 0s551 8. N Larini Chevrolet Lacetti + 0s830 11. A Menu Chevrolet Lacetti + 1s086
