• QUOTES

Rob Huff: “To be perfectly honest: I’m going to Valencia to win! I’ll be the lightest of the three Chevrolets and the car is very fast as we saw in Holland, so there’s no reason why I shouldn’t be in a position to win. Zandvoort was a great race for the team, although I feel I’ve let them down a bit, so I’ll make up for that in Spain. We’ve always qualified well there, but unfortunately I never managed to make it through the first corner in our two previous visits. Surely this won’t happen three years in succession. So the plan is to go for pole and then do what Alain did in Holland, as simple as that.”

Nicola Larini: “I really look forward to this next race in Valencia. Now that the car has proven to work perfectly and that we have reached an excellent balance, I am very confident that we can be competitive in Valencia. Based on last year’s data, which is the reference we have to work from, we know the car handles well on the Spanish track and with the improvements introduced we should be in the top positions. Of course, Alain and I will have some ballast following the one-two in Zandvoort, but I believe we can aim at the podium again. And, personally, I am really anxious to be behind the wheel again as soon as possible. I am hungry for a victory!”

Alain Menu: “It’s good that Valencia comes earlier this year, as we don’t have to carry too much weight around yet. Even with the reversed grid for the second race, we saw that Nicola still nearly made it to the podium in the second Zandvoort race, so in Spain all three of us should be able to fight for podium finishes, with Rob obviously the better placed driver for a win in the first race. Nic and I being heavier we’ll do our best to be in the best possible strategic position to go for it in the second race.”

Mark Busfield: “With the races following each other at a rapid pace, there was of course little time to re-prepare the cars for Valencia. Nevertheless, Rob’s car is now repaired and just like new. In Zandvoort we saw that the updates on the car worked brilliantly and that the performance overall was good, something we should be able to carry over to Valencia. Alain and Rob are running lighter than Nic, so this might be Rob’s chance to score a win, especially since some of our competitors are starting to get heavy, with up to 50 kilograms of extra weight on board. After the race, we will stay on for an extra day of testing with Alain.”

Eric Nève: “With the hectic schedule ahead of us, this is our chance to prove our real worth. From Zandvoort we now know we have a winner in the 2007-spec Lacetti; now we have to prove that we can keep the momentum. The Zandvoort races, although with little overtaking due to the track’s nature, showed that the different cars are now really well balanced, with the lead cars finishing bumper to bumper in both races and with three different makes visiting the podium. I think that between Valencia and Brno – where we did well before – and Pau – which is new to everybody – we should be able to confirm and consolidate our ambition as championship contenders. In any case, both Alain and Nicola now have a new Louis Chevrolet watch to add to their collection, as also this year every Chevrolet driver making it to the podium gets one these beautiful timepieces. They will be presented their watches in Valencia in the presence of Italian and Greek Chevrolet dealers, who take advantage of the WTCC’s friendly atmosphere to spend a weekend with team and cheer on their favorite driver of course.”