No summer recess for the team, who continued working and testing ahead of Oschersleben and the final rounds of the WTCC season
After the short summer break, the WTCC resumes with the traditional Race of Germany, hosted at the Oschersleben Motor Arena. The round in the very technical and demanding track in Saxony-Anhalt marks the opening of the final and decisive stretch of the season, which also includes the last European stop in Spain and the two Asian rounds in Japan and Macau. Needless to say, each of these rounds will play a crucial role in the quest for the title, as the battle is closer than ever this year.
The Chevrolet team is approaching this decisive phase with the strongest determination to keep the lead in both the Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ championships and with renewed commitment and motivation. The team has been using the summer recess to continue the development work on the Cruze, performing a three-day test in Magny-Cours mid-August and working at the RML factory to prepare for the four final rounds of the WTCC season.
The drivers and the entire team are anxious to be hitting the track again in Oschersleben, in a country where touring car racing is particularly popular and where our brand has many friends. This will be a special opportunity for the Cruze to showcase its qualities, as the street model passes the threshold of 140,000 units sold globally in the first six months of 2010. With a total of 270,000 units sold since it was launched in 2009, the Cruze is now one of the fastest-growing nameplates in the world, with sales rising an average of 18 percent per month.
QUOTES
Yvan Muller: “Oschersleben is the start of the final straight of the season and now is the time things will get really serious! Theoretically, Oschersleben and Valencia should better suit our competitors, while Okayama and Macau should be more favourable to the Cruze, but we have seen this season that theory and reality do not necessarily match, so we have to go for it at every race. The key point will be not to make any mistake, and try to score heavy points everywhere. Oschersleben will be tough, because it is not an easy circuit, and the fight will be very close, as all top cars are on an equal footing with regard to weight. We have prepared well for this event, and the test we made in Magny-Cours a couple of weeks ago was very useful to further fine-tune some technical options”.
Rob Huff: “Following the good week-end in Brno, I am now fourth in the championship and in a good back-up position behind Yvan. Our objective in these four final rounds is to be as strong as we have been in the first two thirds of the season and to continue building up on that basis. I am confident that the Cruze will do well in Oschersleben, especially after the good test session in Magny-Cours, where we have extended the car’s potential. Oschersleben is a circuit I like, that’s where I obtained my first WTCC pole position in 2008. I just hope that the weather conditions, which are often mixed there, will not have a negative impact like last year”.
Alain Menu: “I am happy to be in Oschersleben again, it is a track I like: not the most beautiful in the season, but certainly one of the most technical. To go fast there you have to be extremely clean in your driving and you have to attack at the same time, not an easy balance to reach but a very interesting challenge from a driving perspective. The design of the track is such that any small mistake costs you quite a few tenths and at the same time you are obliged to use the kerbs in some corners and hence, which means you have to control the destabilization of the car. Rear-wheel drive cars should be quick there, but also the turbodiesels and ourselves should be competitive, so it will be a good fight. My objective is to get as many points as possible for the team, as the battle closes up for both titles, and we fight to stay on top of the overall standings”.
Ron Hartvelt: “There were no summer holidays for the team, the break in racing activity just meant that we had more time to test and to work and that the cars could be serviced and re-built from top to bottom. We had a very useful three-day testing session in Magny-Cours. The weather was perfect and we could go through the entire test programme, which focused on re-confirming some set-up ideas we had been lying down during the last few months. We also tested successfully some new parts for the rear suspension which we will bring to Oschersleben. I anticipate this coming round as being a very tough battle with our competitors and I believe it will be extremely important to be competitive on Saturday’s qualifying and try to be in front of our rivals on the grid”.
Eric Nève: “For the first time, Chevrolet is entering the final part of the season as leader of both championships. We are clearly determined to do well and to keep the leadership in both the Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ standings. Taking into account the transport times to Japan and China, the calendar is going to be extremely tight from now up until the end of the season. This is why it was extremely important to use the summer weeks to continue working and advancing in the development of the Cruze, and I am very happy with the work done so far by the team. For the Oschersleben race, the Cruzes will have an additional sponsor, TV Spielfilm. It is rewarding to see companies willing to be associated to our programme and their backing is welcome to support further testing and development work”.
OSCHERSLEBEN SCHEDULE (Local time = CET)
Saturday, 4th September 2010
08:30-09:00 Free Practice 1
12.40-13:10 Free Practice 2
15:00-15:20 Qualifying 1 (20’)
15:25-15:35 Qualifying 2 (10’)
Sunday, 5th September 2010
08:30-08:45 Warm up
13:05-13:30 Race 1 (14 laps = 51.744 kms) (Rolling start)
15:20-15:45 Race 2 (14 laps = 51.744 kms) (Standing start)
