WTCC Manufacturers’ and Drivers’ titles conquered with another win and two more podium finishes in Macau
Chevrolet won today in Macau the Manufacturers’ WTCC title, while Yvan Muller was officially declared Drivers’ WTCC Champion. This double success, the first of Chevrolet and GM in a FIA-sanctioned world championship, seals a perfect finale to theoutstanding campaign of the Cruze throughout the season.
The championships were conquered with bravura, as Rob Huff and Yvan Muller took a double winin Race 1, after a faultless flag-to-flag performance. In Race 2, the Chevrolet duo had to fight hardto pass Farfus, finishing 3rd and 4th, which means that Chevrolet has been on the podium in 21 ofthe 22 races this year. Unfortunately, this was not enough for Huff to take the runner-up position inthe championship, as he finished tied in points with Tarquini, declared vice-champion only onnumber of wins. Alain Menu had a more difficult week-end but showed again his tremendous teamspirit and personal bravery, having to cope with the sad news of his dad’s death. The Swissfinished Race 1 in 7th position, after a contact with the wall in lap 1, but could not take advantagefrom the first row position in Race 2, as a mechanical problem got him stuck on the grid.As “We are the Champions!” was being sung in the Chevrolet garage after the race, amidaccolades, toasts and some tears, the RML team was preparing for a long night of well-deservedcelebrations. Once back in Europe, work will resume, with a new challenge in sight: getting thenew Cruze 1.6 turbo as competitive as the current race car in 2011.
• Quotes
Yvan Muller (2010 WTCC Champion): "It’s fantastic to conquer the title in my first year withChevrolet. It’s never easy to be competitive straight away with a new car and a new team, butintegration into this wonderful team has been easy, as I received a lot of support from everymember of the team. I have no words to express my appreciation and my gratitude to them. It ismy second WTCC title, I am really very happy, I want to enjoy every single second of this successand share it with all the people that made it possible. Moments like this are so rare in life that onehas really to take the chance to savor and enjoy them fully!”
Rob Huff (3rd in 2010 WTCC): “What a great car and what a great team we have. Congratulationsto Yvan, he drove beautifully throughout the season and fully deserves the title. The team hasdone a terrific job in putting all the pieces of the puzzle together to achieve this great result. I amproud of being part of such a team and grateful of the trust that Chevrolet and RML put on mesince day one. I had some cracking results throughout this season, although I couldn’t be in aposition to fight for the title due to some race incidents out of my control, but I really look forward tonext year”.
Alain Menu (6th in 2010 WTCC): "It’s a fantastic day for Chevrolet, RML and the entire team, I amreally very, very happy. When we started, almost from nothing some six years ago, we really had avery big task ahead of us, bigger than anyone would have thought at that time. But we made it andI am proud of having brought my contribution. I still remember with deep emotion our first win inBrands Hatch in 2006, that is really a special memory. Now we have to enjoy the moment and thengo back to work. After a difficult season for me this year, I really look forward to give Alain and Roba hard time in 2011!”
Wayne Brannon, President and Managing Director Chevrolet Europe: “Today’s achievementis the culmination of six years of hard work, of incredible dedication and true passion. I want tothank all the many talented and dedicated people who have been involved in Chevrolet’s WTCCprogramme since the very beginning and who have made this success possible. It is them who arealways first place in my book. “World Champion” is a label that Chevrolet is very proud of,especially as our brand continues to grow globally with more and more customers choosing usevery day. We are excited about the launch of many new and innovative products that respond tocustomer needs. I am immensely happy for this incredible RML racing team and all the Chevroletemployees, customers and fans throughout the world”.
Nick Reilly, President GM Europe: “It is with great happiness that I extend my warmestcongratulations to the whole Chevrolet team for this great success, which is a well-deservedreward to the great work done over six years. Since the launch of Chevrolet’s WTCC campaign in2005, from a blank sheet of paper, I was convinced this team was to become a World Champion,and today is the day! “
Eric Nève, Manager Motorsports Chevrolet Europe: “We all share a sense of accomplishmentand fulfillment today, it’s a very rewarding moment. What I would say, from my perspective, is thatconsistency and continuity have paid off. Those have been my guidelines during the six years ofthis programme: chose the best technical partner, the best people, the best drivers, buildsomething with them and stick with them. I always prefer to look ahead rather than behind, but if Ihave to chose a moment among the many lived during this six years, I would pick up the week-endof our debut, Monza 2005. It was an emotional moment, where one could feel the excitement ofthe entire company around us. Our cars qualified in positions 21, 22 and 23 in that first race, threesecond and a half from the pole. That in itself shows the long way we’ve come since then. At theend of that week-end, the list of “points to work on” included no less than 160 items! I guess we’vegone through all of them...”
Ray Mallock, CEO RML Ltd: “It’s a fantastic feeling to be World Champions and the cherry on thecake to an incredible season. We knew we were competitive and that we could deliver this result,now it’s done! This was our objective since we started the WTCC programme with Chevrolet, it hasbeen a tough and wonderful journey, building up year after year. We now look forward to the new
Cruze 1.6 turbo and are very excited about this next challenge”.MACAU RACE 1 RESULTS1. R Huff Chevrolet Cruze 11 laps in 35m34s8402. Y Muller Chevrolet Cruze + 0s3663. T Monteiro SEAT León TDI + 0s6314. G Tarquini SEAT León TDI + 0s9095. N Michelisz SEAT León TDI + 1s3068. A Menu Chevrolet Cruze + 2s564
MACAU RACE 2 RESULTS1. N Michelisz SEAT León TDI 10 laps in 54m37s4152. G Tarquini SEAT León TDI + 1s1933. R Huff Chevrolet Cruze + 1s5434. A Menu Chevrolet Cruze + 10s8865. A Farfus BMW 320si + 14s675DNF A Menu Chevrolet Cruze 2 laps (mechanical)
DRIVERS POINTS STANDINGS AFTER RACE 22 OF 221. Y Muller (Chevrolet), 331 points; 2. G Tarquini (SEAT), 276; 3. R Huff (Chevrolet), 276 ; 4. APriaulx (BMW), 246 ; 5. T Monteiro (SEAT), 177; 6. A Menu (Chevrolet), 173; ... 21. L Pernía(Chevrolet), 1.
MANUFACTURERS POINTS STANDINGS AFTER RACE 22 OF 221. Chevrolet, 715 points; 2. SEAT, 641; 3. BMW, 580.
