Zolder hosts the first European event, which will see the debut of the 1.6 turbo Cruzes entered by the UK’s Bamboo Engineering
Six weeks after the season-opener in Brazil, the WTCC arrives to Europe, where 8 of the 12 rounds of this year’s calendar will be held, as it is now confirmed that Budapest will host the round originally scheduled for Marrakech. After the double win in South America, Chevrolet goes to Belgium in the best possible position, as leader of the Manufacturers’ standings and with its three drivers in the top three of the Drivers’ ranking.
The objective for the new 1.6 turbo Cruze is therefore to continue building on an excellent start to the season, knowing that the championship has only just started and that competitors are determined to catch up quickly after getting to grips with their new weaponry.
In Belgium, there will be a number of new cars complying with the new 1.6 turbo petrol engine regulation. Among them, are two additional Cruzes, entered by British privateer team Bamboo Engineering that has been competing in the WTCC since last year. Equipped with their new cars, Darryl O’Young and Yukinori Taniguchi will certainly be strong contenders in the WTCC’s Independents Trophy.
• QUOTESYvan Muller (#1): “Zolder is a one off kind of circuit and which has some mystique. I thinkwe can do well there, but it will be essential to do well in qualifying, because starting fromthe front rows is a real advantage there. I don’t know what to expect from the competition, itwill be interesting to see how much they have progressed since Curitiba”.
Rob Huff (#2): “I am excited about starting the European season and it’s nice to go to acircuit without having to visit an airport! The Cruze worked well in Zolder last year, so Iexpect this to be the case this time too. In reality, we have a car and a package that is goingto be competitive at every circuit, and this is our strength. Still, the competition is going tostep-up in Zolder and it’s going to be challenging to keep the 1-2-3 in the championship thatwe built in Curitiba. I am leading the Drivers’ standings for the first time, it’s a nice feeling,but it doesn’t mean much at this stage, so I’ll be taking each week-end as it comes and try todo my best every time”.
Alain Menu (#8): “Everything is under control and I am happy about how the new Cruzeperforms, so I am going to Zolder with the objective to continue the course initiated inCuritiba and score heavy points. I like Zolder, it is a technical circuit, with interesting fastcorners like 1 and 3. I like less the chicanes, especially the second one, where it is neververy clear whether you are allowed to cut a bit or not, although one needs to be very carefulwith the kerbs there. It is also a track where overtaking is not easy: if the driver in frontdoesn’t make a mistake, it is very difficult to pass, so it will be key to be in front sincequalifying”.
Ron Hartvelt: “The cars came back from Brazil a couple of days earlier than expected, thismeant that we had the time to bring them back to the RML factory instead of going straightto Zolder, which altered our logistics plan a little bit. In between races, we have been testingat Brands Hatch, and everything went well. We have also been busy building the two 1.6turbo Cruzes for Bamboo Engineering, which will make their debut at Zolder. One of thesecars is the one used by Cacá Bueno in Curitiba and which was flown back after the race, theother is the first test car. Our new test car is currently being built at the factory, and this isthe reason why we will not have a fourth car in Zolder this time. The Belgian track shouldsuit us well, the only thing to watch carefully are the high kerbs, which caused some brokenwheels last year. For the rest, with our three drivers in the top three positions in thechampionship, we can certainly look forward to some exciting racing”.
Eric Nève: “Zolder, where I raced in the early days of my motorsport career, is a veryspecial place to me and always brings back nice memories and warm feelings. It’s a trackwhere Chevrolet hasn’t won yet, so we definitively have that as an objective. With the circuitbeing one of the favorite tracks of touring car fans and the many guests Chevrolet will havefrom Belgium, the Netherlands and France, we can also expect quite a nice atmosphereduring the entire week-end”.
ZOLDER RACE SCHEDULE (Local time = CET)Friday, 22nd April 201114:00-14:30 TestingSaturday, 23rd April 201109:05-09:35 Free Practice 111:00-11:30 Free Practice 214:00-14:35 QualifyingSunday, 24th April 201109:05-09:20 Warm up12:20-12:45 Race 1 (13 laps = 53,404 kms) (Rolling start)13:35-14:00 Race 2 (13 laps = 53,404 kms) (Standing start)
DRIVERS POINTS STANDINGS AFTER RACE 2 OF 241. Huff (Chevrolet), 37 points; 2. Menu (Chevrolet) and Muller (Chevrolet), 33; 4. TCoronel (BMW), 30 ; 5. Bueno (Chevrolet), 25 ; etc...
MANUFACTURERS POINTS STANDINGS AFTER RACE 2 OF 241. Chevrolet, 83 points; 2. BMW, 53; 3. SEAT, 40; 4. Volvo, 12.
ZOLDER WTCC ON TVIn Europe, qualifying, warm up and the races are be broadcasted live on EurosportInternational.
