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| CHEVROLET LOOKING FOR STRATEGIC POINTS IN FRANCE | |
| Balances and Calculators As Important as Stopwatches | |
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ZÜRICH / WELLINGBOROUGH, April 21st, 2006 — The four weeks since Monza have been used by the Chevrolet WTCC team to ready themselves for the next rounds at Magny Cours, as with a first podium finish to their tally on the track that theoretically should have favoured them the least they also have a new factor to take into consideration: success ballast.
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Success ballast is something everyone in the WTCC paddock has a love-hate relationship with. You want it badly, because it means you have been successful. You want to get rid of it just as badly, because it slows you down. Thus, rather than sheer speed and trying to finish as high as possible, the altered success ballast system now means that strategy will come into play more even than last year. At the beginning of the season all cars ran with the car's base weight; plus 20kgs of ballast. As per the regulations, at the end of each weekend - after the second race - the points scored that weekend are calculated separately, and then success ballast weight is added or taken away from each of the competitors according to the sum of the points scored. Drivers also get 5kgs of success ballast added for each ten points they score throughout the season; weight which can not be "lost" along the way. Menu, by finishing third in the second race, scored six points, making him the fifth best driver of the weekend, which equals a success weight of + zero kilograms. In other words: Alain will start in Magny Cours with the initial 20kgs of ballast still bolted to the floor of his Chevrolet.
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"Adding weight obviously slows the car down," said RML Chief Engineer, Mark Way. "Braking distances increase and the response of the car is worse. Another consequence is that handling and braking difficulties are accentuated. During testing this can help us to highlight problems, but we would of course prefer not to have them in the first place. As to where to put the extra weight it should ideally sit as low as possible and as close to the centre of gravity as possible so that changes to balance are minimised. Thus the weight is normally situated in the position of the passenger seat."
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"The way the success ballast system works this year, means that I should be going for a ninth place finish at Magny Cours in order to be able to go flat-out at the next round in Brands Hatch," said Alain Menu. "Depending on where I qualify I will either try to finish on the podium or be outside the best eight scorers of the weekend. That way I can get rid of the 20kgs of ballast for Brands Hatch, which is a race track that should suit our car even more than Magny Cours. But obviously, should I be in a position to finish well up the order then carrying ballast at the next race will be an unfortunate option I'll have to take. In any case, we have tested all through the winter on the different set-ups that go with the added ballast weight, so we are well prepared."
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Rob Huff on the other hand will be looking forward to scoring points in Magny Cours. The only Chevrolet driver not have taken any points home after Monza, Huff nevertheless proved that luck is as much a factor as talent in modern day touring car racing. "As they say, no use crying over spilled milk, so I hope to make amends in France. We tested in Magny Cours over winter together with some of our competitors, and from what we saw then we can be confident that we will be in the game from the word go. And, as I won't be carrying any ballast in my car, I hope to be right there." And since Rob himself already lost ten kilos over winter, it should make him a contender indeed.
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Nicola Larini "only" finished seventh in Monza, but his seventh place came after having start 27th on the grid. No other driver made up that big a number of places in just nine laps, another factor which underlines the qualities of the 2006 Chevrolet Lacetti WTC.
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"We are going to France in a special mood, indeed," said Chevrolet Europe's Motorsports Manager, Eric Nève. "It is not one of our favourite tracks, but neither was Monza and we still got away with our best result yet. It will be interesting to see how the new success ballast will work for the first time, but in general I think it will be good for the championship. It will also be interesting to see how we cope with the - for us - new given of success ballast."
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MAGNY COURS WTCC SCHEDULE
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| Saturday April 29th | |
| 09.00-09.30 | Free Practice 1 |
| 12.15-12.45 | Free Practice 2 |
| 15.05-15.35 | Qualifying |
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| Sunday April 30th | |
| 09.25-09.40 | Warm Up |
| 15.10-15.35 | WTCC Race 1 (12 laps = 52.920kms) |
| 16.15-16.40 | WTCC Race 2 (12 laps = 52.920kms) |
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Qualifying, warm-up and the races will be broadcasted live on Eurosport.
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POINTS STANDINGS AFTER RACE 2 OF 20
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| 1. Yvan Muller (SEAT), | 16pts |
| 2. Augusto Farfus (Alfa Romeo) | 11pts |
| 3. Andy Priaulx (BMW) | 10pts |
| 5ex. Jamie Thompson (SEAT) and Alain Menu (Chevrolet) | 6pts |
| 11. Nicola Larini (Chevrolet) | 2pts |
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Manufacturers
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| 1. SEAT | 16pts |
| 2. Alfa Romeo | 22pts |
| 3. BMW | 18pts |
| 4. Chevrolet | 12pts |
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SUCCESS BALLAST (HANDICAP WEIGHTS) AFTER RACE 2 OF 20
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| 1. Yvan Muller (SEAT) | +65kgs |
| 2. Augusto Farfus (Alfa Romeo) | +55kgs |
| 3. Andy Priaulx (BMW) | +45kgs |
| 4. Gabriele Tarquini (Alfa Romeo) | +30kgs |
| 5. Alain Menu (Chevrolet) | +20kgs |
| 6. James Thompson (SEAT) | +20kgs |
| 7. Dirk Müller (BMW) | +10kgs |
| 8. Alessandro Balzan (Alfa Romeo) | +10kgs |
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CHEVROLET RACING AROUND THE GLOBE
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| In the USA, Jimmie Johnson still firmly leads the standings in the NASCAR Nextel Cup, having won two races so far. Tony Stewart won the Virginia 500 on April 2nd, and added an IROC race to his tally the following weekend at the Texas Motor Speedway. More information on Chevrolet NASCAR programme can be found on http://www.gm.com/company/racing. | |
| Meanwhile in Argentina, the Chevrolet Astra's cleaned up by finishing 1-2-3 in Comodoro Rivadavia. Christian Ledesma led home Mariano Altuna and Matias Rossi. Rossi still leads the TC2000 Touring Car Championship after three rounds. More information can be found on http://www.tc2000.com.ar. |
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| > | 19 July 2006 Chevrolet heads to Mexico after intensive tests |
| > | 30 June 2006 Brazilian winter and soccer fever welcome WTCC |
| > | 23 June 2006 Interactive live web conference from Curitiba |
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29 May 2006 Chevrolet Starts Four-Race “World Tour” In Germany |
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19 May 2006 Menu 8th in free practice session |
| > | 10 Mai 2006 Rob Huff Keen To Go Back To Track Of First Touring Car Success |
| > | 21 April 2006 Balances and Calculators As Important as Stopwatches |
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27 March 2006 35 Cars Expected In Closer Than Ever Touring Car Fest |
| > | 22 March 2006 Ideal Conditions At Second Day Of Official Test |
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21 March 2006 Team Sees Winter Promise Confirmed |
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10 March 2006 First Privateer Lacetti Runs In Magny Cours |
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28 February 2006 Learning Process On New Tyres Continues |
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21 February 2006 Drivers Enthused By 2006 Chevrolet Lacetti WTC |
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08 February 2006 Rob Huff Happy With “Comfortable and Smooth” Car |
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30 January 2006 First Customer Cars Will Run In ADAC Procar Championship; WTCC Outing Possible |
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12 January 2006 Continues Involvement in Top-Level Motorsports |
| > | 11 Januar 2006 New Car To Start Testing In February; Customer Cars Available |
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