LADA Sport LUKOIL drivers James Thompson and Mikhail Kozlovskiy are feeling prepared for the final round of this year’s FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) following a successful test session in Macau yesterday (Thursday).
Thursday’s test session allowed the drivers time to get to grips with the demands of the fast and demanding street circuit which is considered one of the most difficult and fastest racetracks of the season. Driving a LADA Granta, British driver James Thompson finished the test session ninth while team-mate Mikhail Kozlovskiy, who has never raced at Macau before, finished the session in 20th place.
First established in 1954 the layout of the Guia circuit is very unique. The elevation of the track is more than 30 meters, and it is interspersed with straights and hairpins which require the utmost concentration from the drivers. The final race of the season has also attracted record numbers with 34 cars expected to start the race and is the second biggest grid in the history of WTCC after Monza in 2006.
LADA Sport Lukoil driver James Thompson commented: “I’m feeling really positive ahead of the weekend - I did only three fast laps today but still made the top 10. I really love the circuit in Macau, and the fact it is challenging makes me enjoy it even more. It is very difficult because it has a bit of everything – long straights, slow sectors and various types of corners. The top speed on the circuit is also really high – more than 250 km per hour. Qualifying will be key as there aren’t many places where you can overtake. In fact, there is only one place which you can overtake properly and that is at the first sector. Overall, our testing results have been good today so myself and the team are feeling prepared for the race now.”
Team-mate Mikhail Kozlovskiy added: “This is my first time in Macau so today was about getting to know the circuit. I mainly concentrated on learning the main characteristics of the track and trying to get to grips with the corners. Our goal here is to improve our times and today we managed that which is a good start. It is very important to look after the car on this circuit and to stay away from any of the incidents on the track. Macau deserves its reputation as one of the most dangerous and difficult racetracks in the championship - the first sector is very fast but the third section, where we have this Melco hairpin, is quite slow. However, the whole Guia Circuit is very fast, which is not typical for street tracks so it’s going to be a tricky weekend.”
The LIVE Eurosport broadcasting starts on Friday 15 November at 1530 (local time) for qualifying. Race 1 will be broadcast at 1200 with Race 2 being broadcast one hour later.
