Huff leads Cruzes in Macau testing

The 29 cars participating in the final World Touring Car Championship round in Macau took to the circuit for testing today in a session overshadowed by unfavorable track conditions and numerous flag interruptions.As customary with any street circuit used for racing once a year, conditions were very ‘green’ – motorsports jargon used for a dirty and slippery circuit – making the 30-minute session far from ideal. However, conditions are expected to improve as the track rubbers in throughout the busy weekend program.Rob Huff was the best-performing of the three RML-run Cruzes, recording the 3rd fastest time. The Briton’s performance confirmed his confidence on the fast Guia circuit, where he has won five of the last eight races.Huff is best placed to clinch his first WTCC Drivers’ World Champion title on Sunday. He leads Chevrolet teammates Alain Menu and Yvan Muller – the only two other drivers who can still clinch the title – by 35 and 41 points respectively in the overall standings. A maximum of 55 points are still on offer.Menu was 7th fastest in today’s session while Muller did not manage to complete a single fast lap as his two attempts were interrupted by yellow or red flags, one of which followed Darryl O’Young’s crash in a Bamboo Engineering Cruze. The car was severely damaged, but O’Young escaped relatively unharmed.Macau welcomed the WTCC community with overcast skies and unusually mild temperatures. The teams will have to work hard on set up prior to Friday’s qualifying session.Tomorrow’s qualifying will be crucial to determine the grid positions for Race 1 on Sunday, something of even greater importance on a narrow circuit such as Macau, where overtaking is extremely difficult.Chevrolet has already claimed the Manufacturers’ title. The U.S. brand leads the standing on 930 points and could break the 1,000-point barrier, something that has never been achieved in the WTCC, if results go the right way. BMW follows in 2nd place on 602 points and SEAT is 3rd on 569 points.


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