Following on from a frustrating weekend in Oschersleben, where the unpredictable rain, race incidents and penalties prevented the Cruzes to benefit from the good pace shown on the track, the Chevrolet team heads to the next round of the WTCC in Imola with renewed determination to score good results.
As always, the WTCC can expect a passionate and warm welcome in the historic ‘AutodromoEnzo e Dino Ferrari” near Bologna and Chevrolet can count on its many fans in Italy, a countrywhere the brand is very popular. The Chevrolet Cruze WTCC was presented to the public for thefirst time in Italy, at last December’s Bologna Motor Show, but has never raced or tested in Imola;notwithstanding this, the good performance level shown at Oschersleben, a track which hassimilar characteristics, i.e. a combination of very fast and technical sections, than the Italiancircuit, is a good premise to this last European round of the season.
• QUOTESRob Huff: “Imola is a very special circuit, there is an electric atmosphere that you feelimmediately when you get there. It will be another new circuit for the Cruze, so it’s difficult to sayhow well we will perform there with respect to our competitors, but I think we can show good pacethere, as we did in Oschersleben last week. I only hope we will not have all the problems we hadin Germany and that I can repeat the podium finish of last year.”
Alain Menu: “I personally like Imola a lot. It has very fast and technical sections that are not easyto negotiate with a touring car. If you lose the ideal line, your lap is basically lost. Depending onwhat happens during qualifying, I think we can look for some good result there, especially inRace 2. We saw in Oschersleben how important it is to be up in the grid, and how much of whathappens on Sundays is actually based on Saturday qualifying’s results, but we also saw that theCruze is starting to perform well in all types of circuits, and this is really positive.”
Nicola Larini: “This, of course, is my home race and a circuit I like very much, so I am reallyanxious to be in Imola and I will really go for a win there! I have always performed well in theItalian round of the WTCC in previous years, and it’s time to add the biggest cup to my collection.Based on what the Cruze showed in Oschersleben, I think we can aim at some very good results,provided we qualify well. Imola this year will also be a special race for me, as my younger brotherAndrea will also be competing in the WTCC, driving one of the SunRed SEATs. We have oftenbeen racing in the same place the same week-end, but generally in different categories. This willbe quite fun, and as you can imagine, there is some excitement in the Larini family...”
Mark Busfield: “When we look back at the cars performance at Germany it’s encouraging for usto show well in Imola. The last week has been very busy to re-prepare the cars for Imola and alsoto prepare all the freight for the remainder of the season, as the cars and equipment will leave theImola paddock on the Monday after the race to travel direct to the first long haul race in Japan.The logistics for this are enormous and after our shake down today the cars will not return to thefactory until after the last race in Macau. As Imola is the last race of the European season, it’svital to give our home fans a good showing, and gather up some more heavy points.”
Eric Nève: “After what happened in Oschersleben, our championship chances are basicallygone, therefore we can focus on single races again and try to go for some big result at each one,a strategy that has worked well for us in the past. Imola is quite an important race for us, as Italyis by far Chevrolet’s most important market in the EU and one of the true cradles of the passionfor motorsports. The atmosphere there is always terrific, we always have a lot of fans supportingus there, and for sure this will be an extra reason to do well.”.
IMOLA RACE SCHEDULE (CET)Saturday, 19th September 200908.45-09.15 Free Practice 111:00-11:30 Free Practice 215.00-15.35 Qualifying (Q1 20’ + Q2 10’)Sunday, 20th September 200909.00-09.15 Warm up12.50-13.15 Race 1 (11 laps = 53.999 kms) (Rolling start)15.05-15.30 Race 2 (11 laps = 53.999 kms) (Standing start)
IMOLA WTCC ON TVIn Europe, qualifying, warm up and the races are be broadcasted live on Eurosport International.
DRIVERS POINTS STANDINGS AFTER RACE 18 OF 241. G Tarquini (SEAT), 91 points; 2. A Farfus (BMW), 90; 3. Y Muller (SEAT), 84; 4. A Priaulx(BMW), 66: 5. R Rydell (SEAT), 61; ... 7. R Huff (Chevrolet), 54; ... 11. A Menu (Chevrolet),24;... 13. N Larini (Chevrolet), 21; etc.
MANUFACTURERS POINTS STANDINGS AFTER RACE 18 OF 241. SEAT, 235 points; 2. BMW, 234; 3. Chevrolet, 159; 4. Lada, 68.CHEVROLET RACING AROUND THE GLOBE
