CRUZE AIMS AT PROVING FURTHER PROGRESS IN BRNO
Intense Testing Ahead Of Mid-Season Czech Round
Next week-end will not only mark the end of spring and the beginning of summer, but also the end of the first half of the World Touring Car Championship season. The sixth event of the WTCC will take place in the Masaryk Automotodrom, the beautiful and very technical track in the hills around Brno, Czech Republic, which regularly attracts large crowds from the various Central European countries.
The Chevrolet team heads to Moravia seeking to score good points and with the objective to prove the progress made by the new Cruze on traditional circuits. Since the last race in Valencia,the team has been testing for three days, at two separate venues, to continue developing and fine-tuning the balance of the Cruze.
• QUOTES
Rob Huff: “I always look forward to Brno: it is a very special place to me, because that is where Iwon my first WTCC race in 2006 and because I love the track, with its long flowing corners. Ithink we have all the cards in hand to do well there with the Cruze as well. The objective for theteam is to score as many points as possible and make up the disappointment we had inValencia”.
Alain Menu: “These two weeks have been busy for me. After Valencia, I tested the Cruze for twodays at Pembrey, where we made some good progress on the set-up. This weekend I will beracing in Argentina, in the first of the three endurance rounds of the TC2000 that I will compete inthis year. I am very happy to be given the opportunity to race with our “cousins” of the ChevroletElaion team. The race is in Termas de Río Hondo, in the north of the country, so I will spendsome time on planes, but I will be back in time and fully motivated for our next WTCC race inBrno, where we hope to do well”.
Nicola Larini: “In many aspects, Brno is quite similar to Valencia, so it is difficult to predict howthings will go, but I am confident the Cruze has moved another step forward following last week’stests. Brno is also a circuit where weather conditions can vary within minutes and this is also afactor to be taken into account. One good thing is that I will drive again my original race car,which is now completely repaired after the accident in Pau”.
Mark Busfield: “This time, with a gap of three weeks between Valencia and Brno, we couldhave the cars fully re-built and we could do some development testing. We stayed in Valencia theMonday after the race for a test session with Nicola, and we had another two days of testing atPembrey with Alain. This allowed us to do some development on the suspension and fine tunethe settings further. We haven’t made significant changes to the car; it is rather a matter of finetuningthe settings and validating some solutions to give us more performance”.
Eric Nève: “Time flies and we are already reaching mid-season! I think we can be happy withwhat the new Cruze has achieved: four wins in ten races is not bad at all! It is true that these winswere obtained in urban tracks, where we have always been very strong, but it is a result beyondour expectations and a wonderful boost for the entire team. Now we are focused on the evolutionof the Cruze and raising its performance level in every kind of track”.
BRNO RACE SCHEDULE (CET)
Saturday, 20th June 200908.30-09.00 Free Practice 111.00-11.30 Free Practice 215.00-15.35 Qualifying (Q1 20’ + Q2 10’)
Sunday, 21st June 200908.30-08.45 Warm up12.50-13.15 Race 1 (10 laps = 54.030 kms) (Rolling start)15.05-15.30 Race 2 (10 laps = 54.030 kms) (Standing start)
BRNO WTCC ON TVIn Europe, qualifying and the races will be broadcasted live on Eurosport International.WTCC DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS AFTER ROUND 10 OF 24 :1. Y Muller (SEAT), 57 points; 2. A Farfus (BMW), 54; 3. G Tarquini (SEAT), 46; 3. A Priaulx(BMW), 35; 5. R Huff (Chevrolet), 32; ... 10. N Larini (Chevrolet), 14; 11. A Menu (Chevrolet),14; etcWTCC CONSTRUCTORS CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS AFTER ROUND 10 OF 24:SEAT, 136 points; 2. BMW, 120; 3. Chevrolet, 96; 4. Lada, 35.
